COMPANY PROFILE
The Los Danzantes folks distill with loving care, traditional methods, intelligent innovation and they make each batch exactly right. Forget those bottles with the worm - well-made mezcal is a world-class spirit.
Jamie Munoz (he and his brother own restaurants in Oaxaca and Mexico City) wanted to serve authentic mezcal, so he restored an artisan distillery in Santiago Matatlan, at 6,000 feet in Oaxaca state, the heart of mezcal country. Los Danzantes mezcal is made in old double-distillation pot stills, from the agave Espadin.
Small-village mezcaleros still transport the piñas, the trimmed hearts of the slow-growing agave plant, on burros. The piñas are slow-roasted in a stone fire-pit, converting carbohydrates to fructose. After roasting, the agaves are crushed in a stone mill. At this point, a tequila producer would separate the liquids, discarding the deeply flavored agave pulp. Mezcal fermentation and distillation include all the agave fibers and meat, yielding a product with richer flavor. Distillation is two passes through small pot stills.
www.losdanzantes.com
