Palenque Visit — How My Family Makes Mezcal in the Mountains

Mezcal has become fashionable. Most of what is sold as artisanal is made in large facilities with industrial equipment. My family's palenque in the Sierra Juárez uses a clay pot still, a stone tahona pulled by a horse, and agave plants that take 12–25 years to mature. I take a maximum of 6 people up in my truck. You see every stage — roasting the piña in an earthen pit, crushing, fermenting in open wooden vats, and the slow distillation that produces something with actual complexity. We taste from the still and from barrels at different stages. Traditional lunch at my mother's house is included. You leave understanding what mezcal actually is.