Our good friend and palenquera Rosario Ángeles of #MezcalRambha was busy making adobe bricks out of mud and fibre (bagaza) for a project she wanted to keep under wraps. But now it's finished, and she has a new fully-equipped cabin on site, ready to accept rentals for those wanting a City Slickers type experience. 

The above the the six photos below, illustrate what one productive morning can bring to those interested in clay pot "ancestral" mezcal production, at one palenque witnessing almost all stages of production from baking agave, to fermenting, and to distilling, while at another palenque the clients were treating to a brunch prepared by a palenquera and her mother, of memelas, cecina, mole coloradito with chicken and rice, and of course agua fresca. All within a couple of hours.

The above photo illustrates about 6 tons of agave being baked. Below, photo taken three days later, it is in the process of being removed from the oven. In this load there were three species in the oven, angustifolia, karwinskii and marmorata. If will be segregated rather than put them all together to make a mezcla or ensamble. For traditionally made mezcal, the mixing begins when the agave is initially baked, not at the end like a more industrialized distillate (i.e. blended scotch, del Maguey Vida, 400 Conejos, etc). 

The photo above is rather unique, taken at the tasting room of palenquero Fortunato Hernández in San Baltazar Chichicapam,, unusual because for this day we joined together two different groups, coming from five different parts of the world. Sometimes, we have groups of mezcal fans who are friends yet live in different parts of the world, and get together for a vacation annually, where they reunite for fun, catching up, good food, and excellent mezcal. On this day, over 60 different mezcales were sampled, plus a few different pulque concoctions ...... whatever the clients want, though in most cases the day is primarily for educational and experiential purposes.