Jabalí: the Most Difficult, Labor-Intensive Mezcal

Jabalí agaves make beautiful mezcal. They are also the most difficult, temperamental agave varietal to work with due to the foam - resulting from saponins, a naturally occuring compound in jabalí agaves - generated at every stage of production from roasting to fermentation to distillation.
Jabalí requires much more work and yields much less mezcal, compared to other agave varietals. It often needs three distillations to obtain a thoroughly purified spirit, because the foam can obstruct the distillation process by pushing fermented agave mash (tepache) instead of distilled vapor through the still.
Want to see how challenging Jabalí is in action? Silverio García Luis, skilled mezcal artisan and Erstwhile Mezcal’s partner producer based in Rancho Blanco Güilá, Oaxaca, takes us behind the scenes.
Don't miss out on the interview in which Silverio reveals his unique family tradition of making heritage mezcal using clay pots and "quiote", the flowering stalk of an agave plant: • Heritage Mezcal Distil...
The batch of Jabalí featured in this video, a 2023 limited release crafted by Silverio and his family, is available exclusively through Erstwhile Mezcal. Only 100 liters made. More production details can be found at the following link: www.erstwhilem...
Small-batch agave spirits crafted by Silverio, using his family's unique clay pot + agave quiote still showcased in this video, can be found at the following links:
Madre Cuishe: www.erstwhilem...
Tepeztate: www.erstwhilem...
Tobalá: www.erstwhilem...
Jabalí: www.erstwhilem...
Shop Silverio's productions and other Erstwhile agave spirits at:
www.erstwhilem...