Papalote - ameyaltepec

Batch: P-DT-05

Release date: June 2025

Delfino Tobon Mejia makes mezcal as part of his wider farming activities in the remote community of San Pablo Ameyaltepec, Pubela. His fascinating home made, 3-plate column still allows for a single pass distillation and produces wonderful aromatic spirits.

The development of spirits production in this traditional agricultural community is equally as fascinating. Over the years since our first visit we’ve watched this palenques grow from broken down sheds to reasonable scale operations. And now there’s government money flowing into town to encourage growth in production.

In this part of Puebla the maguey name Papalote is in reference to Agave Potatorum. It’s a close cousin to Tobala - the maguey name more commonly seen in Oaxaca. Not to be confused with agave Cupreata, to which the name Papalote can refer to in other parts of Mexico like Michoacan.

In Spanish the name Papalote means ‘Kite’. The word is originally Nahuatl - a language still used by many of the producers working with the plant - and in that dialect means ‘butterfly’. Presumably this comes from the distinctive shape of the leaves.

Delfino and his brother Pablo trek with donkeys for 4 hours to harvest wild Papalote (and Pizorra) from a region of fertile Tierra Roja (red earth).

Once back at the palenque, Delfino’s roast happens in a traditional earthen pit, for 3 days, with a fire built from local tehuisqle wood. After milling with machete and then wood chipper, fermentation typically takes 8 days, in plastic tambors with well water.

The all important distillation is quite unique in this case. Delfino uses a homemade column reflux still with 3 plates. You can see a retired still here, decorating the wall of the palenque. This column is immersed in a water bath to keep the reflux plates cool enough to have their condensing effect.

The re-condensing nature of this set-up means only a single pass of the apparatus is needed. A kind of 2-in-1 distillation.

House tasting notes:

Nose: Delfino’s spirits always seem to come with a fascinatingly complex aroma that mixes floral spice with an almost candy like sweetness. In this case we get vanilla over a dusty background of Jasmin

Palate: There's a thickness to the mouth feel. Lactic notes that often accompany Mixteca distillations combine with that weight to make an experience reminiscent of milk bottle sweets.

Finish: A little of the local rustic queso fresco creeps in to say hello to the palate before fading into a mildly spiced version of those milk bottles. Wonderful.

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