Vals NOLA Special Release Batch S-08-E-18
For our friends in New Orleans, we have got something special headed your way! A project two years in the making, we are very excited to announce this very special release in collaboration with our friends at VALS. When doing R & D for their original Mexican concept, the Cure group stopped by the Vago offices in the sleepy residential neighborhood of San Felipe for an epic afternoon tasting session. With several old bottles of Vago and empty copitas sitting on the bar top, we started looking around the office for even more rare and interesting things to put into our copitas. It only took a moment for them to notice the antique black clay cántaros lining the office wall. We pulled out the step stool and started pulling the dusty, heavy clay jugs off the wall to smell and taste the mystery liquid contained therein. We tried several, with each showing varying levels of minerality, vegetal, herbal notes, and sweet, roasted agave. We poured one particular cántaro into our copitas, pulled them to our lips, and gently poured the sweet liquid past our lips, allowing the rich liquid to coat our tongues. Slowly, we all looked around and saw each other’s eyes widen as we could each realize it was the best batch we had tasted that entire afternoon.
Almost immediately, they asked about procuring this incredible mezcal for their upcoming project… then COVID hit. Now, after a year of unexpected hurdles, it has finally landed! This gem may seem ordinary at first glance, but this 100% Espadín mezcal was distilled by Tío Rey in November of 2018, then rested for six months in antique clay mezcalero cántaros that have been in Aquilino’s family for nearly 100 years. The entire 93-liter batch was then rested again in sealed glass garrafones for another year before being bottled. All 20 cases have just arrived in New Orleans and will ONLY be available to sip at VALS. We have always had a soft spot in our heart for New Orleans, and have been lucky to call many in that city our friends. The Vago family is very excited to share this special batch which combines the traditions of our original two families, Tío Rey’s and Aquilino’s, with our friends at VALS.
The batch was produced from 69 piñas weighing 4,743 kg, which were harvested between October 19th and October 23rd, 2018. The agave were then roasted underground from October 24th - October 29th, before being crushed with wooden mallets and fermented in open-air wooden fermentation vats. The batch was allowed to ferment dry for two days before the addition of fresh spring water and allowed to ferment for another four days, producing 5,443 liters of tepache. The tepache was then distilled in 45-liter clay pots, producing 770 liters of “xixe”, or first-run distillate at 24.51% ABV. This was distilled a 2nd time, producing 423 liters of mezcal at 49.30% ABV. We then pulled 93 liters to rest for this very special project.
