From the Importer: Maestro Vinatero Rafael Quijada hand selects only the best, oldest "capon" agaves, ranging from 10-20 years of age. "Capon" refers to when the flowering stalk is broken. This allows the energy that would normally go into once a lifetime reproduction to concentrate in the plant base, producing a high level of sugars. Capon agaves can be left for 1-1.5 years before they are harvested, to ensure the highest sugars and best flavor. Rafael Encinas Molina wants to maximise the flavor of the agave, and minimize the flavor of wood and smoke. The harvested "pinas" are mainly roasted underground in a traditional shallow "maya" with mesquite and ironwood for 48 hours, and some are processed in a mesquite fired autoclave (no electricity on ranch). The cooked pinas are milled and then fermented with wild yeast for about a week. The fermented mash or "machucado" is then double distilled in a hand made stainless/copper still, fired by mesquite wood.