This mezcal comes from the famous Maestro Rufino Felipe Martinez in Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca from 100% Cerrudo (A. americana). The large slow growing agave was cooked in a conical underground oven. Milled by hand using wooden mallet and fermented in open air cypress vats (tinas) before being distilled twice using traditional clay pot stills. Tasting notes from the bottler, "A real curveball! The nose kicks off with sharp cheddar, clementine, BBQ sauce, honeysuckle, and corn silk, but the palate rolls hard into sweet green herbs, lemon zest, buttered popcorn, and papaya. It doesn’t stop. A legendary maestro mezcalero, Rufino Felipe Martinez (aka Tio Rufino) has been distilling over 65 years. An unmistakable character, with a quick smile and omnipresent cigarette on his lips, Tio Rufino swears that the hard work of mezcal has maintained his health (and physique, which he is not shy about showing off to visitors). Working within the confines of the distinct Minero style of mezcal—unique to Santa Catarina Minas—Rufino mills his agave by hand using a massive mortar-and-pestle-style wooden mallet, and he distills using only traditional clay pot stills."