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Sunday, January 15, 2023

El Jolgorio Special Release collection

We do not get a lot of these!
We have 3 bottles of each in stock now!
El Jolgorio Special Release collection -- "Black Bottle" collection only released once a year!. This series was created by Casa Cortés in 2017, created to showcase the growing scarcity of wild agave in Oaxaca. These are some of the rarest Mezcals and are very tiny batches, just a few hundred bottles of each are made!


El Jolgorio Black Bottle Jabali Mezcal...$179.99
  • Black Bottle
  • Edition: 07
  • 52.3% ABV
  • Harvest 2022
  • Only 340 bottles made
Wild Jabalí with its curved, silver-edged, serrated pencas resembles the ridged back of the wild boar for which it is named. Its reputation for being difficult to work with also adds to its boorish reputation. The plant’s fibers are extremely tough, making it difficult to shred for fermentation. The fermentation itself is often plagued with excessive, sticky bubbling over, but the hard work is worth the incredibly small, and delicious yield.


El Jolgorio Black Bottle Karwinskii Mezcal....$159.99
  • Black Bottle
  • Edition: 07
  • 51.6% ABV
  • Harvest 2022
  • Only 275 bottles made
Cenizo is a complicated term in mezcal. Translating loosely as “ashen,” the term is often applied to strains of agave whose leaves (“pencas”) have a grey hue to them, regardless of the botanical variety. El Jolgorio’s Cenizo is one such example, a subvarietal of the wide-ranging Agave karwinskii species.
However, under current Certification standards, the term has been confined for consumer clarity and now may only be used to apply to a northern variety, Agave durangensis, where the term is far more commonplace. This has resulted in El Jolgorio rebranding their Cenizo simply with the botanical name, Karwinskii, out of respect for the restricted nomenclature historically used by the mezcaleros.
Cenizo (karwinskii) is a special release from El Jolgorio, with intense aromas of green banana, peppercorn and fried peanuts balancing out its high proof. Offered in a distinctive black glass reminiscent of the black clay jugs mezcal was historically stored in, the opaque bottle accentuates the preciousness and singularity of the spirit inside.


El Jolgorio Black Bottle Tobaziche Mezcal....$159.99
  • Black Bottle
  • Edition: 12
  • 53.2% ABV
  • Harvest 2018
  • Only 650 bottles made
Tobaziche is a subvarietal of the Agave karwinskii species of agave, which grow wild in certain parts of Oaxaca, representing less than 1% of the agave currently growing in the state.
Unlike most agave, whose leaves (or “pencas”) grow outwards from a central heart or core which remains close to the ground, Agave karwinskii develop as a long vertical stem or trunk, with the sugar concentrated near the top where the pencas remain green and spiky. Agave karwinskii more closely resemble a palm to many observers than what is typically identified as agave. Their height and intimidating spikes have led some indigenous communities to use them as a natural fence.

In addition, the entire trunk is typically fermented and distilled when producing mezcal, resulting in a spirit much higher in vegetal and fibrous aromatic & flavor profiles. There are many subvarietals of Agave karwinskii (Cuishe, Madrecuishe, Barril, Largo); Tobaziche is identified by its slender height, often towering above its sibling subvarietals. Known for stronger sugar concentration than many, it is safe to expect a vegetal herbaceous note paired elegantly against whispers of melon, banana or other tropical fruit.

Tobaziche is a special release from El Jolgorio, thus far only produced by two mezcaleros from the Casa Cortes community. Offered in a distinctive black glass reminiscent of the black clay jugs mezcal was historically stored in, the opaque bottle accentuates the preciousness and singularity of the spirit inside.


El Jolgorio Black Bottle Pechuga Mezcal....$149.99
  • Black Bottle
  • Edition: 23
  • 48% ABV
  • Harvest 2021
  • Only 395 bottles made

Pechuga literally translates to breast, but it implies heart and soul as well. Pechuga mezcal is a spirit distilled for celebrations and gatherings, from weddings to funerals, to welcoming spring fertility, or honoring the Day of the Dead. To distill pechuga, there is a sacrificial component, driven by seasonal harvest. On a second or third distillation run, mezcaleros will incorporate fruits, spices and an animal protein, with recipes unique to local tradition. The most common proteins are fowl, specifically the raw breast of a chicken or wild turkey.

El Jolgorio Pechuga is a benchmark example. Produced exclusively at the Casa Cortés palenque in Santiago Matatlán, the agave is cooked in a horno (conical earthen oven), milled using a horse-driven stone tahona, and naturally fermented in open-air wooden tanks called tinas before being distilled twice using copper pot stills. The second distillation sees the addition of pineapple, lime, orange, plantain, apple, pear, and the raw breast of a regional creole turkey rooster called guajolote. 48% ABV

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