Tobaziche | October 2018 | Tomás García Cruz | TBZTGC1810 | Fall 2021 release | 54 bottles
Tobaziche is one of the most common names for different types of agave in different parts of Zapotec speaking, or ethnically Zapotec communities in Oaxaca. In nearly all instances, these “tobaziches” are types of Agave karwinskii, but their morphology, maturation times, sugar content, and flavors, vary tremendously between regions, and sometimes, between villages. In the area of San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán, the agave identified locally as Tobaziche can grow to heights around three meters and weights of hundreds of kilograms. Sugar-rich, these agaves generally take at least eight years to mature, depending on conditions, but most growers report extended maturation times of 12-15 years. While this maguey does propagate itself through both seed and clone, it does occasionally appear in the nurseries of seed stock from the Madrecuixe agave, as well. Extraordinarily rare these days, the Tobaziche was one of the many endemic magueyes displaced by the massive plantings of Espadín in the 1980’s and 1990’s. While Don Tomás and many others in the community have significant amounts of young Tobaziche planted in the nurseries and fields, in remains very rare to see a pure Tobaziche production in Logoche.
For the making of this batch, Don Tomás and his sons selected six medium-sized, but capón, Tobaziche magueyes from a rocky, white parcel from a neighboring village known for the quality of their maguey. After roasting for five days, the six piñas were separated from the rest of the contents of the oven and worked apart. The result was a delicious 60 liters made available in a special release in collaboration with Agavera in Berlin. When presented to the judges of the 2021 Berlin Craft Spirits festival, it received a 95.25 point grading and was awarded a gold medal and Best in Class for agave spirits.
§ Maguey(es): Tobaziche (Agave karwinskii var.)
§ Provenance of the maguey: locally cultivated
§ Producer: Tomás García Cruz and Sons
§ Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán
§ Date of production: October 2018
§ Soil type: Rocky, white soil – Piedra pedgregosa
§ Rest time after harvest: Four days
§ Oven: Conical earthen oven; Five days with mesquite wood
§ Rest time after oven: Two days
§ Maceration: Machete and mechanical shredder
§ Fermentation: Native yeasts; Montezuma cypress sabino wood vat
§ Dry fermentation time: Three days
§ Wet fermentation time: Eight days
§ Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills
§ Final composition: Heads, hearts, and a touch of colas
§ Batch size: 60L
§ ABV: 45.1%