Primitivo Vásquez Vásquez

Primitivo Vásquez, born in 1983, grew up across the river from Ramón and Wili and left the village as a young man. He made his first batch in 1999 under the tutelage of his adopted father and keeper of countless generations of local mezcalero knowledge, Cutberto Aquino. When he was growing up, he distinctly recalls the rarity of Espadín and the absence of the now common diesel-powered shredders used to macerate cooked agave. Back then, he used to crush a typical mix of cooked Bicuixe and Madrecuixe with a wooden mallet, a mazo. “Tivo,” as his is known, left later that year, seeking the means to start a family of his own. He was successful; It was abroad in the US and through Ramón and Wili where Primitivo was introduced to their sister Elvia who is now his wife. They returned years later, their two sons in tow, to make a life in their community. Over the last decade, Primitivo has dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the cultivation and distillation of multiple species of agave, always astute and attentive to each aspect of the delicate process.

Soil types: colorada, roja, cascajudo, blanca, negra

Oven: 10-ton capacity, conical, earthen oven

Mashing: machete, axe, and shredder

Fermentation: 4 Montezuma cypress sabino wood tanks. 1200-liter capacity.

Distillation: Los Carnales use two different copper pot stills, one with a 250-liter capacity, and the other, slightly larger at 300 liters.