Visiting Alberto Ortiz

Alberto Ortiz, “Don Beto”, has a modest and immaculate distillery near Bramaderos in Miahuatlan, some two hours south of Oaxaca City.

On the way to Don Beto’s.

Bramaderos pueblo. You can see the two distinct soils: ferriferous (iron) red,  calciferous (chalk) white. The spirits tend to have good minerality

Miahuatlan is open, with rolling hills and shaley ferriferous soils. It is well known for distillation of semi-wild Karwinskii agaves

Don Beto’s tinas (fermentation tanks).

The mazos, mallets used to crush the roasted agaves for fermentation. It takes 3 men eight hours to crush enough to fill a tina.

Maturing madrecuishe, one of the agaves of the Karwinskii family. Its high acids give structure and definition to many of Don Beto’s distillates.