Ilegal Mezcal Añejo

Ilegal Mezcal Añejo is aged for thirteen months in medium-charred American oak, medium-charred French oak and used bourbon casks. The production process begins with roasting the piñas in underground ovens in small batches, chopping them into smaller pieces and finally crushing them to a mash by a tahona, a stone mill drawn by a horse. The mash is then fermented by airborne yeasts – no yeast is added – before it is distilled in 250-liter copper pot stills. Due to the maturation period, each batch of Ilegal Mezcal Añejo is slightly different and this artisanal mezcal boasts expressive aromas of maple, clove, and bitter orange on the nose. The flavors open up to notes of dark chocolate and sweet agave, all rounded up with a smooth, long, and slightly smoky finish.

Desperate for a good agave-based spirit to stock at his bar (Café No Se) in Antigua, John Rexer began smuggling artisanal mezcal from Mexico to Guatemala using banditos, river rafts, bribes, disguises, and late night drop points. As word spread about Rexer's illegal mezcal, travelers and tourists, journalists and photographers and lawyers and businessmen began patronizing Rexer's bar and smuggling the mezcal from Guatemala back to the United States. Simply put, Ilegal Mezcal began as an illegal pursuit to stock Café No Se with some of the finest spirits being distilled in Mexico.

Today, the journey of Ilegal Mezcal begins in the agave fields of Tlacolula, Mexico. There, under the watchful eye of master distiller Eric Hernandez, expert mezcaleros harvest agave plants that are nearly a decade old and have reached their peak of maturity. After the agave have been harvested, the hearts of the agave, or piñas, are transported to Hernandez's distillery.

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