Mezcal Vago Elote. If you’re familiar with Mexican street food, you probably know that elote means corn (drool worthy Mexican street corn, omg). So, this here is a mezcal with the flavors of sweet toasted corn. Adding unique subtle flavors into mezcal during distillation is a practice traditionally reserved for special ceremonial occasions.

The choice of ‘flavoring’ varies, from all types of fruits, vegetables, nuts, to raw meats like chicken, turkey, rabbit, and even venison and iguana! This style of flavoring is referred to as “pechuga” – a direct reference to the common usage of chicken breast in the process (usage of meats usually don’t add to the taste, but is more for mouthfeel, as it can add some richness similar to that you get from a fat-wash).

To infuse the mezcal with these flavors, the maestro mezcalero employs a similar process as how many gins gets their aromatic profile. A basket of the aromatics (or meat) is placed in the top part of the still so the distillation passes thru it, picking up the flavors along the way.

For mezcal cocktail recipes, click here.