OUR UNIQUE & UNPRECEDENTED PROCESS
We care for and own every part of the production process all the way from the land to the bottle; working under a sustainability plan where we replant hundreds of hectares of agave, to return to our land the agaves that we sacrifice each year to achieve our mission, ensuring the quality that characterizes Akul.
Our Process
SOWING AND HARVEST
It all begins at the sowing of agave in our own lands at Valle de Oaxaca. This is followed by a wait of at least eight years before harvesting for the agave espadín and up to 20 years for some wild varieties. It is all about giving the plants the time they need to reach the maturity that will guarantee the taste and aroma of a good mezcal.
COOKING
Harvested and cut agaves (piñas, in Spanish) are cooked in a special furnace. Sacrificio distillery’s furnace has a unique design that is patented by Master Eric Hernández. What makes it different from other furnaces is that it reduces cooking time and mezquite and oak wood use, thus becoming a more environmentally friendly tool which also balances the smoky flavor of mezcal, resulting in a more subtle, delicate taste.
GRINDING
The juice of the cooked piñas is obtained by putting them in a grindstone called Tahona. In accordance with tradition, a tired horse would pull the grindstone. We wanted to avoid animal cruelty, so we substituted it for an electrical system. The Tahona is also patented by our Maestro Mezcalero. This makes our ancestor’s processes more modern, more practical and more sustainable as they are animal-cruelty free.
FERMENTING & DISTILLING
Once the juice from piñas is extracted, the fermentation process begins in Sabine tree barrels added with water. This exotic wood and the water from the mountains are essential to achieve the unique flavor of our mezcal. After being fermented for a few days, the liquid is distilled twice in copper stills, always supervised by our maestro mezcalero. Only when he is absolutely satisfied with the resulting mezcal, does he allow for its bottling. When the bottles are labeled, the years-long process reaches its end.