Fanekantsini Chato Mezcal
Fanekantsini Chato Mezcal is an ancestral destilado de agave from maestra mezcalera Sosima Olivera Aguilar in San Miguel Suchiltepec, Oaxaca, distilled from 100% Chato — the local name on the bottle for Agave seemanniana — and bottled at 47% ABV in a 750mL bottle. "Chato" means something different in every region that uses it; on Sosima's label it is seemanniana, a compact agave of the same family as tobalá, prized for a complex, tropical, aromatic spirit. The agave is milled by hand with mallets in a wooden canoe and distilled in clay pots over wood fire, the ancestral method the Tres Colibrí cooperative was founded to preserve. Fanekantsini's total production across all expressions is only about 1,000 liters a year, and allocations of Chato run to a handful of bottles. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- Style: Destilado de agave (uncertified mezcal), ancestral method
- ABV: 47% ABV (94 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Producer: Sosima Olivera Aguilar, Maestros Mezcaleros Tres Colibrí cooperative
- Region: San Miguel Suchiltepec, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Agave: Chato (Agave seemanniana), 100%
- Method: Hand-mallet milling in a wooden canoe, clay-pot distillation over wood fire
A Small Agave With an Outsized Reputation
Among agave devotees, Fanekantsini's Chato has a habit of stealing the show — bold and expressive, and the bottle people keep reaching back for. That character starts with the plant: Agave seemanniana grows small and dense, sugars concentrated, and in Sosima's hands it distills into one of the most aromatic pours in the Tres Colibrí line. The cooperative, founded by Sosima in 2012, bands together eight producers across Oaxaca's highland Chontal and Sola de Vega regions to share equipment, costs and risk while keeping production resolutely small and traditional. Pair it against her spineless Fanekantsini Pelón Verde for two very different faces of the same palenque, or browse the full mezcal shelves.
Tasting Notes
Complex, tropical and aromatic: ripe tropical fruit and floral lift over the soft, rounded texture clay-pot distillation gives, with the savory depth and gentle smoke of an ancestral batch underneath. Bold without weight — the finish stays fruity and clean.
How to Enjoy
Neat, in a copita or small glass, sipped slowly — this is a contemplative pour, not a mixer. Collectors of wild-agave tequila and mezcal will find it sits comfortably beside the rarest bottles on our spirits shelves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What agave is Chato?
On Sosima Olivera Aguilar's label, Chato is Agave seemanniana — a small, dense agave related to tobalá. The name Chato is used for different plants in different regions, so the bottle's Latin name is the one to trust.
What proof is it?
47% ABV (94 proof), in a 750mL bottle.
Who makes it?
Maestra Sosima Olivera Aguilar of the Tres Colibrí cooperative in San Miguel Suchiltepec, Oaxaca; imported to the US by PM Spirits.
How limited is it?
Very — Fanekantsini produces roughly 1,000 liters a year across all its expressions, and Chato allocations are counted in individual bottles.
Order Fanekantsini Chato from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA — the bold, tropical heart of the Tres Colibrí range.