Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Minero – Santa Catarina Minas
Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Minero – Santa Catarina Minas is a 100-proof (50% ABV) single-village mezcal in a 750mL bottle — 100% Espadin from Santa Catarina Minas, distilled in the village's ancestral clay stills with bamboo tubing, milled by hand and wild-fermented. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- Proof / ABV: 100 proof (50% ABV) — batch variation 49–50% exists
- Size: 750mL
- Agave: 100% Espadin (A. angustifolia), 8–14 years old
- Production: in-ground pit roast (4–5 days), hand milling with wooden bats, exceptionally long wild fermentation (15–25 days), double-distilled in small clay "Filipino"-style stills with bamboo tubing
- Village: Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca — palenqueros Florencio Carlos Sarmiento, Florencio Carlos Vasquez, Luis Carlos Vasquez, Luis Carlos Martinez
The Clay-Still Cult Favorite
Minero is the original Santa Catarina Minas expression and one of Del Maguey's first partner families — the stills are the story. Where most mezcal is distilled in copper, this family's stills are clay with bamboo tubing, an ancestral Minas tradition that conducts heat gently and lets different flavor compounds through: more fruit, more flowers, more funk. Add hand milling and a wild fermentation that can run 25 days, and you get a mezcal of unusual texture and minerality that longtime drinkers call a cult favorite. Browse the Del Maguey collection and the mezcal selection at Del Mesa.
Tasting Notes
Per the brand: flower essence, vanilla, figs and burnt honey with lemon rind and minerality — deep, warm and sweet all the way to the finish. Reviewers add cracked pepper, cranberry, red currants, lemon zest and creamy clay notes.
How to Enjoy
Neat in a copita at room temperature — clay-still mezcal rewards patience, and Minero's florals open with air. A classic pairing for dark chocolate or citrus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Minero different from other Del Maguey mezcals?
The clay stills with bamboo tubing — unique in the Del Maguey portfolio — plus hand milling and an exceptionally long wild fermentation, giving it a fruity, floral, mineral character copper stills can't replicate.
What does "Minero" mean?
It refers to the village expression of Santa Catarina Minas — the "miner" mezcal, from a family of fourth-generation mezcaleros.
Is Minero smoky?
Lightly — delicate smoke sits underneath the fruit and florals rather than leading, which is part of its cult appeal.
For drinkers who want their mezcal funky and floral rather than fiery — order Del Maguey Minero online from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.