Day 18: Don Antonio Briones Mezcal
The Search is Over
Eighteen days on the road, and only on the final day did I find a true artisanal Mezcal maker. In North Central Mexico, that’s called a vinata—derived from “vino de Mezcal.” Unlike Oaxaca’s palenques, here you’re looking for vinatas, so keep that straight, my fellow Mezcal cowboys.
The Pinos Municipality is one of Zacatecas’ key Mezcal areas, working primarily with the salmiana (maguey verde) agave. The use of salmiana from the Pinos area is said to give it a unique taste tied to the local ecosystem. In the wine world, that’s called Terroir.
La Pendencia, 22 km north of Pinos, was the first Mezcal-producing hacienda in Zacatecas, dating back to the 1600s. Somebody quipped that they were making Mezcal when the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. I think they stretch the truth a bit when they say that they have been making Mezcal since 1621, not missing a single day of production.
Having said that, the Mezcal system here collapsed around 1930 when Mexican agrarian reform chopped up estates and screwed up the agave supply; production eventually reconfigured outside the old hacienda model, leaving today’s semi-ruined, semi-resurrected Mezcal vinatas.
Today, the state of Zacatecas puts up some big numbers; it has 933 agave producers and 19 certified vinatas producing over 60 types of Mezcal. Not bad for an area that few know even produces Mezcal.
In Pinos, I asked the locals where I could find “Mezcal fuerte” or “Mezcal de punta”. They were unanimous in their choice of “Tonio’s place”. Mezcal Don Antonio Briones is an artisanal Mezcal made in La Pendencia, north of Pinos, Zacatecas. It’s produced by maestro Mezcalero Antonio (Tonio) Briones.
Up to this point in my search for Zacatecas Mezcal, all I found were producers who diluted their Mezcal to 38%-40% ABV (alcohol by volume) before bottling. I wasn’t looking for tourist juice. This ain’t Tequila, folks. I don’t mind admitting I’m more of a purist snob and like original strength Mezcals. Water just dilutes the taste of the Mezcal
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So, I said my goodbyes to Pinos and rode north in pursuit of what I hoped was some of the best Mezcal in the state of Zacatecas. I had a luggage case full of plastic water bottles—my bulk mezcal containers—in the hopes of exactly this visit
As I got off the bike, a young lady emerged and bashfully, yet warmly, greeted me. We got right down to business. I tasted three Mezcales: one at 42% ABV, another at 45%, and lastly their 48% expression. The flavor profiles of all had notes of citrus, mineral, and jalapeño, and they were clean and relatively light-bodied. The 42% was sweeter tasting. Although from the same batch, the tastes were surprisingly different, simply due to alcohol content.
I then did a “self-guided” tour of the vinata. It was a small operation, and the equipment was simple. Everything there was hand-built and is now hand-operated.
The tahona—a big stone wheel pulled in circles by a donkey to crush the roasted piñas—was parked there with some leftover piña grindings, which stamped the place as “Authentic”
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I was so pleased with my visit that I bought four liters, some of each strength. Come on over, and we can do a tasting.
I later learned that Mezcal Don Antonio Briones is on the list of the “Top 99 Mexican Mezcals” as selected by Revista Cava, a Mexican publication focused on wine, craft beer, and Mezcal.
Final Gringo Count: 7 in eighteen days
Time to go home.