El Pandillo, in the town of Jesus Maria, Jalisco, is one of Mexico's truly great distilleries. Under the leadership of Felipe Camarena, the distillery has retained the traditional quality of their heritage by looking forward in terms of technology, rather than simply relying on the old methods. Too often, new methods simply mean more efficiency and a dip in quality, but Felipe's goal is to use these tools and methods to create a more authentic expression of agave, not less. His custom built stone ovens capture the complex flavor of highland Blue Weber aged 8-10 years and selected for peak maturity. The agave is then crushed on his mechanical tahona, nicknamed "Frankenstein," fermented with natural proprietary yeasts originally propagated by Felipe's grandfather 80 years ago and the distilled in small copper pot stills. El Pandillo is also the home of other renowned Tequila brands such as Pasote, Volans, and G4, but what sets Terralta apart from even those is the use of a deep water well, whose complex mineral content adds a textural depth that is most welcome. Licorice, pine needles, vanilla, olives, cinnamon and sweet agave all dance across the nose and palate of this very special Tequila. Bottled at 40% abv.
