El Columpio (Destilado de Agave)
I remember the first time I was getting ready to go on the Blue Agave Tour (BAT) in 2007, some one asked "What do you want to see?" My response was something about seeing some "home made tequilas" - those that make a little bit for themselves, family and a few others who are interested. And by someone who is not willing to be tied to the Norms of the CRT- not because they were manipulating product, but because they were keeping it "old school". Well, we didn't find any in 2007. Or on the 2008 BAT. But when I went down for the fería de Tequila in November of 2008 with my friends Ray and Dave, we stumbled upon so local juice, know as destilado de agave at a restaurant in the center of town. The brand was Teochinchan. Even though it was only 34% Alc. Vol. it had a really solid and pure taste. We needed to see where this was produced! But no one was able to help us out. A day or two later we were having dinner with David Ruiz at Del Mar II (a great restaurant on the outside of town) and he was telling us about a place that is on the side of the road just down from were we were sitting!! We got all excited and asked him to take us, and he said "No. We'd get shot!". Our time in town was short, so Dave, Ray and I put it on the must do list for the 2009 BAT. But before we could do that, we found this blog that gave us more specific info for what were were looking for!
We got back into Tequila in March of 2009, and the the first morning we were there, we grabbed a taxi and asked them to take us to Columpio. He then asked if we wanted to go to the house of the distillery. House?? Destileria por favor! On the way out to the distillery the driver tells us that he used to work for Columpio as the Master Distiller and that he also worked at Orendien as well as a couple of other distilleries in town. When we got there, the driver offered to stay - which was awesome because, this distillery is a couple miles outside of town, and the walk back on a 2 lane highway would not have been fun. We asked if we could shoot video and take pics and they guy had no problem! Very much a small batch facility, they use hornos, a wood chipper for a shredder (I love how they use an axe to chop the agave to get it small enough for the chipper, and that they use buckets to pour the agumiel into the larger holding tank - total old school!!), natural fermentation, copper post stills that are heated by FIRE!! They even have a tahona, even though it has not been used for years. Lot's of really neat old school stuff going on!
After getting a taste of their product at still strength (which is very big and bold, with spices, mint and a lot of cooked agave!!), we went to their bottling facility, which is back in the town of Tequila. Turns out, it is their home! After talking to some people there we got our bottles and headed back to meet the rest of our clan.
A year later we went back, and this time the owner was there - very stoic, but hospitable. Their product had the same unique characteristics as it had the previous year, and still very tasty!
I had heard that they were getting shut down or that they were changing their distillery to comply with the CRT. At first I was kind of bummed, but then I was excited for them as they would be generation more product, more money, which would be better for their family and the workers! Even though some of the pics I saw prepared me , I was disappointed with all the changes that took place at El Columpio. When we went to the bottling facility, I talked to one of the sons, and he said that the changes were not mandated by the CRT (since they have no interest in producing tequila), but rather by something like the Health Inspection Department. WTF????? I've seen plenty of tequila distilleries that were laid out just the same, and never had an issue. But its kinda funny how that was coming down around the same time as NOM 186. Things that make you go Hmmmmmm!! The big boys seem to think that those who are making destilado de agave are making poor quality products, AND that its is taking away from their revenue. While yes, there are some bad destilado de agave products, some that are totally fraudulent, but there are a lot of them that are amazing, and the product that comes from El Columpio is one of them!
We got back into Tequila in March of 2009, and the the first morning we were there, we grabbed a taxi and asked them to take us to Columpio. He then asked if we wanted to go to the house of the distillery. House?? Destileria por favor! On the way out to the distillery the driver tells us that he used to work for Columpio as the Master Distiller and that he also worked at Orendien as well as a couple of other distilleries in town. When we got there, the driver offered to stay - which was awesome because, this distillery is a couple miles outside of town, and the walk back on a 2 lane highway would not have been fun. We asked if we could shoot video and take pics and they guy had no problem! Very much a small batch facility, they use hornos, a wood chipper for a shredder (I love how they use an axe to chop the agave to get it small enough for the chipper, and that they use buckets to pour the agumiel into the larger holding tank - total old school!!), natural fermentation, copper post stills that are heated by FIRE!! They even have a tahona, even though it has not been used for years. Lot's of really neat old school stuff going on!
After getting a taste of their product at still strength (which is very big and bold, with spices, mint and a lot of cooked agave!!), we went to their bottling facility, which is back in the town of Tequila. Turns out, it is their home! After talking to some people there we got our bottles and headed back to meet the rest of our clan.
A year later we went back, and this time the owner was there - very stoic, but hospitable. Their product had the same unique characteristics as it had the previous year, and still very tasty!
I had heard that they were getting shut down or that they were changing their distillery to comply with the CRT. At first I was kind of bummed, but then I was excited for them as they would be generation more product, more money, which would be better for their family and the workers! Even though some of the pics I saw prepared me , I was disappointed with all the changes that took place at El Columpio. When we went to the bottling facility, I talked to one of the sons, and he said that the changes were not mandated by the CRT (since they have no interest in producing tequila), but rather by something like the Health Inspection Department. WTF????? I've seen plenty of tequila distilleries that were laid out just the same, and never had an issue. But its kinda funny how that was coming down around the same time as NOM 186. Things that make you go Hmmmmmm!! The big boys seem to think that those who are making destilado de agave are making poor quality products, AND that its is taking away from their revenue. While yes, there are some bad destilado de agave products, some that are totally fraudulent, but there are a lot of them that are amazing, and the product that comes from El Columpio is one of them!