Del Maguey Tobalá Mezcal
The first wild varietal mezcal ever exported to the United States. Wild Tobalá grows in the shade of oak trees within high-altitude canyons. It is a small truffle-like treasure requiring eight piñas to match the yield of one Espadín piña. Rogelio Martinez Cruz and Ron met in a fortuitous fasion. As Rogelio led a team of donkeys (burros) down the mountain and through the village, Ron was using the town´s only phone line. One load of Tobala broke free from the donkey´s back and rolled to the phone booth. Ron hung up the phone, and asked Rogelio, ¨Is that Tobala?¨ Rogelio replied matter of factly, ¨Yes it is!¨Ron´s reply, ¨I´ve been looking for you!¨ Rogelio now produces with his nephew Aaron, and the finished product is one of the finest mezcals on earth. In following the traditions of their ancestors, the family distillation includes an exceptional 30-day roast resulting in a sweet fruity aroma and a palate of moss earth cinnamon and delicate florals.
Flavor Profile
Tasting
Mango, cinnamon, moss, earth, florals, minerality
Honeysuckle and mango with citrus zest and delicate florals
Silky and floral with creamy mineral and cinnamon
Ghost smoke with long herbal and mineral finish
Origin
Remote Cloud Forest Canyon Central Valleys/Mixe Region
Santa Maria Albarradas
6500 ft
Canyon Rock
Tobalá (Agave potatorum)
12 to 18 years
The Process
Rogelio Martínez Cruz, Aaron Salvador Martinez
Hand-cut from remote canyon cloud forest after 12 to 18 years
Earthen pits · 30-day extended roast
Molino milling · open wooden vats · wild fermentation
What defines this mezcal
ROGELIO’S QUIET WAY
Rogelio’s mezcal is calm. There’s an unassuming elegance to it, made in silence beside Esteban, who is deaf. The only sounds are the bubbling of fermentation and the grinding stone. A radio sits nearby, but they never turn it on.
The Mountain and Its Cloud Forest
Tucked in the highlands of Oaxaca’s Central Valleys, Santa María Albarradas is surrounded by mountains and Cloud Forest. The road that leads there winds endlessly uphill, through a village that feels suspended between the earth and the clouds.
ROGELIO’S CIRCLE OF CARE
At the center is Don Rogelio Martínez Cruz, now in his seventies. He never married and never had children, which is unusual to say the least. Yet he is somehow always surrounded by women: his two sisters, nieces, and friends, who cook for him, care for him, and keep the house running. He stands happy among this fierce circle of females. At the palenque, a small team of nephews and neighbors help with the production, mainly Esteban, a deaf man who was adopted by the family at a young age.
Awards & recognition
-
2026
Tequila and Mezcal Masters
Similar mezcales you may enjoy
Cuixe
Crafted on a hillside in Santa María Albarradas surrounded by fruit trees and rose bushes. Naturally fermented and twice…
45% ABV | 750ml
Hoja santa, fresh jalapeño, lilac, guava, lychee nut, minerality
Espadín, Arroqueño & Mexicano
The village of San José Río Minas requires traversing high mountains on narrow jagged dirt roads. The palenque has been…
50% ABV | 750ml
Papaya, ripe peaches, roses, violets, eucalyptus, minerality
Jabali
Jabalí is rare in the US due to its propensity to foam from high saponin levels during production. Meticulously produced…
47% ABV | 750ml
Figs, apples, star anise, parmesan rind, florals
