Puntiagudo NS-EST-01, Ensamble Salmiana-Tepeztate

This is the second expression from Maestro Nazario that we bring to the United States, and it’s the one that best shows why he caught our attention. Nazario lives in San Miguel Atlapulco, Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, and distilled this ensamble of two agaves in 2021: 64% Agave salmiana (subspecies Ferox) from Palmar del Bravo and 36% Agave marmorata (Tepextate) from Atlapulco, all between 12 and 15 years old at harvest.

When I (Cesar) tasted this sample, I knew right away that I had found something extraordinary and completely different to what I was used to in my hometown of Oaxaca. By then, though, most of the batch had already been consumed, and a good part of what remained had been enjoyed by Nazario and his family during local festivities. What we secured is a small, precious remainder.

From the field to the still.

– 3,200 kg of Salmiana and 1,750 kg of Marmorata harvested on January 28, 2023

– Roasted for five days in a conical stone oven with eucalyptus wood

– Crushed with machete and shredder

– Naturally fermented for ten days in 1,000-liter pine vats with well water

– Double-distilled on March 2, 2023 in a 400-liter copper alembic still, yielding 205 liters

– 25 liters rested in glass for three years, then bottled on September 25, 2026

An ensamble with two personalities.

Salmiana brings the volume: a big, generous maguey that gives roundness, softness and that lingering sweetness. Tepextate, slow-growing and more austere, contributes the herbal, mineral and savory side. Together with the eucalyptus-fired stone oven and the copper alembic, the result is a different profile from the destilados many of us know from Oaxaca: silky, buttery and herbal, with a bright citric lift.

Three years in glass

The three years of rest in glass have smoothed and integrated the blend. At 48.8% ABV it stays silky and composed, with the herbal edges softened and the fruit and dairy notes more defined.

Product Details

● – Maguey: 64% Salmiana Ferox (Palmar del Bravo) & 36% Marmorata, Tepextate (Atlapulco)
● – Community: San Miguel Atlapulco, Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, México
● – Maestro Mezcalero: Nazario Salas
● – Classification: Agave Spirit / Distilled from 100% Agave
● – Proof: 48.8% ABV
● – Batch: NS-EST-01
● – 750 ml bottles produced: 32