What began as a simple quest by Jonathan Barbieri to learn more about the region’s antique wheat varieties soon turned into a story that reads like a fairy tale. A serendipitous meeting in the cloud forests of the Sierra Madre introduced Barbieri to a farmer whose family cultivated rye at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. Now, Maíz Nation proudly crafts the first-ever Mexican rye whiskey, capturing the essence of its origin in every drop. But the full story of this special whiskey, which is grown, mashed, and distilled in Mexico, holds even more intrigue. Pour yourself this Oaxacan Rye and read about how it all came to be.
Handcrafted off-grid at SolCraft Distillery in Oaxaca, Mexico
Very slowly distilled on small, copper pot alembics
Non chill-filtered
MAESTRO DESTILADOR – Jonathan Barbieri
MASHBILL – High rye. Varies by batch.
OAXACAN GROWN RYE – Rarely grown in Oaxaca, the few plots that do exist are above 9000’ elevation
DISTILLERY – SolCraft, San Agustín Etla, Oaxaca. Elevation 5,446 feet.
CRUSH – Austrian-built, stone mill, finely ground
WATER SOURCE – Rainwater and mountain spring water for mashing, fermenting, and proofing
MASHING – Solar powered 900L stainless steel tuns
COLD FERMENTATION – 5-6 days in 500L stainless steel vats, low pH sour mash and proprietary yeast
DISTILLATION – Solar powered copper alembics: first pass 600L / second pass 350L
AGE – Varies by batch
BARRELS – 200L American oak, deep charr No. 4
ABV – Varies by batch
TASTING NOTES –
AROMA – apple pie, orange peel, leather
TASTE – breakfast pastry, almonds, rye spice
TEXTURE – luscious, tingling, persistent
