Los Cantiles 1905 Bacanora Anejo
Los Cantiles 1905 Bacanora wild Agaves are harvested from Los Cantiles Mountains in “La Sierra Madre” and carried over by mule to an underground oven lined with volcanic rock. The volcanic rocks are heated with mesquite and oak firewood until the rocks glow red, there the agave hearts will spend at least three days for a slow cooking process. After the agaves are cooked, local vaqueros (farm workers) will start the laborious process of smashing the agaves and then shredding them. The fermentation takes place by adding spring water from the mountains, mixing it with the shredded agaves and letting the natural yeast do its magic for about a week where the sugars from the agave are converted into alcohol. The final process is done by a double distillation in stainless steel pot supervised by Jose Luis Portillo, a Biochemists by profession and great-grandson of Don Refugio Portillo. Los Cantiles 1905 Bacanora Añejo is aged in American White Oak for 14 months.
From plantation to distillation, the process of producing Bacanora Los Cantiles 1905 is 100% artisanal. Our bottle is a replica of an ancient ceramic bottle used by Don Refugio, made with the best ceramic from Mexico, handmade and hand painted by Mexican craft workers our bottles goes hand and hand with our artisanal product, this is the original Bacanora, this is what the Portillo family does best, this is our legacy.
History:
1905 was the year that Don Refugio Portillo founded “Hacienda La Nopalera” near Nacori Chico, a small village in the highlands of Sonora, Mexico. Soon after he discovered a set of mountains named Los Cantiles (the cliffs). Further exploration resulted in discovery of healthier and bigger agaves with more natural sugars than the rest of the agave plants from the region. –“These mountains somehow provide shelter for the plants and protect them against the hot desert weather resulting in healthier plants” -says Jose Portillo, Grandson of the founder, Don Refugio Portillo.
Today, four generations later Don Jose Portillo and sons are proud to continue with Don Refugio’s legacy of producing the best Bacanora from the region and the reforestation of Los Cantiles Mountains with the best agave selection.