Mezcal De Pechuga From Oaxaca, Mexico: Historical Account Of The Agave Distillate

Although his eyesight and hearing were failing, Isaac Jimenez’s memory was still sharp. One afternoon in 2012, at his ranch in Santiago Matatlán, the self-proclaimed mezcal capital of the world, ninety-two-year-old Don Isaac reminisced as he rocked in his favorite old rickety wooden chair: “When you ask me about the origins of breast mezcal, I can’t take you beyond 1930,” he confesses apologetically, then continues; “It was then that Ramón Sánchez arrived with his family in Matatlán.”

Mezcal, of course, is the agave-based spirit, distilled in many regions of Mexico. The southern state of Oaxaca is where it is most produced. Traditionally, a ton or more of the carbohydrate-rich hearts or pineapples of the plant are baked in a sealed oven, buried over firewood and rocks, after which, now hopefully sugar-sweet, they are crushed using a beast of burden or a hand using a wooden mallet, then naturally fermented using environmental yeasts and only water added to it, before being distilled in copper pot stills or alembics, or clay pot arrangements. There are countless means of production and tools of the trade, but the above summarizes the basics.

My efforts to learn the history of mezcal de pechuga, and to a lesser extent to catalog variations of its recipe, lead me to Don Isaac, whose grandfather arrived in Matatlán in 1870. There are undoubtedly several myths and legends regarding its origin, at least as many as there are compared to the first time a Oaxacan mezcal infused with “la lombriz”; a larva known as a worm.

Those who are under the impression that mezcal de pechuga contains only the essence of chicken breast, which when raw has been suspended inside a still through which the steam produced by the fermented baked agave has passed, know only part of it. of history. Formulations, more in the nature of the recipes, may call for wild turkey breast or whole cleaned poultry, rabbit leg, venison or iguana meat, or no protein at all, in either case with or without fruit and/or herbs and spices. integrated into the distillation process.

First appearance of Pechuga in Santiago Matatlán

“I was about 10 years old, so it must have been around 1930 when a palenquero named Ramón Sánchez took root in the town, apparently from Río Seco, or at least that’s what he told everyone,” recalls Don Isaac. At that time, Río Seco would have been days away from Matalán on foot or by mule or horse. It is near the crossroads of what are now the districts of Tlacolula, Ejutla, and Miahuatlán. Each of the three is known as an agave-producing country. And so the residents of Río Seco made mezcal.

“Then in 1938, a guy by the name of Chuy Rasgado came to Matatlán,” Don Isaac continued. “One day he showed up at a local ranch where I was playing with my bandmates.”

In Oaxaca, as in other parts of Mexico, there has been a long tradition of playing banda, wind, and percussion instruments, mastery of which begins at an early age. Young Isaac learned to play the alto saxophone and eventually became a member of a band. He and his fellow musicians occasionally played at a well-known hacienda owned by a family of Spanish aristocrats.

The day that Torn went to the hacienda he had no instrument in his hand. But he asked if he could hang out with Isaac and his fellow musicians and contribute in some way. The band turned down the overture as there was no indication at the time of how he could help. Eventually, after subsequent failed attempts to integrate into a larger Matatlán, Ripped disappeared.

One morning Isaac and his mother, Felipa Arrazola, traveled to San Pablo Mitla to buy groceries. They met Torn. Since Isaac had now become an accepted part of the region’s music scene, and the two had to stay in Mitla for at least one night due to the distance they had to travel to get there, it was easy for him and his mother find accommodation. . That first night, Isaac and his mother chanced upon Torn drinking in a bar and playing music; but not just any music. He was playing bottle; glass bottles of different sizes, shapes and necks, thus giving different shades. He used both his breath and a makeshift drumstick to create different sounds. He played melodies reminiscent of the music of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, near the Pacific coast of Oaxaca.

At the end of the set, Isaac and his mother took the opportunity to talk to Torn, Isaac now clearly humiliated by someone who had made it clear to him that he was a true multifaceted talent whom he and the other band members had rejected weeks before. At the time, Isaac was learning to read music. In the course of his conversation with Torn, Isaac realized that he was in the company of a true master, a musician who played more than just bottles. Isaac recognized that there was an opportunity for him to improve his own musical skills and, at the same time, have someone in town, ie Matatlán, who could mentor others. Ripped accepted the invitation to return to Matatlán, and there he began to teach and play, not only bottles, but also guitar, trumpet, saxophone and a couple of other traditional instruments.

Ramón Sánchez, that palenquero supposedly from Río Seco, quickly got to know Chuy Rasgado and the work he was doing within the Matatlán community of musicians. He decided to have a special reception in his honor. During the festivities, Sánchez presented Rasgado with a large bottle of mezcal de pechuga. Others at the event also drank the brisket, many for the first time. Prior to this occasion, while Sanchez had shared his brisket with some, no one really noticed the unique flavor nuance, and if they did, they didn’t ask about it. The cat was out of the bag, and mezcal de pechuga was born, at least for wide public consumption and in this region. Perhaps most importantly, she had risen to the status of a special occasion spirit.

No one knows for sure if the people of Río Seco had been making mezcal from pechuga, if Sánchez was the only palenquero with such a recipe, or if he actually made it for the first time after his arrival in Matatlán. Two things we do know: since that day Rasgado was first given the honor of receiving mezcal de pechuga, pechuga has been served in many towns and villages in Oaxaca at special festivals; and there are several formulations of the drink.

Epilogue to Chuy Risgado & Ramón Sánchez

In 1940 General Lázaro Cárdenas traveled to Mitla. Although there were still no paved roads in or leading to the town, General Cárdenas nonetheless rode there to inaugurate the arrival of electricity. It would take another 19 years for power lines to reach Santiago Matatlán.

By then, Ripped had become a well-known and respected musician in both Matatlán and Mitla (and eventually throughout the state and beyond). The mayor of Mitla invited him to play for General Cárdenas during one of the celebratory dinners. Torn did not dress to perform. He played a brief first set. Nobody clapped. For the second set he was part of a trio, and at its conclusion some praise was bestowed on the group. For the third and final set, Ripped conducted the local philharmonic orchestra on four songs, decked out in formal wear, a suit traditionally worn by bandleaders. General Cárdenas called him to the box where he and his other dignitaries were sitting, to congratulate him. Perhaps the clothes provided the inspiration for an outstanding final performance. Torn was known to drink quite a few, so perhaps late in the evening a slight intoxication had contributed to his excellence.
Three or four months later, Chuy Risgado disappeared again, this time never to return to the region. It is said that he died in the Mixe district of Oaxaca.

Ramón Sánchez continued to make small batches of mezcal, including the brisket, for his own use and to provide for others who wanted it for parties. None of his offspring became palenquero. During that time there was a general perception that making mezcal was not a dignified profession, very similar to leading the life of a musician. In the case of don Isaac, he paid little or no attention to public sentiment and continued to excel in both vocations.

Oaxacan Mezcal de Pechuga Today

According to don Isaac’s son, Enrique Jiménez, a chemical engineer and palenquero in his own right, authentic mezcal de pechuga is produced by placing a specific amount of chopped seasonal fruit in a copper still (the only type even the young Jiménez knows how to use). ). ) along with previously distilled mezcal (thus in preparation for a third distillation), with a full chicken or turkey breast hanging inside the apparatus. If brisket is used, without fruit or other additions, it is naturally considered to be mezcal de brisket; and if herbs and/or spices are added, with or without fruit, it’s still considered the real deal. If no protein is used, the spirit is more appropriately considered fruity mezcal. That’s the term used by Manuel Méndez, a palenquero in nearby San Dionsio Ocotepec who inserts five fruits plus sugar cane. On the other hand, in San Baltazar Chichicapam, on the San Dionisio highway, Fortunato Hernández calls his pineapple mezcal formulation pineapple mezcal. Rodolfo López Sosa in San Juan del Río uses only turkey breast and calls it turkey breast.

At least one owner and exporter of a brand of Oaxacan mezcal instructs its producer(s) to use rabbit leg instead of bird breast. A palenquero from the state of Michoacán uses chicken breast, venison and a selection of spices, a recipe that his wife jealously guards. One incarnation calls for placing 200 liters of mezcal in a traditional 300-liter copper container, part of the still, along with 100 liters of chopped fruit, with the chicken or turkey breast hanging inside the top hood of the still. This yields about 120 liters of brisket mezcal. If protein is omitted from the formulation, while the spice and/or fruit flavor will surely prevail, the spirit tends to lack a certain nose created by meat, poultry, or beef. another way.

A second broad category of mezcal de pechuga requires adding the fruit and/or spice to the still during the first or second distillation, along with mezcal and/or tepache (the fermented liquid) and/or bagasse (crushed and fermented fiber).

In these two cases, the mezcal de pechuga is clear, since regardless of the ingredients that are introduced into the bottom of the still, be it copper or clay, a final distillation takes place that results in a colorless brandy. These are the two variations of pechuga that are often highly coveted and, in fact, are served at many rite of passage celebrations in typical rural Oaxaca, such as weddings, quinceaneras, baptisms, etc., a tradition that has endured for about 1940, if not earlier.

A third classification of mezcal de pechuga is simply white mezcal (clear, unaged) with a piece of baked sugarcane or agave inserted into the bottle before it is sealed in a short time altering the color to amber. Another consists of white mezcal infused with fruit and/or herbs and spices, then filtered before being bottled. It is doubtful whether chicken, turkey, or any other meat was used in the distillation process, regardless of representation. The spirits of this third category are not properly called mezcal de pechuga.

Unanswered historical questions about breast mezcal

The questions that remain unanswered, at least in their entirety, are precisely why, where and when that first palenquero decided to use a chicken or turkey breast in addition to the baked agave to produce his mezcal.