Cielo Rojo Bacanora Blanco

Cielo Rojo Bacanora Blanco is a rare, sublime wild Silvestre Maguey Agave spirit made in limited small batches, on the rustic family ranchero, just as it was prepared four centuries ago in Northern Sonora, Mexico. The wild Agaves are harvested after labor-intensive foraging, in steep canyons in the Sierra Madres, and then packed out by burro at the Roberto Contreras 25,000 acre racho Tepua. The wild Agaves are roasted in traditional clay and rock earthen ovens in the ground, and then given a careful, unusually long fermentation, marrying wild yeasts with nuances of select Agave juices. The resulting spirit is then double distilled in very small copper pot stills (alembicas) with a slow distillation, ensuring herbaceous aromas.

Illegal from 1915 to 1992 in Mexico and the USA, Bacanora has a wonderful back-story: the undiscovered 3rd sister of the trinity: mezcal, tequila and bacanora. Cielo Rojo is the first premium bacanora (effective Feb. 2011) to be imported into the USA, from the Baviacora-Aconchi-Banamichi appellation of the Rio Sonora-Sierra Madre Mountain region. Using only earth, fire, wild yeasts, pure spring-fed water, and wild Agaves, this is perhaps the purest spirit on the planet. The hand blown glass bottle is made from recycled glass with a label depicting the sacred rancho Tepua mountain.

Photo by Tequila.net