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Parejo offers a remarkable window into the distilling traditions of northern Mexico, and Bienvenido Fernández’s Maguey de Cerro is a particularly compelling example. A fifth-generation maestro vinatero, Bienvenido spent years traveling the mountains with a donkey carrying his copper still, making sotol, lechuguilla, and ensambles from the plants he encountered. This expression is an agave spirit made entirely from wild Maguey de Cerro gathered near Madera, Chihuahua, where coniferous forests meet the high desert at approximately 6,900 feet. The plants reach around 15 years of maturity before harvest. Their piñas are roasted underground with pine wood in a conical oven covered with volcanic stones, then mechanically crushed. Fermentation proceeds naturally with ambient yeasts for seven to ten days in stainless steel vessels, tombas, and pine-lined pits. The fermented material is distilled twice in a stainless steel alembic with a copper condenser, using pine wood for the first pass and gas for more precise temperature control during the second. Bienvenido adjusts the final strength with colas, the tails of the distillation, and releases receive additional rest in glass. It’s an extraordinary combination of wild mountain agave, patient production, and knowledge passed down through five generations.