Pasote Extra Añejo
Pasote · Destilería El Pandillo (NOM 1258)
Pasote's Extra Añejo is a testament to how highland altitude, volcanic soils, and the extreme temperature swings of Jesús María weave themselves into the agave plant long before distillation begins. Felipe Camarena's stone-oven, tahona-crushed, copper-pot process preserves the terroir imprint that lesser productions would erase. The result is an extra añejo that wears its oak confidently but never forgets where its agave grew — a spirit literally stitched together by climate.
Nose
Cooked agave at the foundation, layered with toasted oak, dried apricot, butterscotch, and a thread of cinnamon bark. Beneath the sweetness sits a mineral earthiness — volcanic red clay and dried herbs — that speaks to the highland terroir of Jesús María. A faint whiff of dark chocolate emerges as the glass warms.
Palate
Rich and textured, opening with honeyed roasted agave and ripe tropical fruit — mango and pineapple — before pivoting toward baking spices, dark caramel, and espresso. The mid-palate reveals toasted almond and black pepper, while the underlying minerality maintains focus. The traditional brick oven cooking and tahona crushing lend a density that three years in American oak barrels deepen without obscuring.
Finish
Long and warming, with lingering notes of vanilla, tobacco leaf, leather, and a final pulse of white pepper. The agave sweetness persists as a ghost note, threading through oak tannins that slowly fade.
- Region
- Jesús María, Jalisco, Mexico
- Additives Free
- No
Cocktail Suggestion
The Highland Loom — 2 oz Pasote Extra Añejo · 0.5 oz Amontillado sherry · 0.25 oz agave nectar · 2 dashes mole bitters · 1 wide strip of orange peel · Combine Pasote Extra Añejo, Amontillado sherry, agave nectar, and mole bitters in a mixing glass with large ice. Stir for 30 seconds until well-chilled and silky. Strain into a chilled rocks glass over a single large cube. Express the orange peel over the surface, twist, and drape across the rim. · Glass: Rocks glass
Food Pairing
The Extra Añejo's dark caramel, chocolate, and spice notes mirror the complex layering of a traditional Oaxacan mole negro — with its blend of charred chiles, cacao, and warm spices. Rich braised duck adds a savory depth that bridges the spirit's oak tannins and honeyed agave sweetness, while the mole's subtle bitterness lifts the finish. Each bite and sip reveals new threads in the weave.
At 2,100 meters above sea level in the red-earth highlands of Jesús María, agave piñas endure blazing days and near-freezing nights — a relentless climate cycle that concentrates sugars and deepens flavor compounds in ways lowland plants never experience. Master distiller Felipe Camarena, a third-generation tequilero, harvests only fully mature plants from these fields, slow-roasts them for 72 hours in traditional brick ovens, and crushes them under a two-ton volcanic tahona stone. The juice ferments naturally in open-air wooden tanks where ambient highland yeasts — carried on cool mountain winds — contribute their own signature. After double distillation in small copper pot stills, the spirit rests for three full years in ex-bourbon American oak barrels stored in a stone-walled bodega where Jalisco's seasonal temperature swings act as a silent cooperage partner, pushing spirit in and out of the wood with each climatic shift. The name 'Pasote' comes from a wild herb that grows abundantly in the highlands, a nod to the untamed landscape that shapes every drop. This Extra Añejo embodies the thesis of 'Woven by Climate' — a spirit whose character is as much a product of altitude, soil, and weather as it is of human craft.
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