Abasolo Ancestral Mexican Corn Whisky

Abasolo El Whisky De Mexico is crafted and distilled from 100% Mexican Cacahuazintle (kaka • wha • SINT • lay) corn, which has been cultivated and passed down for more than 200 generations by local farmers for its distinct, extraordinary flavor. Mexico is the birthplace of corn. Approximately 10,000 years ago, maize appeared as the fruit of the domestication of teosinte, a wild species with a very different appearance from today’s maize, cultivated by the first farmers of Mesoamerica. More than just a crop, corn is the primary food base of all indigenous Mexican culture and a foundational element and valued heirloom in the identity of the country.

This corn only grows at more than 7,000 feet above sea level and is found exclusively in elevated valleys throughout the States of Mexico, Tlaxcala, and Puebla. Cacahuazintle has large, bulky kernels and is typically used to make pozole, esquites, and cornbread when the corn is tender. Unlike GMO corn hybrids, this ancestral corn has been passed down for generations and cultivated for its taste instead of its commercial productivity. Destilería Abasolo works directly with farmers located in the mountainous areas of the State of Mexico.

Abasolo uncovers the deepest flavors of ancestral corn through nixtamalization, a 4,000-year-old cooking technique never before used in whisky production, but fundamental in preparing corn as food in Mexico. Nixtamalization is a process for the preparation of corn, or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, washed, and then hulled. This makes the grain more easily ground, its nutritional value is increased, flavor and aroma are improved, and mycotoxins are reduced.

For distillation, they use pot stills, and is then matured in new toasted and used oak casks in an open warehouse with a light roof and no walls where there are temperature fluctuations.

Abasolo Distillery is located northwest of Mexico City in Jilotepec de Molina Enríquez.