Tobasiche is one of the most abundant varieties in our community of San Baltazar Guelavila, and a specialty of our master mezcalero, Leo Hernández. Its scientific name is Agave karwinskii and it belongs to the largest family of karwinskii’s seven subspecies.

The karwinskii agave is a microendemic species that grows only in the arid zones of the Tehuacán Valley and the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, where you’ll find our community. Unlike other magueys, Tobasiche grows in chalky soil with little rain, where the colonies formed by its shoots give shade and moisture to smaller plants. To reach maturation in our community, Tobasiche needs between 12 and 15 years.

This variety of agave has very dense leaves which form a tough plant that is oval in shape. The high density of leaves makes the harvest, or “jima” very labor-intensive. Tobasiche grows elongated, like a cassava, and is so fibrous that it takes twice as long as other magueys when crushed with the horse-drawn stone mill.

Grulani’s Tobasiche is distilled from 100% Agave karwinskii

Grulani’s Tobasiche is one of the specialties of our catalog. In order to create a single bottle of this special selection, master mezcalero Leo Hernández needs approximately 17 kg of maguey and 4-5 days of fermentation in pine wood vats, followed by two distillations.