Mezcaleros in Oaxaca roasting some agave (plus a bonus cocktail)

I'd like to share a picture from the Mezcal El Silencio distillery in Oaxaca, Mexico for #smartphonephotography Saturday.

After the agave hearts are harvested (also refered to as the agave piñas), they are placed in a fire pit, buried with dirt, and then covered with a tarp and left to roast for a few days. This is what gives many mezcals their signature smokey taste. After roasting the agave hearts are crushed using a large stone wheel to extract the juices and put in large wooden tanks to ferment. The fermented juice (which usually has the alcoholic content of a lighter beer) is put into old fashioned clay or copper pot stills.

As a bonus, here's a mezcal cocktail for you:

St. Ann Tangeaux:
1.5 oz Mezcal El Silencio
.75 oz Averna Amaro
.75 oz fresh lemon juice
.25 oz rich demerara syrup
3 generous dashes Bittemen's Hellfire Habanero shrub
3 basil leaves
1 fresh strawberry

Muddle the strawberry and basil in a cocktail shaker. Add the other ingredients and shake with ice. Double strain over fresh ice and garnish with a sprig of fresh basil.
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