El Bagazo Tequila Reposado

El Bagazo runs one of the most genuinely circular operations in tequila. At Destilería El Bagazo (NOM 1677) in the mountain town of Mascota, deep in Jalisco's Sierra Occidental, every part of the agave finds a second life. The spent bagazo—the fibrous pulp left after crushing—fuels the steam ovens and pot stills, then gets recycled into corks and label paper. The tahona wheel that crushes the cooked piñas? Solar-powered. It's not a marketing angle. It's how they've always worked, building a distillery in a remote highland town where resources don't arrive on demand. This Reposado follows the same small-batch production as the Blanco, just with a few months in oak to settle the edges. 100% Agave Tequilana Blue Weber is cooked in traditional masonry ovens, crushed under the tahona with the fibers left in for fermentation in open-air plastic vats, then distilled twice—first in stainless steel, then in copper. After distillation, it rests in oak long enough to take on a soft golden color and a rounder, mellower body without losing the roasted agave, herbal greenness, and mineral core that defines the house style. At 42% ABV, it's got enough weight to hold up in a cocktail but drinks clean enough to sip. Expect cooked agave up front—earthy, slightly vegetal—with a hint of baking spice and vanilla from the oak, and that persistent mineral edge that comes from highland terroir and tahona crushing. The finish is smooth, lightly peppery, with just enough wood influence to round out the sharper notes without burying the agave character. It works beautifully in a Paloma or a Reposado Old Fashioned, or straight with a wedge of lime and a little salt. Pair it with grilled pork, carnitas, roasted poblanos, or anything with char and smoke to echo the agave's roasted backbone. This is small-production tequila made the long way, from a producer worth knowing.