Erstwhile
Erstwhile is a curator project releasing small-batch limited editions. Only Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín's 2021 Ancestral LE bottlings are clay-pot distilled. Silverio García Luis (Rancho Blanco Güilá) uses hollowed agave quiote (flowering stalks) for distillation — a distinct traditional method that's not clay pot, so those bottles are not starred despite being ancestral in spirit.
Erstwhile is a small direct-to-consumer curator project. The Ancestral Limited Edition series splits between two maestros with two different traditional methods:
- Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín (Santa María Sola) — Filipino-style clay pot stills. Per erstwhilemezcal.com: “Distilled exclusively in Filipino-style stills made with clay pots.” His Espadín 2021, Tobalá 2021, and Arroqueño-Espadín Ensamble 2021 are all clay-pot ancestral. Starred.
- Silverio García Luis (Rancho Blanco Güilá) — hollowed agave quiote (flowering stalks) as stills. This is a genuinely archaic method — the still is entirely wood — but it’s not clay pot, so his bottles (Madrecuishe, Tepeztate, Tobalá 2023, Jabalí 2023) are not starred here despite meeting other ancestral criteria.
Standard Erstwhile line (Espadín, Cucharillo Sotol, Henequén, pechugas) is copper-pot artesanal.
Sources
Catalog
12 SKUs — 0 ancestral ★Bottles from this producer we've verified in US distribution — each row cites a source. ★ marks true ancestral: the cited source must explicitly state both clay-pot distillation AND wooden-mallet or tahona milling for this specific bottle. Producer-line statements ("our whole line uses X") do not qualify — verification must be per-bottle. Copper-distilled, shredder-milled, or citation-gap bottles are listed but not starred.
| Bottle | Maestro | Agave | Still | Mill | ABV | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erstwhile Espadín (standard) | — | Espadín | Copper | Tahona | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Cucharillo (Sotol) — 2021 LE Sotol, not mezcal. Copper still typical of sotol production. | — | Dasylirion (sotol, non-agave) | Copper | Tahona | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Espadín Ancestral 2021 LE Santa María Sola, Oaxaca. Filipino-style clay pots. 300 liters produced. | Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín | Espadín | Clay pot | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Tobalá Ancestral 2021 LE Clay pot verified via producer statement (source URL). Milling recorded as mazo per Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín's documented method but not stated per-bottle on any accessible URL. | Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín | Tobalá | Clay pot | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Arroqueño-Espadín Ensamble Ancestral 2021 LE Clay pot verified via producer statement (source URL). Milling recorded as mazo per Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín's documented method but not stated per-bottle on any accessible URL. | Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín | Arroqueño, Espadín | Clay pot | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Madrecuishe Ancestral LE Rancho Blanco Güilá. Distilled in a hand-hollowed agave quiote (flowering stalk) — not clay pot. Traditional ancestral method using an all-wood still; not starred because star criterion is strict clay pot. | Silverio García Luis | Madrecuishe | Quiote (agave stalk) | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Tepeztate Ancestral LE Quiote (agave-stalk) still — not clay pot. | Silverio García Luis | Tepeztate | Quiote (agave stalk) | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Tobalá Ancestral 2023 LE Silverio's quiote-still tradition. | Silverio García Luis | Tobalá | Quiote (agave stalk) | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Jabalí Ancestral 2023 LE Silverio's quiote-still tradition. | Silverio García Luis | Jabalí | Quiote (agave stalk) | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Henequén 2018 LE | Juan Hernández Méndez | Henequén | Copper | Tahona | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Turkey Mole Negro Pechuga 2023 LE | Epifania Gómez + Silverio García | Espadín + mole ingredients | Copper | Tahona | — | verify → |
| Erstwhile Five-Spice Duck Pechuga 2023 LE | Epifania Gómez + Silverio García | Espadín + spice + duck | Copper | Tahona | — | verify → |