Over the past two years, we've beenv harvesting agave in the Klein Karoo to bring brands a unique 'tequila' offering – but here, we call it Karoo agave.
The Klein Karoo is home to Americana agave, which grows sustainably in the semi-desert. Our Karoo agave is 100% certified organic and made by hand using the traditional Mexican mezcal recipe. It's a meticulous process that takes time, experience, and heavy manual work.
Over the past two years, we've beenv harvesting agave in the Klein Karoo to bring brands a unique 'tequila' offering – but here, we call it Karoo agave.
The Klein Karoo is home to Americana agave, which grows sustainably in the semi-desert. Our Karoo agave is 100% certified organic and made by hand using the traditional Mexican mezcal recipe. It's a meticulous process that takes time, experience, and heavy manual work.
After growing for fiveto eight years, we harvest the mature Americana agave by cutting itsleaves and removing the piña. Piña means pineapple – it's the heart of the agave, which creates agave nectar. Ripe piñas can weigh between 40 to 100 kg!
We cut the piñas in halves and quarters and place them in a brick fire pit covered with soil. After three days of slow baking, the starch-like sap is converted into fermentable sugars.
The piñas are left to cool down. It's then crushed and squeezed in a basket press to extract the sweet agave juice.
The shredded agave is now ready to be converted into alcohol using mountain spring water and yeast. Fermentation takes three to five days, and the result is called mosto.
The mosto reaches our copper pot still forfirst distillation – an important step to extract fruity and vegetal flavours.It's then double-distilled in our hybrid distillation steel column for a clean, smooth finish.
We age the Karoo Agave in American oak barrels for a softer mouthfeel and enhanced character.
Our team excels in creating small-batch craft spirits, distillery set-ups, recipe development, market mentoring, consultation, and private labels. Contact us now to embark on the exciting journey of creating your distilled spirit brand.
