Once the piñas are collected, they are cut into several pieces before being steamed in a craft oven. The maestro mezcalero arranges different layers in this conical oven dug underground: wood set ablaze, volcanic or river rocks to drive the heat, piña chunks covered with bagazo (agave fibres from previous distillations) and finally a layer of earth in order to muffle the cooking, which will last two to four days. This cooking method gives mezcal its typical earthy and smoky flavour. Through the cooking process, the agaves’ sugars are transformed into fermentable sugars.

Once the piñas are cooked, they are cut into smaller pieces in order to be ground. El Rey Zapoteco uses a tahona chilena (round millstone pulled by a horse or a donkey). The maestro mezcalero then retrieves the agave juice and fibres (bagazo) in order to proceed with the fermentation.

The agave juice and fibres are placed in wood vats (usually oak or pine) that have a capacity of approximately 1,000 kg each. Well water is then added to the vats. The fermentation is accomplished thanks to the sugars contained in the agaves’ hearts, the natural yeast and the microorganisms living in the palenque (distillery). This step can last between 7 and 20 days, depending on the season of the year and on the geographic location. The surrounding environment has a big influence on the mezcal’s final taste.

El Rey Zapoteco uses a copper still distillation. The bagazo (agave fibres) and the tepache (fermented agave must) are placed at the bottom of the vat and then heated with firewood in order to separate the volatile elements (alcohols) from the solid elements. Alcohol vapours travel through a swan neck and into a coil. When coming in contact with water, the coil transforms the alcohol vapours into the ancestral elixir called mezcal. The maestro mezcalero then proceeds to a second distillation in order to obtain a mezcal that is suitable for consumption.