Turkey Mole Negro Pechuga (2023 Limited Edition)

The Backstory

The season of gratitude, family, and togetherness is just around the corner. Here are Erstwhile Mezcal, we are thrilled to bring you a delectable treat to celebrate Thanksgiving and all your holiday feasts with rich flavors, unforgettable memories, and plenty of love.

Introducing Turkey Mole Negro Pechuga, a 2023 limited release. This 500-liter batch is an experimental collaboration between Erstwhile and Epifania Gómez & Silverio García, our friends and long-time partner producers hailing from Rancho Blanco Güilá, Oaxaca. 

Making mezcal at Palenque Don Lencho – Silverio & Epifania’s family distillery named in honor of Silverio’s father – is always a true team effort involving the whole extended family. This batch was no exception. Check out the videos and photos to see the making of this Thanksgiving Turkey Pechuga in action!

This Turkey Mole Negro Pechuga combines the rich, complex flavors of mole negro – an Oaxacan classic – with classic Thanksgiving ingredients like turkey, sweet potato, cranberry, and more.  

We’ve taken whole turkeys that are locally raised in Rancho Blanco Güilá, and marinated the turkeys in mole negro overnight for maximum flavor before suspending them in the stills. 

Next, we added a generous cornucopia of fruits that were ripe and in season at the time of distillation, as well as herbs and spices commonly used in both Oaxacan and North American Thanksgiving recipes.

Seasonal fruits used in this Thanksgiving Turkey Mole Negro Pechuga include: sweet potatoes, cranberries, pineapples, mangos, nanches, plums, and plantains. We also added fresh herbs and spices: ginger, cloves, cinnamon, rosemary, bay leaf, basil, cloves, bay leaves, cilantro, thyme, and black pepper.

Pechuga, the Spanish word for “breast” (of chicken and other fowls), refers to a style of mezcal production where meat, fruits, and spices are used in the distillation process.  Each producer has her own preferred ingredients, thereby yielding a rich diversity of flavor and texture. 

Most mezcals are distilled at least twice.  Pechuga mezcals often pass through a third distillation, purifying the spirit further.  In the case of our Thanksgiving Turkey Mole Negro Pechuga, the turkey was suspended inside – without touching the distillate at the bottom – of the still during the third distillation. Fruits, herbs and spices were placed directly in the still during the third distillation.  The steam from the boiling distillate was crucial, slowly “sweating” the turkey and releasing its oils to blend with the fruits, herbs and spices.