Capón is a technique, not an agave variety. The word means "castrated" — and what it refers to is the deliberate cutting of the agave's quiote, the tall flowering stalk that the plant sends up when it's ready to reproduce and die.
Normally, when an agave flowers, it channels all its remaining energy into the stalk and the seeds at its tip. The piña — the starchy heart used to make mezcal — becomes depleted. By cutting the quiote before it blooms, the maestro forces the plant to redirect that energy back into the piña, swelling it with concentrated sugars.
The result is a richer, sweeter, more complex spirit than a standard espadín. Where ordinary espadín is clean and straightforward, capón has layers — the citrus is brighter, the chocolate notes are deeper, and there's a plummy sweetness on the finish that lingers.
Traditional stone-wheel crushing at Felipe Garcia's palenque in San Simón Almolongas, where capón agave is processed by hand.
Felipe Garcia made this expression in March 2022 from agaves he harvested himself in the hills around San Simón Almolongas. The piñas were pit-roasted over volcanic rock for three days, crushed by tahona, fermented in open-air pine vats with no added yeast, and distilled twice in his copper alembic still.
The batch produced 180 litres. Of those, 158 bottles have come to the UK. When they're gone, there may not be another batch of capón for some time — it depends on when the next agaves are ready, and whether Felipe decides to cut the quiote again.
"The capón gives you something the regular espadín doesn't. You can taste the extra time. You can taste the decision."
