Ah, the humble garrafón. This describes the ubiquitous blue plastic drinking water containers found in most homes and hotels–essentially a plastic carboy.
Garrafón may also refer to the all-purpose plastic jugs used for water, mezcal, fuel, and any other liquid that plays nice with plastic. Their multipurpose uses speak volumes about the subterranean factors that actually make Mexico function.
Garrafónes may be used to capture and temporarily store ordinario before it’s distilled for a second time. The containers are also sometimes used to caputre and store finished mezcal.
The fact that the garrafón has been elevated to folk art status (see photo below) also speaks volumes about how mezcal lovers fetishize anything involved in creating their favored tipple.
Read more of our entries in the Mezcalistas Encyclopedia of Mezcal and email us questions or ideas for future entries.
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