Alirio and his wife Anayibe Ortiz are members of Los Guacharos, and they are no strangers to the Small Batch off er list. Alirio has worked hard to specialize in varietals – his farm has pink bourbon, bourbon aji, caturra, sidra, chiroso, pacas, ombligón, red bourbon, colombia amarillo, and caturrón varieties, and he and Anayibe just planted laurina and wush wush- and they’re planning to plant sudan rume. We’re delighted that sons Fabian and Santiago are now also involved in processing, informed by their cupping.

This December 2025 purchase is fermented in cherry form in open tanks for around 16 hours, then depulped and fermented in drums (without water and oxygen) for 24 hours until it’s ready to wash. Fabian notes the following (translated from Spanish): “Sidra has more delicate notes, which is why it undergoes a shorter fermentation process than other varietals. When fermentation is prolonged, its profi le begins to change, and it loses its distinctive characteristics. Like Bourbon Ají, when it oxidizes excessively, it tends to lose its fl oral notes.”