The process is laborious and time-intensive. Once the agave plants have matured, the heart of the plant, known as the piña, is harvested and then roasted over firewood; a covering of river rocks and banana tree husks helps trap in the heat. After 24 hours of cooking, the agave turns sweet and honey-like. Once it’s cooled, a mule rolling around a tahona, a large stone wheel, crushes the agave so that the fibers and the sugars can separate. These juices ferment and then the distillation process begins. It’s the second distillation that creates Agua Mágica’s mezcal.