EDELIA RUIZ
Her grandmother, Sabina Ruiz, passed on the knowledge of viche to her mother, Apolinaria Ruiz, and Maestra Edelia learned from them in her youth. From an early age, she watched her mother perform this laborious work and got involved in the milling. She remembers how she would wake up in the early morning to work before bathing and heading to school. Edelia is a third-generation viche master, carrying the legacy, resilience, and inherent female strength of this ancestral distillate.
Maestra Edelia is a mother of seven children, most of whom live in the city. She produces Viche with the help of her neighbors, husband, and youngest daughter, Fidelina. Fidelina is also the mother of Edelia's youngest granddaughter, Nikole. Edelia loves her work and hopes that Viche’s production will allow her descendants to explore different horizons and provide them with opportunities she could not have. With Viche, she aims to propel everyone towards a prosperous future.
Maestra Edelia and her family start their Viche sessions at 5 a.m. and harvest sugarcane in the field until returning at 4 p.m. The second day begins at 4 a.m. and is dedicated to milling the sugarcane and cooking it to ferment the juice, which is stored for 15 days to a month. Once the juice reaches the ideal fermentation point, the Viche is distilled for up to three days.
Niña Nikole Viche is a way to honor the legacy of the women in Edelia's family for future generations.
TECHNICAL DATA SHEET
Viche Master: Edelia Ruiz
Designation of Origin: San Bernardo de Saija - Timbiquí, Cauca
Type of sugarcane: Xport cane.
Type of milling: Traditional with wooden mill.
Fermentation time: 15 days to 1 month.
Type of distillation: Traditional still.
Type of still: White aluminum.
Alcohol content: 44%.
TASTING NOTES
Niña Nikole es el viche travieso de La Vichería, de burbujas apretadas y abundantes que estallan rápidamente al ser servido.
On the nose: Su aroma silvestre recuerda a la selva fresca del Cauca por la mañana, cuando las plantas se abren, y al rico guarapo. Es frutal y no golpea la nariz.
En boca: Sumamente ahumado y sedoso, con una complejidad de innumerables notas de sabor, es reconocido por su gran personalidad, como la Maestra Edelia. Quema delicadamente la boca y el pecho, jugando con los sentidos..
Finish: Largo, con una sensación cálida que desaparece lentamente.
Niña Nikole
$ 98.000
Viche master: Edelia Ruiz
Designation of Origin: Santa Rosa de Saija – Timbiquí, Cauca