REGION: Oaxaca

In Tlacolula, Oaxaca, Maestro mezcalero Gonzalo Martinez produces gin from local botanicals and the spent agave used in his family’s mezcal production. The resulting spirit speaks deeply of its provenance.

Since 1840, the Cortés family has been distilling maguey in the Zapotec town of Santiago Matatlán, gateway to the Oaxacan highlands: mezcal country. Besides being farmers and master distillers, Casa Cortés is the driving force behind the award winning mezcales of El Jolgorio & Nuestra Soledad.

Established in 2011 by sisters Maru and Claudia Turrent, Borroso was born of a love for ancestral traditions and a desire to sustainably promote the artisanal agricultural products of Oaxaca by working closely with mezcalero families who are actively preserving unique distilling methods.

Margarita Blas and her son Carlos Mendez produce Cruz de Fuego together, in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca. Agave is cooked in earthen ovens, milled with stone tahona and fermented before being distilled twice using copper pot stills.

Dakabend is produced using fresh sugarcane juice and piloncillo in the northeastern mountains of Oaxaca. The Sierra Norte environment is tropical, and the most common crops are coffee and cane. Dakabend was created as an avenue for local distillers to release their unique take on aguardiente.