Agave Spirits Futures

This pandemic is causing pain and suffering in many forms. We’d expected it to hit the rural communities of Oaxaca especially hard, but … so far, we’re not hearing of more than a handful of infections outside of the cities. What we are hearing of is economic hardships. Communities that have been relying on the economic boost of tourists are facing financial strains. Mezcaleros who had been making agave spirits in anticipation of tourists coming and purchasing those spirits … they are sitting on a lot of unsold deliciousness. If you’re game to purchase some of that deliciousness in anticipation of picking it up when you can return — in essence, buying futures — here’s an opportunity to do that. We have set up a few different pages that allow you to make these purchases direct from the producers, or through an intermediary in Mexico who the producers have entrusted. To be very clear about this:

(1) Your money is going directly to the PayPal account of the mezcaleros or the intermediary they selected, not to SACRED.

(2) This does not constitute a donation to SACRED.

(3) The spirits you purchase will not be shipped to you. You must pick up your purchases from the mezcalero, or make arrangements with the mezcalero or the intermediary. If you need help making the connection, reach out to us through our Contact page.

(4) Because the money is going direct, you can’t just put in one order, if you want to pull from the different lists.

(5) When you go to pay, the top button option is if you want to pay with a PayPal account -- the bottom button allows you to use your credit card. 

(6) Don’t see what you’re looking for here? Check back frequently -- and check out a similar program from Marco Ochoa and Mezcouting. 

South of centro

Randall Stockton has been leading agave spirits fans through Oaxaca for years as part of Alvin Starkman’s beloved and popular Mezcal Educational Tours. When Randall saw what we had set up for Lalo and crew in Santa Catarina Minas, he asked if we could help him do the same for some of the mezcaleros he regularly visits. So, of course! This list features five mezcaleros from five communities that wrap around the southern part of Oaxaca City. Check it out!

miahuatlan

Ageo Cortes and Emanuel Ramos are two young fathers make their living making heritage agave spirits. But there's little living to be made now that the world has shut down. So we're trying to help Ageo and Emanuel with this futures idea: You pay them now, directly, via PayPal, for their agave spirits. Then you head down to Miahuatlan as soon as the pandemic breaks and you pick up your purchases. It's a gift to them, giving them money when they really need it. And it's a gift to you, in the form of a promise for a trip to Oaxaca.

Ageo and Emanuel work in very similar ways: they roast their agave underground in stone-lined earthen ovens; mill using a stone wheel pulled by an ox; ferment open-air in wooden barrels; distill in wood-fired copper pot stills with a refrescadora.