6 days ago
Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Celebrates A Milestone
It's rare for a single brand to completely change the perception of a spirit in a market as large and varied as the United States. Yet starting 30 years ago, that's exactly what Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal did. Indeed, before they began selling their first bottles in the US, mezcal was generally perceived as tequila's rougher, smokier cousin; the worm that was sunk to the bottom of most bottles that were imported did nothing to help its reputation.
But Del Maguey was something different entirely: It not only was an accurate representation of the genuine quality that the spirit could achieve, but also paid an until-then-absent homage to the people and places responsible for its production.
Finally, mezcal began getting the respect it deserved in America—thanks to the vision and passion of two men.
Early Partner Steven Olson, who has been instrumental in the success of Del Maguey, at the 30th ... More anniversary celebration in Oaxaca earlier this year.
In the mid-1990s, Steven Olson, who would go on to become an early partner in Del Maguey, had moved back to New York after nearly a decade and a half as a respected restaurateur in Arizona. During his time there, he had been regularly traveling to Mexico. 'I would go down to Mexico, and I knew people in Nogales,' he told me. 'I would go to Nogales and these guys would have plastic bottles [filled with local agave spirit]But the proof, as always, was in the liquid. And as Olson began introducing great agave-based spirits to his guests—after they'd had their expected wine pairings, of course—he noticed that their reaction was universally positive.
Around the same time, artist and Del Maguey founder Ron Cooper had gone to Mexico and become fascinated with mezcal—not just the spirit itself, but the heritage and history it represented, the cultures it was tied to, and the production process itself. Cooper, Olson explained, considered the producers of it to be artists. 'Liquid art is what they made. And the process of making it, he considered performance art, and he wanted to showcase that.'
Initially, his idea was the build a palenque—the traditional distillery for mezcal—at the Venice Biennale. Cooper, Olson recalled, 'Wanted to show the performance art. And for me, I knew what they were doing, I know what kind of stills they're using. I've traveled all over the world. I've consulted in virtually every distillation…in the world, from France to Japan to the Philippines. And I'm like, 'You can't do that. That will never happen.' But what a great concept.'
The process of distilling Del Maguey's mezcals remains passionately artisanal, as at the palenque ... More above.
Ultimately, they did pull it off. 'One of the greatest moments of [Cooper's] life was when they did a retrospective at the Venice Biennale of the Venice Beach Light and Space Movement, which he was a huge player in,' Olson added. 'And we served Del Maguey.' It was a hit. Afterward, Olson traveled to Mexico to explore and learn more about the villages where this miraculous spirit was being produced. It was a journey that proved, in hindsight, to be an inflection point.
Now, three decades after Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal was founded, it hasn't just introduced an increasingly passionate swath of American consumers to the detail and complexity of mezcal, but also brought a new level of attention and respect to the places where it's produced.
Del Maguey, explained Michael Merolli, CEO of House of Tequila, isn't just about the exceptional liquid itself, but also, and just as importantly, "[How] every village brings a different touch. And every village is bringing a different touch because there are people behind it who are real artists.'
Maestro Palenquero Luis Carlos Vasquez at his palenque in Santa Caterina Minas. His efforts produce ... More profound mezcals.
He continued: 'Oaxaca, of course, is a city, but also it's a state. You have many villages… To be able to showcase [such variety] through liquid—I mean, that's really amazing.'
Today, Del Maguey's portfolio consists of 21 different varietals, including the bar-friendly Vida line, the Village Tradiciones collection, the Village Varietales Collection (which focuses on the expression of specific varieties of agave as experienced through the lens of particular villages), and the Village Especiales Collection (which includes pechuga and iberico versions). Incredibly, production is still based in the individual villages, and carried out by the families that have been doing it since long before Del Maguey existed.
The benefits have been mutual: Consistent, reliable sources of income have come to those families in particular and their villages in general, and Del Maguey has been able to guarantee the quality of consistent and deliciously idiosyncratic spirits, and then distribute them around the world. As a result, most of the families that are producing the spirits have remained multi-generational in nature, though with far more fair compensation as a result of their partnerships with the brand.
Earlier this year, Del Maguey held a celebration in Oaxaca to celebrate their 30th anniversary. The room was packed with the palenqueros and their families, the people who not only craft the spirit but who, as a result, have been able to share cherished and deeply important traditions with the world. And consumers, as a result, have been introduced a spirit as complex and profound as any.
It may seem like it was all a foregone conclusion now, but three decades ago, the idea of high-quality, village-specific mezcal was more or less anathema to its reputation in the United States. Del Maguey has changed that, and in the most delicious and respectful way imaginable.
Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal has changed the ways in which the spirit is perceived and consumed ... More across the United States.
