Wild Chinese Mezcal from La Luna Mezcal

The agave used for this batch was 100% wild Cupreata , which was cooked longer and was all capon. After cooking, it is left to rest for almost a week, more bagasse is used in the vats that are formulated, and all processes are treated more delicately, and the distillation cuts were different than other batches. Making our artisanal mezcal have the seal of La Luna mezcal

This Mezcal with flavors and aromas   of lemon, penca leaves, pine and resin leaves an expression to a special landscape.

About the Brand

Our love and appreciation of mezcal began more than 15 years ago, when very few people had a clue about mezcal, including us. It was by chance that one of our founders had a great experience with mezcal while attending a wedding in Oaxaca, and it sparked intrigue and curiosity to learn more about this mysterious spirit.

Back at this time in 2005, when most were drinking tequila, we decided to open the first mezcal bar in Mexico City: “La Botica.” This bar helped create a buzz about mezcal and was the first of many steps on our journey in the world of mezcal.

As other aficionados began to discover mezcals from Oaxaca, we were exploring the different agave regions of Mezcal’s Denomination of Origin (D.O.) – which is the largest in the world.

This helped us to learn about the different varietals of agaves, as well as the distinctive expressions from many maestros mezcaleros distilling artisanal mezcal.

When some mezcal brands had started to venture outside of Oaxaca, we were exploring less known agave regions, where excellent mezcal is produced, but cannot be legally named mezcal because it is outside of the Mezcal D.O.

We are proud to be able to present the first mezcal ever to be produced using only solar power, therefore having minimal carbon footprint & environmental impact. Moreover, the production method allows the agave flavors to shine and the mezcal features a clean, non-smoked, superb flavor profile.

Mezcal De Leyendas San Luis Potosi Maguey Verde Mezcal

Artisanal / Mezcal Blanco

100% Agave / A. Salmiana

42.1% Alc.Vol. / 750mL

Limited production

Aromas: Herbal, bell pepper and chile jalapeño.

Flavors: Slightly sweet, strong mineral notes, gently smoked.

About the Brand

SOMETHING INCREDIBLE HAPPENS WHEN A GROUP OF WOMEN COME TOGETHER TO CRAFT THEIR OWN ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR A DRINK THAT HAS BEEN PART OF OAXACAN LIFE FOR GENERATIONS.
Doña Vega is founded and produced by Mexican women who set out to make mezcal more accessible and approachable. For two years, through 73 recipes, 22 farms, and too many tastings to count, the Doña Vega team accomplished their goal of creating two exquisite varieties of mezcal. 

Doña Vega is produced in a small town outside Oaxaca – Santiago Matatlán by a family who has passed down the tradition for five generations.

Espadín is chosen for the large majority of all mezcal production in Mexico, however, Espadin Capon is quite rare. Doña Vega harvests the agave plant several years after it has ripened giving the final distillate a natural sweetness which is incomparable to other mezcals.

Hand-selected, handcrafted, and distilled to proof, our Doña Vega Espadín offers a mysterious and delicious drinking experience. Light smoke with undertones of fruit and a white pepper finish, yet remarkably smooth. Doña Vega Espadín is the perfect addition to any cocktail or perfect on its own.

Tasting Notes:

Bright and approachable with herbaceous notes. Roasted agave and min

The result is a mysterious and delicious drinking experience, with light smoke and a white pepper finish, yet remarkably smooth. Doña Vega Espadín is wildly versatile in cocktails and a true adventure on its own.

Brand Introduction 

A mission-driven, social impact-driven company, Erstwhile is a boutique agave spirits importer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Our mission: advocate for small, independent, family-owned producers who lack representation outside their local communities in Mexico; and bring their craft to mezcal lovers in international markets for the first time. We work closely with our partner producers and set them up for success.  No haggling.  No exclusivity contracts.  We guide producers through the complicated steps to export in their own names for the first time and cover necessary expenses including local attorneys, accountants, license fees, and more.  We absorb our producers’ marketing and supply chain costs as our own.  We believe in autonomy for producers, be it hiring their own workers or using their own bottling facility. We only step in if they want our help. We connect with our partner producers to share knowledge and help each other in production. Revenue from every Erstwhile bottle sold creates jobs in our partner producers’ and vendors’ local communities in Mexico.  Our producers hire their own team of local men and women, on their own terms. Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business.  Our team is multicultural and multilingual.  We are outspoken about elevating underrepresented voices in Mezcal and our industry.

Cucharillo Sotol (2021 Limited Edition)

This beautiful Cucharillo, distilled from wild Sotol plants harvested in Oaxaca's southern highlands, is the most aromatic and botanical from Erstwhile Mezcal's 2021 Limited Releases.  Oregano, lemon balm, and other wild mountain herbs that grow naturally in the same hills make a delightful bouquet in the mouth feel and flavor profile.  "Cucharillo" is the local name for the Sotol plant in this part of southern Oaxaca, Mexico.

Brand Introduction

A mission-driven, social impact-driven company, Erstwhile is a boutique agave spirits importer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Our mission: advocate for small, independent, family-owned producers who lack representation outside their local communities in Mexico; and bring their craft to mezcal lovers in international markets for the first time.

We work closely with our partner producers and set them up for success.  No haggling.  No exclusivity contracts.  We guide producers through the complicated steps to export in their own names for the first time, and cover necessary expenses including local attorneys, accountants, license fees, and more.  We absorb our producers’ marketing and supply chain costs as our own. 

We believe in autonomy for producers, be it hiring their own workers or using their own bottling facility. We only step in if they want our help. We connect our partner producers to share knowledge and help each other in production. 

Revenue from every Erstwhile bottle sold creates jobs in our partner producers’ and vendors’ local communities in Mexico.  Our producers hire their own team of local men and women, on their own terms. 

Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business.  Our team is multicultural and multilingual.  We are outspoken about elevating underrepresented voices in Mezcal and our industry. 

Erstwhile Espadin Mezcal 375 ml (2021 Ancestral Limited Edition)

Only 300 liters made.  This rare batch of Espadin – one of Erstwhile's 2021 Ancestral Limited Releases- marks Master Mezcalero Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín's debut in the United States and international markets.  Natural fermentation with wild native yeasts in sabino cypress wood vats.   Distilled exclusively in clay pots.  Crafted with love in Santa María Sola, Oaxaca. 

Brand Introduction

A mission-driven, social impact-driven company, Erstwhile is a boutique agave spirits importer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Our mission: advocate for small, independent, family-owned producers who lack representation outside their local communities in Mexico; and bring their craft to mezcal lovers in international markets for the first time. We work closely with our partner producers and set them up for success.  No haggling.  No exclusivity contracts. We guide producers through the complicated steps to export in their own names for the first time, and cover necessary expenses including local attorneys, accountants, license fees, and more.  We absorb our producers’ marketing and supply chain costs as our own. We believe in autonomy for producers, be it hiring their own workers or using their own bottling facility. We only step in if they want our help. We connect our partner producers to share knowledge and help each other in production. Revenue from every Erstwhile bottle sold creates jobs in our partner producers’ and vendors’ local communities in Mexico.  Our producers hire their own team of local men and women, on their own terms. Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business.  Our team is multicultural and multilingual.  We are outspoken about elevating underrepresented voices in Mezcal and our industry. Only 200 liters made.  This rare batch of Tobalá – one of Erstwhile's 2021 Ancestral Limited Releases- marks Master Mezcalero Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín's debut in the United States and international markets.  Natural fermentation with wild native yeasts in sabino cypress wood vats.   Distilled exclusively in clay pots.  Crafted with love in Santa María Sola, Oaxaca. 

Brand Introduction

A mission-driven, social impact-driven company, Erstwhile is a boutique agave spirits importer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Our mission: advocate for small, independent, family-owned producers who lack representation outside their local communities in Mexico; and bring their craft to mezcal lovers in international markets for the first time.

We work closely with our partner producers and set them up for success.  No haggling.  No exclusivity contracts.  We guide producers through the complicated steps to export in their own names for the first time, and cover necessary expenses including local attorneys, accountants, license fees, and more.  We absorb our producers’ marketing and supply chain costs as our own. We believe in autonomy for producers, be it hiring their own workers or using their own bottling facility. We only step in if they want our help. We connect our partner producers to share knowledge and help each other in production. Revenue from every Erstwhile bottle sold creates jobs in our partner producers’ and vendors’ local communities in Mexico.  Our producers hire their own team of local men and women, on their own terms. 

Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business.  Our team is multicultural and multilingual.  We are outspoken about elevating underrepresented voices in Mezcal and our industry. 

Brand Introduction

A mission-driven, social impact-driven company, Erstwhile is a boutique agave spirits importer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Our mission: advocate for small, independent, family-owned producers who lack representation outside their local communities in Mexico; and bring their craft to mezcal lovers in international markets for the first time.

We work closely with our partner producers and set them up for success.  No haggling.  No exclusivity contracts.  We guide producers through the complicated steps to export in their own names for the first time, and cover necessary expenses including local attorneys, accountants, license fees, and more.  We absorb our producers’ marketing and supply chain costs as our own. 

We believe in autonomy for producers, be it hiring their own workers or using their own bottling facility. We only step in if they want our help. We connect our partner producers to share knowledge and help each other in production. 

Revenue from every Erstwhile bottle sold creates jobs in our partner producers’ and vendors’ local communities in Mexico.  Our producers hire their own team of local men and women, on their own terms. 

Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business.  Our team is multicultural and multilingual.  We are outspoken about elevating underrepresented voices in Mezcal and our industry. 

 Erstwhile Madre Cuishe (2021 Ancestral Limited Edition)

Distilled in clay pots and quiote.  A legacy of the era when Mezcal production was illegal in Oaxaca, this extraordinary batch of Madrecuishe crafted by Silverio García Luis – a 2021 Ancestral Limited Release – rescues a García family tradition that had been lost for about 50 years.  In the 1960's and 1970's, mezcal production was illegal in Oaxaca and other parts of Mexico.  Don Lencho, Silverio's father, used a hollowed out quiote (the flowering stalk of agave plants) instead of a copper tube, to evade the military that would come and seize his distillation equipment by force.  The García family went back to using copper stills around 1980, as prohibition came to a gradual end in Oaxaca.  Now you too can partake in this unique distillation method and family tradition from the García family in Rancho Blanco Güilá, Oaxaca, available for the first time in the United States in partnership with Erstwhile Mezcal.

Brand Introduction

A mission-driven, social impact-driven company, Erstwhile is a boutique agave spirits importer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Our mission: advocate for small, independent, family-owned producers who lack representation outside their local communities in Mexico; and bring their craft to mezcal lovers in international markets for the first time.

We work closely with our partner producers and set them up for success.  No haggling.  No exclusivity contracts.  We guide producers through the complicated steps to export in their own names for the first time, and cover necessary expenses including local attorneys, accountants, license fees, and more.  We absorb our producers’ marketing and supply chain costs as our own. 

We believe in autonomy for producers, be it hiring their own workers or using their own bottling facility. We only step in if they want our help. We connect our partner producers to share knowledge and help each other in production. 

Revenue from every Erstwhile bottle sold creates jobs in our partner producers’ and vendors’ local communities in Mexico.  Our producers hire their own team of local men and women, on their own terms. 

Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business.  Our team is multicultural and multilingual.  We are outspoken about elevating underrepresented voices in Mezcal and our industry.

Brand Introduction

A mission-driven, social impact-driven company, Erstwhile is a boutique agave spirits importer based in Brooklyn, New York.  Our mission: advocate for small, independent, family-owned producers who lack representation outside their local communities in Mexico; and bring their craft to mezcal lovers in international markets for the first time.

We work closely with our partner producers and set them up for success.  No haggling.  No exclusivity contracts.  We guide producers through the complicated steps to export in their own names for the first time, and cover necessary expenses including local attorneys, accountants, license fees, and more.  We absorb our producers’ marketing and supply chain costs as our own. 

We believe in autonomy for producers, be it hiring their own workers or using their own bottling facility. We only step in if they want our help. We connect our partner producers to share knowledge and help each other in production. 

Revenue from every Erstwhile bottle sold creates jobs in our partner producers’ and vendors’ local communities in Mexico.  Our producers hire their own team of local men and women, on their own terms. 

Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business.  Our team is multicultural and multilingual.  We are outspoken about elevating underrepresented voices in Mezcal and our industry. 

Erstwhile Bacon Pechuga (2021 Limited Edition)

Must-have for any serious mezcal collector. This Bacon Pechuga Mezcal is an all-women collaboration and 2021 Limited Release between Erstwhile Mezcal and the Hernández Women Mezcaleras from Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca.  Only 300 liters made.  Ripe mango, guava, pineapple, and bacon locally sourced in Oaxaca are the star ingredients.  Three distillations total.  Bacon is slow-steamed in the still for the last two distillations, giving an amazing creamy and smooth texture to each sip.⁠

Our mezcal begins with a slow 90-minute drive outside of Puebla, Mexico. The dramatic terrain, rugged high-elevation mesas, and cyclical weather patterns are the perfect recipe for thriving agaves. Nestled in the foothills around the small village of Huehuetlán el Grande, the palenque and agave fields are at the center of the budding Poblano mezcal movement.

Our story starts with fourth-generation master-mezcalero Aarón Alva Sánchez. A true mezcal visionary, Aarón is a pioneer in the mezcal space, having played a central role in the tobalá renascence.
Aarón is an artist and a scientist who has spent his life mastering the end-to-end process of agave farming through mezcal production. Recognizing how difficult the tobalá agave is to cultivate, Aarón set out to develop a sustainable process for reproducing the finicky agave at scale. A true pioneer in the mezcal tradition, Aarón’s charismatic demeanor and legendary expertise command respect and admiration within the mezcal community.

Our mezcal begins with a slow 90-minute drive outside of Puebla, Mexico. The dramatic terrain, rugged high-elevation mesas, and cyclical weather patterns are the perfect recipe for thriving agaves.

Nestled in the foothills around the small village of Huehuetlán el Grande, the palenque and agave fields are at the center of the budding Poblano mezcal movement.

Our story starts with fourth-generation master-mezcalero Aarón Alva Sánchez. A true mezcal visionary, Aarón is a pioneer in the mezcal space, having played a central role in the tobalá renascence.

Aarón is an artist and a scientist who has spent his life mastering the end-to-end process of agave farming through mezcal production.

Recognizing how difficult the tobalá agave is to cultivate, Aarón set out to develop a sustainable process for reproducing the finicky agave at scale. A true pioneer in the mezcal tradition, Aarón’s charismatic demeanor and legendary expertise command respect and admiration within the mezcal community.

An homage to the popular history of Oaxacan clay-pot mezcal aged in brandy barrels, Don Amado Reposado uses exhausted brandy barrels from Pedro Domecq to create a nostalgic flavor of earthen-smoked maguey with the soft caramel and butterscotch notes of American white oak.

Familiar Mexican flavors of roasted corn slathered in butter, hints of vanilla and cinnamon, tropical fruit and dried chilies are balanced with a moderate amount of smoke leading into barrel notes of a satisfying, slightly spicy vanilla-driven extended finish.

• Master Distiller: Germán Bonifacio Arellanes
• Approx. 26 Bx Sugars from Angustofolia Haw Espadín maguey grown at 4,800' in municipio of Sta. Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
• Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) maguey earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
• Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
• Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
• Double distilled in burner heated ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water
• Six months aging in American White Oak formerly used for Pedro Domecq Mexican Brandy, bottled at 45% ABV

Burrito Fiestero Ensamble focuses on showcasing two of the state’s most emblematic agaves with a blend of Agave Cenizo (durangensis) and Agave Verde (cassispina). BF Ensamble has a well rounded body with sweet and spicy notes finishing with a smooth smokey and intense aftertaste. ideal for mezcaleros looking for an exciting intense experience.

Found on the lower areas of El Mezquital, Durango, Wild and scares, this huge maguey has very long and narrow leaves, with a green color. It has a 2 to 3.5m diameter and 1.5 to 2m height, delivering piñas that weigh 120kg in average.

Hand-crafted on a tropical hillside surrounded by fruit trees and rose bushes in the village of Santa Maria Albarradas. Agave: Wild Jabali. Naturally fermented and twice distilled in wood-fired copper stills. Nose of fresh figs, baked apples, and parmesan rind. Palate of bright acidity with notes of sweet violets and tarragon. Creamy finish with hints of sandalwood. ABV 47.

A perfected balance of rich agave and mesquite, this aged mezcal delivers a vigorous palate of sweet oak, dates and raisins and lands in an explosion of green vegetables and spicy cooked agave with a long-textured finish.

The Story 

Se Busca, which means ‘wanted’ in Spanish, is a tribute to the brave women of the Mexican Revolution who stood shoulder to shoulder with men in battle for a new constitution. As unapologetic as our mezcal, these women were the outlaws of their time, earning the titles of Adelitas and Soldaderas (women in the military). Se Busca mezcal is our tribute to their battle cry - a cry proving that in every revolution there is love

The Technique

word “mezcal” comes from Nahuatl mexcalli meaning “oven-cooked agave.” This spirit represents the history, culture and diversity of Mexico. Se Busca is a super-premium mezcal artesanal made from 100% Agave Augustifolia Espadin, produced in San Juan del Rio, a small town in Oaxaca, Mexico. Se Busca is skillfully distilled and aged at the family-owned Lopes Sosa palenque - an artisanal production that has been making this famed spirit for more than 50 years. Balancing rich cooked agave and mesquite, maestros mezcaleros Rodolfo and Mary Lopez Sosa handcraft this mezcal to embody the rebel spirit of the women of the Mexican Revolution, earning it the title “Se Busca”

Sweeter notes are found in this aged mezcal. Coconut, sweet almond and hazelnut can be uncovered in this complex spirit that expertly intertwines with notes of oak, cereal and mesquite delivering a rebellious bouquet.

The Código 1530 founders value the time-honored art of premium tequila and mezcal making and the natural evolution has brought them to join forces to refine and bring two new premium mezcals to the market: Ancestral Mezcal and Artesanal Mezcal. With an appreciation for the skill and patience needed to create an authentic, high-quality spirit, the Código 1530 mezcals have flavor profiles that are smooth on the palate, with subtle smoke to sip alone or layer into an interesting cocktail. Staying true to their centuries-old traditions, Código 1530 partnered with a small village of artisanal families who have been quietly making the finest mezcals in the world. Single-village production / sourcing from the San Juan del Rio region of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Tasting Notes
Sweet, earthy nose, honey, tobacco, salinity from clay, vanilla, cantaloupe, bright minerality, hazelnut.