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Mezcal is the little spirit that could. Once (erroneously) seen as a lesser sibling to tequila, drinkers are increasingly coming to appreciate mezcal as something that can be smoky and sophisticated. And they’re buying the stuff by the cask. The boom had to start somewhere, and the brand that helped establish it is undoubtedly Del Maguey, which cracked open the artisanal mezcal category in 1995.
With Del Maguey celebrating its 30th anniversary, it’s worth raising a glass to the green bottle that made Del Maguey a cocktail bar staple, Vida Clásico. Introduced in 2010, it’s not Del Maguey’s first expression, but it’s the one that heralded a mezcal revolution.
With a retail price of roughly $40, and sometimes less, it’s an affordable entry into the world of mezcal, and one that was produced with mixing in mind. It’s unapologetically smoky, making it the ideal spirit for adding some bite to a split base margarita or paloma.
Of course, the credit for making mezcal is owed to the mezcaleros, many of whom have grown and distilled agave on small family farms for generations. Steve Olson, Del Maguey’s co-founder, is quick to emphasize this fact. “It was always an undiscussed, unwritten rule amongst us that became part of our mantra that, not only will we never tell [the mezcaleros] how to make it, but we’ll never demand supply.”
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That means that the process can be painstaking, all for the sake of honoring tradition. If you look at Del Maguey’s offerings, you’ll notice that they have a lot of expressions. That’s because each expression comes from a single village, each with a slightly different way of doing things, whether it’s a wood-fired copper still or milling the piñas with a wooden bat.
The slow process is part of the sustainability picture for the brand. “You know, [when we think of sustainability] we automatically think of the land, or we think of the environment,” said Olson. “But all along the way, it’s social, economic, political. Cultural sustainability was part and parcel of what we were doing because that was the most important. It’s the people.”
