Suddenly mezcal is everywhere…

The world's best-kept secret isn't a secret anymore. And what makes it so special?

A century and a half ago, all spirits were made by hand. Then the industrial revolution came along, and suddenly these were all these tools that made it easy — or at least easier — to make everything. Including spirits. But in rural communities around Mexico, they didn't adopt these new technologies as readily as the rest of the world. Instead of using new solutions to make spirits in a more efficient way, many of these communities instead continued using the old ways — using their five senses to determine when something was ready. For these people, it wasn't about doing things efficiently — it was about getting a better result.

That multi-generational wisdom, and that multi-generational skills development, is what built this booming international market for mezcal. But the result of this boom is that the small, multi-generational families that are the “legend” of mezcal are at risk of losing the agave they need to make their spirits.

Multi-national companies are investing in large mezcal brands, to fulfill the growing international demand. And the only way to protect their investments is to secure agave for the future. With whiskey or wine or vodka, the primary ingredient is something that grows in a season: grains and grapes, primarily. But with mezcal, the primary ingredient is agave, which takes anywhere from four to 40 years to be harvested. That means the large companies — understandably — are forced to buy up as many plants as they can, or risk finding themselves faced without enough agave to fulfill future demand.

Many of the small families are finding that the agave farmers they used to be able to rely on are now owned or contracted by the multi-national corporations. That puts their family history — their family heritage — at risk.

At SACRED, we’re dedicated to preserving these small families, these rural communities, and helping them to ensure they can continue doing things the way they want to do them. Every dollar you donate this #GivingTuesday will go toward purchasing baby agave plants that will be gifted to these small families. Your support until noon today will ensure that small producers in Miahuatlan, San Baltazar Chichicapam, Santa Maria Ixcatlan, and other Oaxacan communities have a future source of Tobala agave.

We purchase the plants from Telesecundaria El Manantial, a middle school in Zaachila, Oaxaca, that serves families who live on the largest waste dump site in the state. We pay two to three times the going rate — a dollar for each seedling — to help sustain the school. Then we gift the seedlings to mezcaleros around Oaxaca, who will nurture them to maturity for eight to 14 years. Join our commitment to supporting these rural families. Donate today and set up a fundraiser to share our mission with your network. The more people who care, the greater impact we can all have.