Wahaka Mezcal Company Profile

WAHAKA® MEZCAL
Company Profile
BEGIN THE JOURNEY
Wahaka® Mezcal is artisanal, small-batch mezcal produced by a Zapotec family in San Dionisio Ocotepec, a
region blessed with the most sugar-rich varieties of agave in Oaxaca, Mexico, the heart of mezcal country. Our
products feature a menagerie of multi-sensory experiences, and have been recognized as some of the best mezcales in the market.
Wahaka Mezcal comes in five main varieties. Our Traditional Line includes Wahaka Mezcal Joven Espadín, an
unaged mezcal made using organic, estate-farmed Espadín agave, and Wahaka Mezcal Reposado con Gusano, its
aged counterpart, complete with the traditional and flavorful agave worm. The Signature Line features mezcales
distilled from wild agave varieties, and includes Wahaka Mezcal Joven Madre Cuishe, Wahaka Mezcal Joven
Tobalá, and Wahaka Mezcal Joven Ensamble. In addition to the five regular varieties, Starting in 2014, Wahaka
Mezcal has also produced Limited Edition mezcales of about 300 liters (450 bottles), the first being two vegetarian “pechugas,” the Wahaka Mezcal Espadín Manzanita and the Wahaka Mezcal Espadín Botaniko.
All of our products are 100% agave, 100% organic and 100% artisanal.
JOIN THE AGAVE EVOLUTION
“Mezcal is one of the world’s great spirits: complex,
gorgeous and endlessly intriguing. Mezcal is little known,
however, and even less understood, but paradoxically
has been anointed in the last few years as the Next Big
Thing.” – New York Times
As one of the world’s oldest distilled spirits, mezcal has
been enjoyed by millions of people for hundreds of
years. Despite its long history in Mexico, mezcal has just
recently started to gain much-deserved recognition, and
earn respect next to its better-known relative, tequila.
In the past five years, exports of mezcal have surged –
growing at least 30% year over year.
So, what is this spirit that’s capturing the hearts of spirits enthusiasts around the world?
Mezcal can be produced using any of more than thirty different agave types, all of which feature their own flavor
profiles, aromas and properties. Unlike many other spirits, mezcal can be crafted using pure expressions of each
agave, or blended with each other to create new mezcal varieties. These endless possibilities make mezcal exploration a life-long pursuit – a unique characteristic that’s attracted the attention and devotion of mixologists,
chefs, food and beverage entrepreneurs, and spirits enthusiasts alike. With its growing popularity worldwide, its
no wonder that mezcal is appearing more and more on cocktail menus, with food pairings, and on the shelves of
the coveted personal collection of the world’s most reputable spirits enthusiasts.
The agave evolution has started. Are you in?
Find us online:
www.wahakamezcal.com | www.facebook.com/wahakamezcal | @wahakamezcal
WAHAKA® MEZCAL
Company Profile
INTRODUCING: WAHAKA MEZCAL
100% Artisanal. Using traditional distilling processes with more than
400 years of history behind them, all of our products are crafted by
Master Distiller or Maestro Mezcalero, Alberto “Beto” Morales Mendez. His family has relentlessly perfected the art of distilling mezcal
since even before the times of “El Huehuete” (“Wise Man” in Zapotec), Maestro Alberto’s great-great-grandfather. Beto’s obsession to
obtain the perfect mezcal runs in his veins, and he is a proud shareholder in Wahaka Mezcal.
All of our spirits are produced using the same distilling techniques that have been passed down through generations of Zapotec families. Unlike other spirits that choose to take advantage of new industrial processes, we place
great emphasis on preserving the authenticity of mezcal and its traditions, producing it almost exactly as our
ancestors did hundreds of years ago.
100% Agave. Wahaka Mezcal is crafted using three different varieties of agave: the estate farmed Espadín agave,
the most common agave used in the production of mezcal in Oaxaca; the Madre Cuishe, a lowland wild agave;
and the Tobalá, a highland wild agave.
Our estate includes countless acres of well-tended Espadín agave fields, which are owned exclusively by the our
partners and shareholders. Because the agave used in Wahaka Mezcal are harvested after about seven or eight
years of maturation, our spirits are truly a labor of love and patience.
100% Organic. Wahaka Mezcal only uses sustainable and organic farming and harvesting techniques to produce our small-batch mezcales. Our earth-conscience practices
have received organic certifications from Mayacert and from the USDA. In choosing to
use traditional processes to craft our mezcal rather than industrial substitutes, we ensure
that our methodologies as well as our mezcal are good for the earth. Our mezcal is also
certified by the Consejo Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad de Mezcal, A.C. (Comercam), Mexico’s governing body for the production and control of mezcal.
Find us online:
www.wahakamezcal.com | www.facebook.com/wahakamezcal | @wahakamezcal
WAHAKA® MEZCAL
Company Profile
THE WAHAKA MEZCAL STORY
Launched in August 2011, Wahaka Mezcal is the product of several long-time friends, who attended grade
school together in Mexico City, and decided to turn their passion for mezcal into an internationally recognized
spirit brand. After much research, endless days of traveling, and countless mezcal tastings all over Oaxaca, these
amigos found a home in San Dionisio Ocotepec and had immediate chemistry with Maestro Alberto “Beto”
Morales Mendez and his family. They then decided to band together with the Morales family not only to grow
their idea to an award-winning product, but also to create a new mezcal brand that focuses on contributing and
supporting the communitiy that helps to produce the product, as well as the sustainability of the agaves used. It
was at this moment that Wahaka Mezcal was born.
Today, young Maestro Beto is the principal and only author of the Wahaka Mezcal label, managing the family’s
stills and overseeing the process from harvest to market. His efforts bore fruit early on, as Wahaka Mezcal has
won countless national and international spirits awards, including a Double Gold for the Joven Tobalá at the
San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2012, four Silver Medals at the 2011 New York International Spirits
Competition, and recognition in the 2012 Ultimate Spirits Challenge.
Fundación Agaves Silvestres
As part of its attempts at sustainability, Wahaka Mezcal runs a sister non-profit organization called Fundación
Agaves Silvestres whose mission is to reforest wild agaves in the hills surrounding San Dionisio Ocotepec, home
of Wahaka Mezcal’s distillery. Wild agaves used for mezcal are cut down before they have a chance to reproduce
so reforestation is imperative if we want to continue enjoying these mezcales. To fund the nursery and reforestation projects, the Foundation imports ultra small-batch mezcales from mezcaleros around Mexico under the
“Vino de Mezcal” moniker. See more at http://www.agavessilvestres.org
So, what are you waiting for? Begin the journey with the Spirit of Oaxaca™.
The Spirit of Oaxaca ™
Find us online:
www.wahakamezcal.com | www.facebook.com/wahakamezcal | @wahakamezcal