Cooking

For six hours beginning at dawn, burning wood warms the river stones heating the inside of the oven. Then they are covered with a damp coating of maguey fibers, on top of which are placed the piñas (the heart of the maguey) in the shape of a pyramid. Finally, everything is covered with a layer of empty sacks and sealed in the underground oven for three days.

Grinding

Once the maguey is removed from the warm interior of the earth and cooled, it is crushed in a stone mill, where Samson the horse pulls a quarry rock wheel. The action of the quarry rock wheel releases the sugars and juices that later become alcohol.

Fermentation

The pulp and juices are placed in wooden vats, where fermentation takes place naturally. Over six days, the yeast does its work and converts sugar into alcohol. At Los Danzantes Distillery, fermentation happens with classical music playing in the background, so the yeast can absorb good vibrations while it does its work. After passing the five senses test by our master mezcalero, we move on to the distillation process.

Distillation

The fibers and tepache (a drink made from fermented pineapple juice) are placed in the copper still to begin the double distillation process. During the first distillation we separate solids and other impurities from the liquids to obtain what we call ordinario, which is between 25-30% alcohol. During the second distillation, we refine the product, separating the ends, body, and tails, and extracting the aroma and flavors produced during fermentation. Then, a master mezcalero uses a technique called veneciar – with the help of a hollow cane and a calabash bowl – to measure the alcohol content. He does this by observing the shape, size and duration of ‘pearling’, a traditional technique used to measure alcohol content.

Our Vision:

We offer a variety of mezcal products based on quality services, raising Mexicans’ awareness about their heritage and identity as well as advancing prosperity for families involved in this sustainable value chain.

Our Mission:

With clearly defined goals, we value the strengths of the individuals involved in the production process through our commitment to transparency in management and continuous process improvement. We emphasize the importance of creativity, communication, and ongoing organizational development in supporting harmonious teamwork.

Los Danzantes Distillery Warehouse

Our warehouse is located in the town of Unión Zapata, Oaxaca – a location where a number of activities take place that are essential to the work that goes on daily at Los Danzantes Distillery.

Our bottling and labeling areas are located here, and these processes are based on our philosophy of supporting artisanal methods. Bottling and labeling are done by hand by a team of women from Santiago Matatlán and Unión Zapata. When you see a bottle of Los Danzantes or Alipús mezcal you can appreciate the meticulous effort that employees take each day to produce an exceptional end product.

Outside the warehouse is our small ethnobotanical garden where we have various species of maguey as well as some special species used to make mezcal in a number of regions in the state of Oaxaca. We also have a small nursery with some of the maguey species from Proyecto Maguey that we raise in collaboration with the University of Chapingo in Zimatlán, Oaxaca and the Yucatán Scientific Research Center.