Mezcal Vago Ensamble REY 49.9 % 700ml

Mezcal Vago began in 2012 when Judah Kuper, on a visit to a hospital in Oaxaca, met a nurse whose father — Aquilino García — was a subsistence farmer in the remote mountain village of Candelaria Yegolé who also distilled mezcal. Judah and his partner Dylan Sloan teamed up with Aquilino to commercialise the family mezcal. The García family had been making artisanal mezcal for at least five generations across the same palenque (mezcal-distillation site). Aquilino's sons Temo and Mateo García now run the family side of the operation; Aquilino has stepped back from active production.

Vago expanded beyond the original García family operation to a multi-maestro model. Three other mezcaleros now contribute their own distinct production styles to the brand: Salomón Rey Rodriguez ('Tío Rey') in Sola de Vega (about 2.5 hours south of Oaxaca City), who distils in clay pots and cultivates five agave varieties including agave Tobala (which takes 18 years to mature); Emigdio Jarquín Ramírez; and Joel Barriga. Each maestro's mezcals are bottled separately, with the maestro's name and palenque identified on every label.