Bringing artisanal mezcal to the world

Ron Cooper is a "Light and Space" artist who works beyond the bounds of physical objects, such as paint and canvases, to create two- and three-dimensional works using glass and plastic to harness light and space. Ron has a deep appreciation of other artists and artisans, and this quality led to his finding and forging life-long relationships with mezcalero in rural Mexico whose art form is ancestral mezcal. As with Ron's art, the mezcal they handcraft conveys their personality while capturing elements of the local surroundings.

Del Maguey's Single Village Mezcals are crafted by Ron's artist friends, helped by their immediate family. Ron is a generous and outgoing man who seeks to share his friends' exquisite work with the world. And there lies the challenge. From dirt road experience, I know how hard it is to reach many of the rural palenques (distilleries) where these artisans work, so Ron strived to bring their art to the world.

For years Ron struggled with financing his growing bottling and shipping operation, selling his own house and possessions while leading a company he did not draw a salary from. Then, as the world came to appreciate and fall in love with the mezcal he'd introduced to them, the artisanal nature of its production meant there was not enough to satisfy the demand. Ron financed the building and expansion of these family-owned palenques, but much of the mezcal was being used in cocktails, so there was demand for a more affordable Del Maguey mezcal made in larger volumes.

While spirits such as whiskey, gin, vodka, rum and brandy are distilled to a high proof and then diluted to bottling strength, traditionally, mezcal is distilled to proof and bottled at still strength. Del Maguey's Single Village Mezcals are bottled at strengths ranging from 45 to 50% alc./vol., atg their still strength. In 2010, Ron started working with Don Paciano Crus Nolasco at his San Luis Del Río palenque to produce an ancestral mezcal at an alcohol strength closer to 40%, more suited to mass market appreciation and use in cocktails. The result being Del Maguey Vida Clásico de San Luis del Rio, a mezcal bottled at 42% alc./vol. that's still crafted in the same traditional way by Don Paciano and his family but in larger volumes.

Demand continued to grow, and by 2015, when Del Maguey celebrated its 20th birthday, it was becoming clear that Ron needed the help of a larger organisation. He formed a strategic alliance with the Sazerac company, which took over organising shipments for him. However, while Del Maguey had moved on from its teenage years, Ron had moved into his 70s and demand still outstripped supply. It was time for Ron to start handing over the care of Del Maguey. In June 2017, after giving Ron assurances over the care of his network of family producers, Pernod Ricard acquired a majority stake in Del Maguey.

Gabe Bonfanti is Del Maguey's official "Director of Sustainability" and this very affable multilingual man is the main interface between the families and Pernod Ricard. Gabe not only helps the families overcome production challenges, he also helps ensure waste from the distilleries is handled in an environmentally friendly way, while also bringing benefits to their communities such as internet access.

Pernod Ricard has also continued to invest in San Luis Del Río which has five hornos roasting pits, 140 wooden tinas (fermenters), multiple 4 electric milling molines, 21 alembic copper stills, and four hornos. Compared to what Ron first encountered in 1990 when he first met Don Paciano, it is now a massive operation and still has room to expand. However, it has been expanded through duplication of small fermenters and stills rather than replacing them with larger more efficient equipment. Production remains artisanal and the mezcal is still delicious.

Purists upset by expansion of palenques to increase production perhaps also complain about the lack of availability and price of Green Chartreuse and Del Maguey still bottle mezcal made in very limited quantities at tiny family-owned ancestral palenques. I have visited Canta Caterina Minas and love the Del Magey Minero mezcal Florenvio Carlos Vasquez makes their. I've also seen where Del Maguey hand-bottle such mezcals in the village of Teotitlán del Valle. However, I can't buy Minero in the UK due to demand outstripping what Don Florenvio can produce. I will continue to look out for precious bottles of his mezcal but I mostly need tasty yet affordable and readily available Del Maguey Mezcal for my cocktails.

To satisfy this demand from folk like me, in 2023, Pernod Ricard built a new palenque in Puebla, designed to make mezcal using artisanal methods but at scale. This is achieved while respecting the health and needs of those who work there, the local community and the environment. Where technology can be used to increase production with little or no effect on flavour, such as the use of electric shredders (molinos), then you find them at Puebla. However, underground pit ovens, small wooden fermenters and small copper stills are used due to their profound effect on the flavour of the finished mezcal. There are just a lot of ovens, fermenters, stills and workers filling and emptying them. This is where Vida Puebbla is made, the most accessible of the Del Maguey range.

When Ron started Del Maguey, few outside of rural Mexican villages had sampled artisanal mezcal. The only mezcal's that found their way to Mexico City, let alone were exported, were heavily processed and often sold due to the gimmick of their being bottled with a worm inside. I was guilty of selling such mezcal in the early 1990s and miniatures far outsold bottles due to each 5cl miniature containing a worm. Folk in New York and London dared to drink such mezcals. They were not products worthy of appreciation by the discerning. Ron changed these perceptions, acting as an evangelist for quality artisanally made mezcal.

Del Maguey is the only mezcal permitted to use a green bottle, and this, along with the distinctive labels by Kenneth Price, makes Del Maguey easy to spot and an assurance of quality.