How to choose a mezcal tour in Oaxaca Mexico

The state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, is where approximately 85% of the country’s mezcal is produced. Over the last decade, agave-based brandy, traditionally smoked and with a relatively high alcohol content, has generated a sales boom in and for Oaxaca. Concomitant with that, mezcal tourism has arrived in the region, particularly in the state capital. Travelers flock to Oaxaca City and nearby towns and villages to visit artisanal distilleries, or palenques, as they are known locally. They come primarily to learn about the diversity of mezcal production methods, the nuances of flavor and aroma, and the sustainability of the agave / industry. But they also come to start export business projects; buy at a fraction of the price paid in their home countries; photograph and film rural producers of the spirit for commercial purposes; and undertake due diligence before opening their own mezcalerías or bars with a significant complement of different mezcals. So how do you decide which tour company, guide, driver, or “expert” to hire for a day or more, depending on the reason for your visit to Oaxaca?

The question has turned out to be an enigma for many visitors to the state, because here in Oaxaca now everyone and his brother want to participate in the action and capitalize on “taking the people” to visit picturesque rural palenques. Unfortunately this sometimes results in not what the visitor is actually looking for. The day may simply consist of visits to tourist distilleries on the side of a road led by a facilitator with only a cursory knowledge of mezcal. Often this “guide” is a generalist at best, with an interest in making money and little else, rather than concentrating on providing the best service to its customers, improving the economic situation of modest producers, or, more generally, promote the state of Oaxaca. And some are not even licensed. Fortunately, most guides and the like do not fit into these categories. But the problem remains how the visitor to Oaxaca gets what he wants without being misled, either by design or unintentionally.

The easy answer targets one category of traveler; the visitor who wants to obtain the most basic knowledge about what artisanal mezcal is and how it is made, and buy a bottle to take home; as tourists used to do in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s when they returned from Acapulco with onyx chess sets and garish hats. All they have to do is get on a bus or van with the rest of the group of tourists with cameras, and it is done quite simply and effectively.

Usually the driver of a tourism company takes passengers along a single fixed route where they can visit, for example, El Tule (the big tree), Teotitlán del Valle (carpets), Mitla (the archaeological site ) and maybe Hierve el Agua (the bubbling springs) and if on Sunday also Tlacolula (the market town). Of course, the tour will include one of the countless tourist mezcal factories that have been built along the side of the road over the last decade or two. Such a full day serves its purpose, admirably for many, and for a fairly modest daily rate. Meets expectations. The driver may not know much about mezcal and trust the mezcal factory employee to speak and illustrate the processes when loading the bus, which may be fine.

However, for most others, they are those who really want to learn; investigate; shows; buy a higher quality product distilled into clay and / or copper; photography and / or film, presumably something very different is in order. And this includes perhaps even more the increasing number of visitors to Oaxaca who almost treat agave spirits like a religion, making a pilgrimage to the state in search of something quite profound.

Regardless of the reason for your visit to Oaxaca, you want to make sure that your needs and wishes are met by someone highly qualified to serve them legally. You, the client, or the client, as I prefer to put it (at least from my personal perspective), has the right to be satisfied before committing. You want to make sure that the dollars or pesos you will pay are commensurate with the service you will receive.

The customer / prospect has the right and an obligation to himself to ask the tough questions:

• Are you registered with the appropriate government authority to lead a mezcal tour and, if so, what are the details?

• What are all your other qualifications, aside from perhaps having spent your entire life in Oaxaca, meeting producers, and being a fan of the spirit?

• Is your car or truck insured (optional for passenger vehicles in the state of Oaxaca)?

• How long have you been leading mezcal tours and what did you do before for a living?

• Have you written a book or article about mezcal, agave and / or sustainability?

• How else are you spending your time today? Do you also do general tours?

• How do you select which palenques to visit?

• Do you consider yourself an expert in mezcal, and if so, why, and if not, why not?

• Can you send me references of people who have previously made a tour of mezcal with you, and give me their full names and cities of residence?

• Do you receive a commission from the palenques you visit?

• What, if anything, do you give back to the community, and / or the palenqueros and their families in addition to helping them sell some mezcal (ie, supporting the families in other ways, donating to charities)?

• Do you have an arrangement with the palenqueros after people have tried and decided not to buy anything (ie do you give them something or am I supposed to leave a tip)?

For more specialized guidance, you may want to ask what, if any, experience they have had working with photographers and documentary film companies, and / or helping entrepreneurs successfully start exporting brands to other countries or opening mezcalerías in Mexico or beyond. .

Now, just to be clear, the above is not meant to suggest that you should ask all of these questions, but rather to provide a range of queries from which you can select the ones that are most important to you and the ones that you would not be too uncomfortable with. asking. Everyone has a different comfort level.

The most important points in this article are that you want your expectations to be met, to feel comfortable with how everything is being done, and to be sure that you will receive a value-added service, all regardless of the aspects of mezcal that interest you.