September 8, 2022
Mission Statement
Del Maguey is deeply dedicated to the biodiversity and rich cultural heritage of Oaxaca. Our sustainability blog will provide a first-hand look into the processes of Del Maguey and our commitment to leaving a positive impactful footprint in Oaxaca. Our mission is to offer a clear understanding of Del Maguey’s core values and commitment to sustainability.
April 1, 2022
Del Maguey Wild Agave Project Update
Tepextate Flower Del Maguey’s wild agave project began years ago with a small nursery in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, that produced a few hundred Tobala, Tepextate, and Espadin plants from seed with the objective of renewing these special natural resources from which we produce artisanal mezcal. In...
December 17, 2021
Del Maguey Beekeeping Update 2021
Beekeeping in Rancho Las Milpas Del Maguey’s beekeeping team continued its work this year in Rancho Las Milpas. The prospect of beekeeping has been welcomed warmly by our partner producer and his family. Don Anastasio, Del Maguey’s maestro mezcalero, his three sons, Rigoberto, Abel, and...
March 18, 2021
Del Maguey Reforestation Progress 2020-21
Despite the fact that the pandemic shut down access to some of the villages we work in for most of 2020, towards the end of the year, and with much precaution, we were able to progress our reforestation efforts in the Albarradas region of Oaxaca....
December 8, 2020
Smoke In The Valley: Reflections of a Mezcal Apprentice — Part 1
A Sense of Place: As a cook and bartender, I am naturally attracted to smell and taste, sensations of the palate. ...
November 17, 2020
Smoke in the Valley: Reflections of a Mezcal Apprentice — Part 2
As Gabe and I drove into San Luis del Rio on a long dirt road we were surrounded by the staggered mountains, lined with a patchwork of wild and cultivated agave. It was large, regal, and much vaster than I had expected. There was an...
October 22, 2020
Smoke in the Valley: Reflections of a Mezcal Apprentice — Part 3
Finding My Rhythm: I slept in Marcos’ 2nd floor flat above the kitchen in an empty room on a petate, or a woven palm mat with a rolled poncho I had bought at a mercado as a pillow. We woke up every morning around sunrise....
August 26, 2020
Del Maguey Apiculture Program
In our headquarter village of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Del Maguey helps support the local ecology of flowering plants, including a wide spectrum of wild agave, through beekeeping....
June 1, 2020
Del Maguey Agave Sustainability Management Programs
Environmental responsibility is one of the central tenets that anchors our impact philosophy....
April 30, 2020
Zapotec Talking Dictionary
Oaxaca, Mexico has a rich linguistic and cultural diversity, with 16 different indigenous language families and more than 50 different languages, a large part of which is at serious risk of disappearance....
March 30, 2020
Oaxaca Impact-Limited Edition Bottling Projects
Limited Edition Bottle – Del Maguey Chichicapa Boca del Cerro In the spring of 2005, Del Maguey founder Ron Cooper and local farmers planted a hectare of young espadin in Teotitlan del Valle. Placed on ancient terraces at the step of the Zapotec village’s sacred mountain,...
November 19, 2019
Reforestation Efforts in Oaxaca
Deforestation: Since 2015, increased rates of deforestation have been reported in Oaxaca, rates generally attributed to 1) Mining 2) Agriculture 3) Livestock 4) Forest fires 5) Plagues and 6) Illegal logging....
September 3, 2019
Increased Food Security in Del Maguey Producing Villages
Del Maguey has taken the lead with Heifer Project International and The Pernod Ricard Foundation to extend a program named Replicando Oportunidades (Replicating Opportunities) in Del Maguey producing villages....
April 9, 2019
The Evolution of Vida — Part 1
We at Del Maguey are deeply honored and humbled by the overwhelming acceptance and appreciation of Mezcal VIDA by the trade since we first brought this liquid art to the world in 2010....
April 5, 2019
The Evolution of Vida — Part 2
Scaling Up While Preserving Tradition: In November of 2016 Del Maguey broke ground on a project to scale Paciano Cruz Nolasco’s palenque in San Luis del Rio without compromising the traditional methods of production. ...
April 1, 2019
The Evolution of Vida — Part 3
New Land Creation Project: Del Maguey needed to implement a different system in San Luis del Rio due to its remote location and limitations on the banks of the Rio Hormiga Colorada River....
December 11, 2018
Communications Tower in San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca
Access to education and information is a basic human right, one that has been denied or seriously impeded in many Oaxacan communities over time....
August 27, 2018
Preserving Del Maguey Traditions
In April, 2017, the Consejo Regulador de Mezcal (CRM) implemented the first revision of the Norma Oficial Mexicana 070 (NOM 070) since the inception of the Denomination of Origin of Mezcal in 1995....
May 16, 2018
Increased Access to Potable Water In Teotitlan Del Valle, Oaxaca
Del Maguey Donates a Pipa/Water Tanker Truck Providing increased access to potable water in partner communities is one of Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal’s driving principles. In many of the communities we work in, there are pockets of the town or village that still lack access...
November 7, 2017
Teotitlan del Valle
Since its founding in 1995, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal has operated out of the village of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca....
August 7, 2017
Del Maguey is Friendly to Bats
Biological diversity is crucial to a successful future for agave species. There are two different ways in which agave can reproduce. The first is through hijuelos, or clonal shoots, that result in plants that are genetic equivalent of the mother plant. An agave can produce...
