Not many years ago, mezcal ceased to be a local drink to become the new sensation of trendy bars and traditional restaurants, rapidly ascending as a quality bet worthy of being exported, and even as an entrepreneurial fantasy for some. Famous.
The story of two Yucatecans who met on a trip to Oaxaca is part of this unexpected boom.
In 2010, Francisco Arrañaga Patron (CEO) and Said Farah Ceh (COO) met during a tourist trip in the Oaxacan capital. Not only were they captivated by the culinary wonders and architecture of the city, but they also saw in the native drink, mezcal, a business opportunity.
Thus arose Tlacuache Society, a company dedicated to creating mezcal brands from scratch.
“At the beginning, we helped with the administrative part of the brand before the IMPI and the Mezcal Regulatory Council (CRM), as well as aspects of the branding, as a name and logo ”, evokes Farah.
Mezcal usually finds its own congregation
It is a drink that, in its best form, has a unique composition: by containing polysaccharides, the liver and kidneys reduce sugars and break it down more easily. Simply put, you don’t jolt with a hangover the next day.
Regarding its origin, for mezcal we work with about 14 different species of agave, in accordance with the Official Mexican Standard; nine of them are in Oaxaca.
The possible variety between earthy and mineral elements gives the drink a complexity that, without fear of exaggeration, Farah compares with wine.
The passion that the drink provokes led Sociedad Tlacuache to find more possibilities in the mezcal business.
In 2015 they open a small packaging plant in Tlacolula –a municipality located about 40 km from the Oaxacan capital–, in which they inaugurate the packaging processes for the brands.
In 2016 they bought the rights of the firm Divino Maguey, with which they have managed to export to the United States, Europe, Africa and part of Central and South America, in addition to being one of the most renowned brands in Mexico; In 2017, they acquired their own harvest areas in San Francisco de Tanivet, and, by 2018, they began operations with a distillery of 40 copper stills.
Today Tlacuache Society produces and labels some of the main mezcal brands that reach not only the most recognized hotels and restaurants in the country, but are also exported around the world.
“Currently we have 100 pots to distill and the production is about 170 thousand liters of mezcal per month,” says Farah.
To this should be added 80 hectares planted with their own agave, palenques in Santa María Quiegolani, San Dionisio Ocotepec and Santiago Matatlán, as well as three bottling companies certified by regulatory bodies.
The fields, distillery and bottling company of Sociedad Tlacuache generate the mezcal of some 30 national brands, among them are those with the greatest presence in the United States and some more with national and international awards.
Until the year before the pandemic, mezcal exports represented 74 million dollars, while Oaxaca is consolidated as the origin of 75% of that production.
In ten years, Sociedad Tlacuache has been transformed into a company of a hundred people, including magueyeros, palenqueros, personnel dedicated to packaging, mezcal masters and administrative collaborators.
“All processes are intervened by people’s hands and experience, there is no industrialized process,” says Farah when asked what makes each and every mezcal manufactured by Sociedad Tlacuache artisan.
With the understanding of each of the processes involved, Sociedad Tlacuache has the ability to create a brand of mezcal with the guarantee of an artisan product and of the first order in terms of quality and composition, in addition to taking an impeccable treatment towards its clients, working precisely and with perfectly established times from day one.
The next few years will be the great moment of mezcal in the world, say the businessmen. Those who board the train from this moment will be able to enjoy the maguey honeys.
If you have in mind to create or consolidate a mezcal brand, contact Tlacuache Society to take your project to a new level with the help of experts in the field.