Spirits · San Cristóbal Lachirioag, Oaxaca
Mezcal Tosba
Mezcal from cousins bringing work home to a Zapotec village in Oaxaca's Sierra Norte.
- Founded by
- Elisandro Gonzalez-Molina, Edgar Gonzalez-Ramirez
- Based in
- San Cristóbal Lachirioag, Oaxaca
Their story
Cousins Elisandro Gonzalez-Molina and Edgar Gonzalez-Ramirez grew up in San Cristóbal Lachirioag, a Zapotec village in the Sierra Norte mountains northeast of Oaxaca City. Like many from the region, both went to the United States to earn money to send home, and there they talked about how to create jobs in their village.
Edgar's family began planting maguey on their land in 1999, and in 2006 he returned to Oaxaca to learn mezcal making. The cousins funded the palenque with their own savings and a loan from a UN-backed rural development program, and Tosba grew from there.
How it's made
The palenque sits in a warm, green pocket of the mountains and grows its own maguey, firewood and food. It runs without electricity, draws water from the river, and uses a single roasting pit, three fermentation barrels and three stills.
Why we carry them
A mezcal with a real community story behind it, made in a part of Oaxaca few brands come from. Try the espadín neat first.
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