Sustainability is not a trend, rather a core value at the heart of many alcohol brands. As time goes on, we hear more and more about the harm that production processes can cause the environment and how global natural resources are beginning to deplenish. The collective efforts of individual brands can make a notable difference in the overall wellbeing of the environment and our communities.
MHW interviewed two inspiring mezcal clients Mezcal Amaras and Los Amantes who have made it a mission to bring exceptional spirits to the lips of consumers while preventing damage to their environment. These clients spoke about their sustainability initiatives, what inspired them, challenges faced along the way, and their recommendations for other brands.
Mezcal Amaras
The Mezcal Amaras portfolio of brands includes Mezcal Amarás, limited edition Amarás Logia, and cocktail mezcal brand, Mezcal Verde. Amaras is the future tense of Love in Spanish, and Mezcal Amaras’ philosophy is to constantly strive to make things better for the world. Santiago Suarez, Co-Founder and President, said “That applies to the people that we work with, the people that are involved in all the planting of the agave or the distillation of the mezcal, and everybody that we can help in the supply chain. Our goal is to make the best liquid we can through a model that we call ‘Seed To Sip.’” Here’s our interview with them:
What is your brand’s mission?
“Our brand mission is to do everything the best we can, constantly improving to have a balanced relationship From Seed To Sip. That includes fair trade practices and sustainability. Everything we do has to be aligned with those two values.”
What inspired you to pursue sustainability with your brand?
“I was working in an NGO 12 years ago in Oaxaca. It was a sponsored program helping communities with the well-being of their children. Sponsors contributed to help with education, nutrition, and health of local kids. Working there, I came in contact with mezcal and saw an opportunity within the industry. I saw that it could be a source of income for everybody and it would be a way of keeping the traditions alive in the villages, while at the same time, creating a liquid that had an amazing quality and authenticity to share with the world.
From day one, sustainability was embedded in the values of the business. It wasn’t just a trend. It was one of the most important purposes within the business idea. I’m someone who’s against 100% profit-making, and I believe the world needs to find a middle ground where nonprofits and profit-making companies unite so that initiatives can help the environment, the people, and the culture while creating profit for the investors.”
What are your sustainability initiatives?
“We have a holistic model From Seed To Sip which protects different initiatives focusing on fair trade practices and sustainability. And it focuses on three main pillars: Community, Terroir, and Love for the Earth.
The first pillar is Community: Everything referring to fair trade and empowering people in the communities through each drop of mezcal. We have different initiatives such as working with more than 20 different maestros mezcaleros, teaching organic farming, and how to increase quality production. Also, working with different small agave farmers in order to help distribute the wealth. So, that pillar is all about empowering and trying to help as many people as we can.
The next pillar would be Terroir, which has to do with sustainability. And mainly it refers to how we grow, care for, and respect the soil in order to distill the best mezcal. We have a planting program without deforestation, stabilizing the average number of agaves planted vs. those that are harvested. We have also promoted the rescue of 11 species and 20 ethno species of agave in our plantations. And we sow both biologically and organically using compost from our own distillery.
The third pillar is Love for the Earth where we promote initiatives that make our mezcal the most sustainable and fair distillate in the world. To do that, we are the first carbon-neutral mezcal company in the world. We are working on programs to reduce our original footprint, as well as on projects that entirely offset our emissions. We are buying bonds in Oaxaca, helping to grow trees. We have an alliance with the Worldwide Life Fund (WWF), supporting natural resources conservation programs since 2019. And we have planted more than 6,300 trees, and are creating different initiatives to protect the water in the communities.“
What struggles have you encountered with being sustainable?
“The biggest struggle is convincing everybody to become more sustainable while also seeking excellence. Usually, people are focused on profit only. Initially, convincing farmers to plant other types of agaves was a problem as well as convincing them to do it organically. It’s difficult because they want to use chemicals because they want to be fully certain that the agave is going to grow properly. Also convincing the shareholders that by buying from small producers we can scale, and that allows us to grow the business. It’s always been a struggle to convince everybody in the supply chain and some of the partners to think long-term instead of short-term. By teaching our farmers, by empowering them to plant the right way, they’re going to make more money and they’re going to have more value in the end. But it’s always complicated to convince them. Also competing with multinationals that do not share our values. You have a lot of celebrity-endorsed companies that have brand recognition but are not doing anything in the back end of the product. It’s complicated to compete if you’re really taking care of the whole supply chain in the right way.”
What is one suggestion you have for mezcal and tequila brands that are working to become more sustainable?
“My suggestion would be that you have to truly believe in it, and believe that by being committed to sustainable and fair trade practices it’s going to be the best for your business in the long term. Being sustainable has to be a core value of the brand and not just a trendy thing. So my recommendation would be to really embrace sustainability as a main driver for the business and really believe in it and put all your energy into it, and you will see bit by bit that it’s better for everyone and a better business model for everybody.”
Los Amantes
Los Amantes’ portfolio so far has two brands of mezcal: Los Amantes and Bezu. Los Amantes includes Joven (Young), Reposado (6 months in french barrels), Añejo (2 years in French barrels). Bezu is only Joven, but will consist of different agave types in the future. We spoke with Ignacio Carballido, Owner and Co-Founder.
What is your brand’s mission?
“The mission of our brand that I developed and will continue to develop, is to keep the integrity and quality of the products, helping the environment and the communities.“
What inspired you to pursue sustainability with your brand?
“Well to start, people, particularly in Oaxaca and all the states where mezcal is produced, are very conscious of the environment. We want to continue producing by taking care of nature, keeping productions artisanal and therefore avoiding industrialization of the category.”
What are your sustainability initiatives?
“We take care of the usage of wood by reforesting. We designed an oven under the ground that utilizes less wood because the wood is fed in a separate compartment that burns less than in the pit itself. We also recycle the water that is used for the distillation process. The agave plantations are 100% organic and the acidic waters from the distillation process go through a filtration technique before being released to the drains or fields. Additionally, all packaging and labeling is done by hand to always give a human touch to the brands. We usually hire single moms from the surroundings for the bottling process, giving them support.”
What struggles have you encountered with being sustainable?
“The whole process of the making of the product is very labor intensive, therefore the price of the product can never be low as it is industrialized. The turnaround of production is usually longer, and production quantities are lower than let’s say vodka, whiskey and tequila.”
What is one suggestion you have for mezcal and tequila brands that are working to become more sustainable?
“To avoid dumping or cheaper prices of the product and to always maintain the quality for the long term reputation of the category. Continue the plantation of agave, rotate the crops to avoid monoculture farming, and do not dump contaminated waters from distillation in the rivers.”