Hall of
Fame
The producers who chose integrity over profit. Tradition over trends. Soul over scale.
Why This
Matters
Every time you buy a bottle, you vote. You vote for the kind of industry you want to exist. You vote for the families you want to support. You vote for the traditions you want to preserve.
"The money you spend is a vote for the world you want."
Choose wisely. Drink with intention.
What You're Funding
When you buy celebrity: marketing, lawyers, industrial alcohol, shareholders.
What You Could Fund
When you buy from these producers: families, traditions, communities, craft.
The Heroes
Producers who chose the hard path. Families who refused to sell out. Traditions that survived.
Real Minero
mezcalSanta Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
$80-300
Four generations of the Ángeles family, making mezcal the way their great-great-grandparents did. No shortcuts. No compromises. Clay pot distillation that most producers abandoned decades ago.
WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL:
- Clay pot distillation — the most ancient and labor-intensive method
- Single-village production, never expanded for profit
- Graciela Ángeles: one of mezcal's most respected maestras
- Every bottle tastes like the earth it came from
WHY THEY MATTER:
When everyone else modernized, they refused. The result is mezcal that tastes like history.
BOTTLES TO TRY:
Largo, Minero, Pechuga
Fortaleza
tequilaTequila, Jalisco
$45-150
Fifth-generation tequila makers. Guillermo Sauza's family helped create the tequila industry, then watched it get destroyed by corporations. He rebuilt it the old way.
WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL:
- Stone tahona wheel — hand-crushed agave, not industrial shredders
- Copper pot stills, not column stills
- Additive-free certification before it was cool
- Family-owned, never sold out
WHY THEY MATTER:
Proof that you can make world-class tequila without selling your soul to Diageo.
BOTTLES TO TRY:
Blanco, Reposado, Still Strength
El Tesoro
tequilaArandas, Jalisco (Highlands)
$50-200
Carlos Camarena's family has been making tequila since 1937. Three generations of refusing to cut corners. The highlands terroir sings in every sip.
WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL:
- Highland agave — sweeter, more floral, higher altitude
- Tahona-crushed, brick oven roasted
- No additives, no diffusers, no shortcuts
- Master distiller Carlos Camarena: a living legend
WHY THEY MATTER:
When you taste El Tesoro, you taste what tequila is supposed to be.
BOTTLES TO TRY:
Blanco, Añejo, Paradiso
Fane Kantsini
mezcalMiahuatlán, Oaxaca
$100-400
Sosima and her family make mezcal like a meditation. Small batches, wild agaves, and a philosophy that the spirit chooses when it's ready to be shared.
WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL:
- Wild and semi-wild agave varieties most have never heard of
- Women-led production in a male-dominated industry
- Bottles arrive when they're ready, not when demanded
- Esoteric, bohemian, completely uninterested in trends
WHY THEY MATTER:
Not a brand. A way of life. The antithesis of everything celebrity mezcal represents.
BOTTLES TO TRY:
Whatever Sosima decides to share
Tapatio
tequilaArandas, Jalisco
$25-100
The Camarena family (same as El Tesoro) also produces Tapatio — exceptional tequila at prices that make you question why anyone pays $170 for Clase Azul.
WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL:
- Same quality as El Tesoro, different label
- Blanco under $30 that embarrasses $100 bottles
- Excelencia line rivals any ultra-premium
- Proof that great tequila doesn't need celebrity endorsement
WHY THEY MATTER:
The best value in tequila. Period.
BOTTLES TO TRY:
Blanco 110, Excelencia
Del Maguey
mezcalVarious villages, Oaxaca
$35-300
Ron Cooper (yes, that Ron Cooper) spent decades documenting village mezcal traditions before anyone cared. Single-village bottlings that preserve dying traditions.
WHAT MAKES THEM SPECIAL:
- Single-village expressions — each tastes completely different
- Fair trade relationships with palenqueros
- Helped legitimize mezcal as a serious spirit category
- Vida: the gateway drug to real mezcal
WHY THEY MATTER:
Before Del Maguey, most Americans thought mezcal was 'tequila with a worm.'
BOTTLES TO TRY:
Chichicapa, San Luis del Rio, Pechuga
Find the Good Stuff
Ready to try spirits from people who actually give a damn? Explore our curated lists.
FEATURED
Meet Fane Kantsini
The story of how a master sommelier led me to a mezcal family that changed everything I thought I knew about spirits.
Read the Story