El Occidental

The Mexican project El Occidental was born with the aim of highlighting the most suitable territories for the production of mezcal throughout the country, enhancing the tradition of this iconic agave distillate. To this end, El Occidental collaborates with several artisanal mezcal producers, custodians of the customs of their land. The project was officially launched in 2019, involving three different mezcaleros: Luis Leon Vazquez from the municipality of Zimatlan de Alvarez, in Oaxaca, Crystian Casarrubias from the town of Axaxacualco, in the state of Guerrero, and Antonio Galindo from the town of Acatlan de Osorio, in the territory of Puebla.

The mezcals marketed under the El Occidental brand therefore come from different states in Western Mexico, hence the name of the project, such as Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla, each with its own traditions and environmental characteristics, enhanced through the passionate work of different producers. In particular, in the high mountains of Oaxaca, at altitudes of up to 2,400 metres above sea level, on luvisol and leptosol soils, the Espadin agave is cultivated, the most widespread in the production of mezcal. On the other hand, in the territory of the State of Guerrero, with its canyons and mountains at an altitude of 1,500 metres composed of luvisol and regosol soils, the agave Cupreata, a typical variety of the area, is grown. Finally, in the State of Puebla, also characterised by high mountains and canyons, as well as regosol and lithosol soils, the Potatorum variety of agave is found. Processing is common and involves cooking the agave for 3 days in underground ovens and subsequent mechanical grinding to obtain the sugary juice contained in the heart of the plant. At this point, the liquid undergoes spontaneous alcoholic fermentation in wooden vats and the fermented product is then subjected to a double distillation in copper stills. The mezcal is finally bottled without passing through wood, in the Joven type, in order to preserve its organoleptic purity as much as possible.

Three are the labels proposed by the El Occidental brand, three Mezcal Joven witnesses of the mezcalera culture of their respective territories of origin, each reflecting its own unique artisanal tradition.