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No Mezcal Without Mother Earth

By E.R. Pulgar

From the highest rungs of the corporate ladder to individual entrepreneurs, we all have to do our part. We have to be real with our current situation rather than put commerce over human beings. The challenge is being able to sustain ourselves while acknowledging this truth. Without Mother Earth, there is no humanity. Without Mother Earth, there is no mezcal.

We’ve always made a product that puts the organic approach first. The drink we made our name on is made “sin prisa” — no rush, no hurry, just a great mezcal. We have made a commitment to quality, which means we take our time, we use artesanal methods, and we produce a small quantity at a time. This makes our mezcal truly special, and lessens environmental impact.

The plants that we use to make our mezcal are 100% cultivated Espadín agave, double-distilled in the Santiago Matatlan Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. We do not produce or export wild agave because the supply is limited. In fact, wild agave species in many regions are at risk from over-harvesting. In order to protect the agave and avoid having plants that are too genetically similar, our agave is planted using both seeds and rhizomes. This helps promote the strength of the plant against illnesses. 5% of the agave yield will be left to flower, allowing bats and hummingbirds to pollinate it.

Once the crop is ripe, our mezcal makers harvest the agave plant — which weighs between 40-100 kilos — with machetes and long palanca (crowbar). This is what gives our mezcal its sweet, agave-forward taste. The crop is then roasted for five to seven days in earthen ovens. After about a week, it’s crushed with a traditional horse drawn mill called a tahona. The batch then undergoes open-air fermentation with wild airborne yeast for another five to fourteen days and is distilled in 250-liter copper stills. Any leftover agave pulp from the process is donated to local builders and used to make biodegradable bricks and other eco-friendly materials such as paper. We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the pulp’s potential.

“In the production process of mezcal, you end up with a fibrous mass of pulp that you need to do something with,” explains our founder John Rexer. “People put some of it in bio digesters, or they neutralize it with limestone and then fertilizer. What we have been doing with it is mixing it with clay and sand, and making a brick out of it to then use in construction. We also work with an artisan paper maker that uses agave fibers extensively. We prepare these fibers and clean them up, and the artisans come to pick up the pulp as a donation.“

We give just as much attention to the bottle as we do to the mezcal in it. When COVID-19 pandemic struck, the ensuing global glass shortage kick-started our sustainability initiatives as far as our bottles were concerned. Finding ourselves with nowhere to put the mezcal we make with such care, we were forced to pivot. This became our current partnership with Fusion y Formas, a recycled-glass manufacturer based in Jalisco, Mexico. Besides being the former glass maker for Patrón, they have a long history of helping liquor brands reduce their carbon footprint. Just like us, they were a small family company trying to get through the pandemic. Seeking a customer at the same time we were looking to buy turned out to be a match made in heaven.

They begin by collecting glass off the streets and at recycling facilities. After cleaning it up, the glass is compiled and compressed to create the raw material from which new bottles are produced. When that process is done, each of our beautiful recycled glass bottles is filled with one of our three mezcal expressions: Joven, Reposado, or Añejo. Then, we hand-cork, label, and number them. Along with our new process for bottles, we’re looking at a line of eco-friendly cups to reduce waste. As important as the mezcal itself is, the container is what ends up (hopefully) in a recycling bin, so it’s deeply important that they have the least environmental impact possible from creation to consumption to disposal.

“Recycled glass costs more but is considerably better in terms of the environment and the quality of the glass,” says Rexer about the partnership. “It has a slight sparkle to it, a different weight, a slight color when it picks up sunlight. It’s special. I’m very happy that we’re doing something that’s recycled and to have become one of the larger customers of a family business that was struggling like ours.”

We’re not the only ones taking environmental consciousness seriously — and choose our partners accordingly. Our events partner Forest Hills Stadium is committed to the goal of a carbon neutral lineup, eventually hoping to be carbon positive by 2022. Being climate positive in both our industries isn’t easy, but through their support of initiatives like carbon sequestration and wildlife protection project in Colorado that will neutralize more carbon than they will generate during the 2022 season, it’s clear that the first step is imagining a world of commerce and entertainment with less of an environmental impact. We all want to let loose and celebrate with a glass of mezcal or three, but we can’t do that if there’s no planet and if we don’t clean up afterward. It’s something we take a lot of pride in, and a tenet that our founder built the company on as he fell in love with the lush verdant natural environments he encountered on his travels through Antigua, Guatemala and Oaxaca.

“When I began Ilegal, I fell in love with parts of Oaxaca that were pristine,” Rexer recalls. “There was pride in that conservation, and I asked myself how you grow something and not destroy the thing you fell in love with in the first place. It’s important to really ask yourself, as a company grows, if you want to come back to a place that you fell in love with and find pollution in its place. It’s important to build with partners and leave a space hopefully better than when you found it. Commerce, by its nature in this day and age, is far from carbon neutral. We have to recognize that, figure out how we minimize our waste, and lead by example. You’re not going to succeed 100 percent in completely reducing your own footprint, but one needs to minimize being part of the problem and tend to your own garden as best as possible.”

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Bar Ilegal | Tour 2024

Opened by Ilegal founder John Rexer around 2004, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.

This year, we are thrilled to be celebrating Café No Sé’s notorious history by bringing music, mezcal, and tattoos to bars, music venues, and trade shows across the U.S., beginning April 6 in Brooklyn, NY.

2024 DATES

APR 6 – McCarren Parkhouse, Brooklyn
MAY-OCT – Forest Hills Stadium, Queens [link]
MAY 31 – Arte Agave Miami [link]
JUN 7 – Arte Agave Chicago [link]
JUL 23 – Tales of The Cocktail, New Orleans [link]
AUG 8 – The Surf Lodge, Montauk
SEP 6 – Arte Agave DC [link]
SEP 13 – Arte Agave New York [link]
SEP 20 – Arte Agave Austin [link]
SEP 27 – Arte Agave ATL [link]
OCT 5-6 – Del Mar F&W Festival, San Diego [link]
DEC 6 – The Matador, Charleston
FEB 13-19 – Arizona Cocktail Week, Phoenix [link]

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Mezcal vs Tequila | What’s the Difference?

Mezcal vs Tequila: What's the Difference? Mezcaleros at Mal de Amor harvesting Espadín agave.

These two agave spirits are often thought of as interchangeable, but each has unique characteristics that result in different flavors and experiences. The easiest way to remember the differences between Mezcal vs Tequila is the Three P’s:

PLACE // Both are from Mexico, but Tequila is primarily produced in Jalisco, while Mezcal can be made in many states across Mexico. However, most mezcal you’ll see in the U.S. is made in Oaxaca, about 80%, including Ilegal Mezcal.

PLANT // Tequila can only be made from Blue Weber agave, while Mezcal is made from a large variety of agaves, the most popular being Espadín agave.

PROCESS // Tequila is generally cooked with steam above ground, while Mezcal is roasted over a fire in earthen pits. Also, while Tequila is typically made in large quantities, Mezcal is nearly always made in small batches.

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Handcrafted in small batches by fourth-generation mezcaleros, Ilegal Mezcal Joven, Reposado, and Añejo are all made with perfectly ripe Espadín agave, double distilled in the Santiago Matatlan Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Our mezcal has a beautifully balanced profile, with a mouthful of agave and just a hint of smoke.

Elements of the Ilegal Mezcal production process can be seen in the photo gallery below. If you’d like to tour Mal de Amor, our partner palenque in Oaxaca, go to our Visit Oaxaca page to learn more.

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The Will & The Way | New Orleans

Ilegal helped introduce the world to aged mezcal with our Reposado and Añejo expressions. In 2022, we launched our limited edition 7 Year Añejo Mezcal, aged in just 35 barrels of French Oak. To help celebrate and bring these delicious mezcals to the masses, we developed the Reposado Room.

We envisioned the Repo Room as a little oasis to drink elegant aged mezcal cocktails in a laid back atmosphere, listen to great music, and make new friends, and there was no better test for this approach than at Tales of the Cocktail, when the entire spirit industry descends upon New Orleans in the sweltering July heat.

Thanks to the beautiful cocktail program developed in partnership with The Will & The Way, the Soul/R&B playlist by DJs Liza and Kia from SUSU, and the warm ambiance created by the Ilegal team, we had a gorgeous evening to cap off a lovely week at Tales (An extra special shoutout to air conditioning).

Photos by Sarah Craig in the gallery below.

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Barrel Proof | New Orleans

Opened by John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.

Bar Ilegal is an experiential outpost of Café No Sé. The 2023 tour set off in April in Oaxaca, and continued in May with consecutive stops in Chicago and Miami. July brought an unscheduled appearance in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail 2023. Friends and fans of the brand poured into Barrel Proof to escape the sweltering heat, enjoy some ice cold mezcal cocktails, get tattooed (26 in all!), and witness a barnstorming afternoon performance by SUSU.

Have a look in the gallery below, photos by Sarah Craig:

2023 REMAINING DATES

SEP 19 – Atlanta, GA (new date)
SEP 21 – Austin, TX (new date)
NOV 8 – Los Angeles, CA
DEC 6 [NEW DATE!] – Brooklyn, NY

Click HERE to RSVP to Bar Ilegal

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Ilegal Gallery Presents: Alimo

Best known for his curvy post-pop imagery and highly saturated colors, Alimo has a style that is instantly recognizable. The featured artworks in his first solo show, Solitude Safari, illustrate the pursuit of solace in the bustling setting of New York, and the chaos and tranquility that exist within this urban landscape.

The opening party had a huge turnout, with hundreds of fans and friends coming through our doors. Several of the main pieces were sold, as well as Alimo merch and watercolors. City of the Sun played a late set to a packed house, and our friends left happy and a little sweatier than they arrived.

Each physical piece sold from this collection is paired with its own unique digital asset (NFT), the intersection of technology, art and sustainability that Alimo explores in all of his work.

The exhibit will be on view Saturdays and Sundays at the Ilegal Showroom, 38 Greenpoint Avenue, from 12-5pm, July 9-27, and the collection is also for sale on Alimo’s website.

All photos in the gallery below by Nico Malvaldi.

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A Blueprint for a Green Future at Forest Hills Stadium

Summer in New York City for music lovers means taking the F Train on the orange line all the way out to Forest Hills-71 Ave. Getting off the train, one is greeted by the leafy neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens and the sound of nearby live music. New York’s widest spanning borough is home to Forest Hills Stadium, one of the city’s largest music venues and one of Ilegal Mezcal’s longest standing national partners. The horseshoe-shaped stadium is a behemoth of live music, bringing a one-of-a-kind vibe along with our signature Joven and Reposado mezcal cocktails to hundreds of thousands of concert goers every year. Forest Hills Stadium and Ilegal have a lot in common beyond good taste in premium agave — more importantly, we both value and commit to a sustainable future.

“The team at Ilegal really ‘gets it’,” says  Forest Hills’ General Manager Jason Brandt. “They know how to be fun and edgy, while also being responsible. They jumped at the opportunity to partner with Small Axe, a hot sauce company that supports sustainable community gardens throughout the country by supplying them with the seeds to bring in a pepper harvest. Together, the three of us developed a couple of spicy cocktails to be sold only at the stadium, and both partners pursued a relationship beyond us. As for us, we now grow peppers on-site and other garnishes for our cocktail program, which is about as sustainable as you can get.”

Forest Hills’ love for the Earth goes beyond growing peppers in the garden, pouring our sustainably-crafted mezcal, or their partnerships with Planet Reimagined’s environmental research initiatives and green-conscious music industry organization REVERB, who helps track their carbon footprint. The summer 2023 season at Forest Hills Stadium has an ambitious goal: to be carbon neutral, and move toward climate positivity. Beyond 2023, they are committed to making shows as environmentally friendly as possible and offsetting their impact and waste. 

“We’ve always had an environmental focus here, but we really started to make it a priority after we hosted a Jack Johnson show [and] his team advanced an ‘Eco Rider’ to us,” recalls Brandt. “We found that while we were doing many of the things they asked for, there was more that could be done, and they had just given us a blueprint on how to take the extra step.  We decided then that any improvements we would make for that show, we would keep on as policy going forward. We’ve been trying to add and improve every season since.”

A key part of these improvements has been the venue’s conscious effort to offset carbon emissions. Forest Hills supports a conservation project at Medford Spring Grassland Conservation in Colorado. The initiative aims to significantly neutralize any carbon emission generated during the summer 2023 season. If all goes according to plan, REVERB’s calculations — based on the venue’s square footage, predicted fan and employee travel to and from shows, electric and gasoline usage, waste created, and other considerations — predict Forest Hills Stadium will offset a total of 2,119 tonnes of CO2e while protecting 6,900 acres of land from being developed. 

Plans and predictions aside, the Forest Hills team maintains that the big picture is possible through small change — and they’ve already gotten started. Forest Hills Stadium is introducing twenty-eight upcycled shipping containers throughout backstage and front-of-house, LED and energy-efficient fluorescent lighting onstage and in public spaces, free drinking water refill stations, solar-powered phone charging stations, shore power to power artist’s production needs while eliminating air pollution, and a comprehensive recycling program to divert recyclable materials from landfills.

“We try to show that being eco-conscious is as much about small steps that we can all do to help, instead of grand gestures or changes to the concert experience,” says Brandt of the venue’s efforts. “We are lucky to be incredibly well served by the MTA and the LIRR, so we work to promote public transit in pre-event communications. Once onsite, we try to make it as easy as possible to participate. We make sure our vendors are using the right products and that we are buying post-consumer recycled products. We utilize a single stream recycling program to simplify the process, and we’ve set up a system in which we can recover all the cans and other recyclables that are generated onsite and get them back into the recycling stream.  Fans will probably notice the free water stations (bring your own reusable bottle or pick one up here), the solar phone chargers, and the recycling bins throughout the venue,  and can participate in various contests and other fundraising initiatives. That is all straightforward stuff that should just be the norm.”

An approach to environmental sustainability in live music is a pre-eminent concern as our climate gets hotter each year. Forest Hills Stadium’s plan for climate neutrality is centered in plans to eliminate waste while creating efficiency and minimizing carbon output. Running a green-conscious live music space entails a lot of care, seeing where carbon sources are and seeking to lessen and, eventually, eradicate them. 

“Each season we further refine the model and last season we actually were able to offset more than we created, thus becoming ‘Climate Positive’,” says Brandt. “[To become climate positive, venues need to] buy post-consumer recycled products. Recycling is a coin with 2 sides.  Not only do we need to get as much material as possible into the recycling stream and out of landfills, we also need to help create the demand for recycled things by buying recycled products.  If a healthy marketplace exists, recycling can be truly effective. It might be a little pricier, but it’s worth it.”

The Forest Hills Stadium team has a big season ahead, with summer headliners including giants of their respective genres like The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem, Maggie Rogers, and Willie Nelson. Still, Brandt maintains he’s most looking forward to working with the people who make the show possible behind-the-scenes: “We get a chance to build a community of great seasonal employees, and to work with the amazing folks out on the road making the tours happen,” he says. 

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Brooklyn | Celebrating YOU 2023

Now in its third year, Ilegal’s Celebrating YOU program raises funds through special events & dedicated cocktails, for wayOUT, a non-profit that partners with local gender-expansive LGBTQ+ programs around the country.

The fundraiser at our Showroom is the program’s signature event, and this year it featured a silent auction with prizes ranging from framed artwork and custom jewelry to free tickets to Drake at Madison Square Garden. DJ Sarah Von-H provided the tunes, free flash tattoos given by Shannon Virginia, and our friends at Bond Hardware joined us again to offer free piercings.

Our Celebrating YOU fundraiser continues on through the end of June. We are almost at our goal of $40,000 raised! If you would like to support this cause, please stop by a participating venue and order a dedicated Celebrating YOU cocktail. Find a venue near you and learn more about the program here.

Pictures from the event in the gallery below, by Eric Hart Jr.

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The Sylvester | Miami

Opened by John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.

Bar Ilegal is an experiential outpost of Café No Sé. The 2023 tour set off in April in Oaxaca, and continued in May with consecutive stops in Chicago and Miami.

The stop at the Sylvester was well attended, and we were thrilled to see so many friends from the local team, industry partners, and fans of the brand. Cocktails were executed flawlessly, our tattoo artists Chris Tamborelli and Eddy Ospina gave out 46 flash tattoos, and SUSU brought an electric show with some of our favorite Liza and Kia outfits to date. Have a look in the gallery below, photos by Sarah Craig:

2023 REMAINING DATES

SEP 12 – Atlanta, GA
SEP 15 – Austin, TX
NOV 8 – Los Angeles, CA
DEC 6 [NEW DATE!] – Brooklyn, NY

Click HERE to RSVP to Bar Ilegal

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Moneygun | Chicago

Opened by John Rexer in the early 2000s, Café No Sé has become the beating heart of an international music scene in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the original home of Ilegal Mezcal + the first mezcal bar opened outside of Mexico.

Bar Ilegal is an experiential outpost of Café No Sé. The 2023 tour set off in April in Oaxaca, and continued in May with consecutive stops in Chicago and Miami.

Moneygun plays a central role in Chicago’s thriving cocktail scene, and Ilegal was thrilled to bring our signature mezcal cocktails to their audience. SUSU delivered an electrifying show, and local favorite Mister Baby Vintage provided custom Ilegal chain stitching. See how it all went down below, photos by Sarah Craig.

2023 REMAINING DATES

MAY 18 – Miami, FL
SEP 12 – Atlanta, GA
SEP 15 – Austin, TX
NOV 8 – Los Angeles, CA
DEC 6 [NEW DATE!] – Brooklyn, NY

Click HERE to RSVP to Bar Ilegal