What an amazing experience to have with friends. Chris Crisman has been a huge enthusiast of Mezcal for a long while, and he made a great connection with a very boutique mezcal curator and exporter in Oaxaca Mexico. The company founded and operated by Dalton Kreiss is called Maguey Melate (muh-gay may lah-tay) and is most well-known for their Mezcalero of the Month Club, which delivers artisanal small-batch agave spirits directly to your door. Coincidentally, Dalton is from the same hometown as my wife, Dubuque Iowa, so we instantly had a lot to talk about.
The real adventure was spending multiple days visiting the most unique palenques (farms, sort of) at sunrise, meeting such welcoming mezcaleros and their families, and sipping tiny glasses of mezcal throughout the whole day.
Tight little crew was just Chris, me, Ezra Miguel (DP), Mike Ryan (Photo Asst), Ryan Bradley (AC), and Alan Serna Coronado (Audio Tech)