Craft Distillers

03/13/2025

Meet Karina Abad, the master distiller for Los Danzantes Distileria, producer of Los Danzantes Mezcal (Los Nahuales in the US) and Mezcal Alipús.

A biochemist by training, she was the first field verifier for COMERCAM where her job of certifying mezcal put her on the road to becoming one of the most respected distillers in the business. It has been quite a journey, as Anna Bruce learned in talking to Karina not only about her past work, but also a few of the changes she has brought to Los Danzantes that have increased efficiency, sustainability, and most importantly, flavor.

Link in bio to featured story to read the full piece, or here: https://www.mezcalistas.com/karina-abed-on-the-chemistry-of-mezcal/

📷 by .photos



**Edited to correct the misspelling of Karina's last name.

11/23/2024

Our friends and next door neighbor, Caddell & Williams, are at the Taste of Redwood Valley event out at the Alambic Distillery TODAY from 12-5pm PST. A great opportunity to try & buy several of the beautiful craft spirits we represent. Location details below...

07/06/2024

Tso’Ok Rum from from NorCal’s Craft Distillers is another standout fresh sugarcane Oaxacan rum from the the remote Mixe mountain highlands in Mexico’s Sierra Norte
..reviewed in my latest Distiller Magazine bottle column:

https://distilling.com/distillermagazine/new-release-roundup-may-2024

American Distilling Institute

07/03/2024

Grape grower and distiller, Nati Gordillo was designated as the Female distiller of the year in 2021 by , IYKYK ✨🥂

📸: .ph

03/03/2024

Espadín are the most unfairly maligned agaves. They get abused by careless mass-market brand producers for all of the cheap well mezcals and, as a result, they suffer unwarranted reputational damage. A well-crafted espadín ought to be afforded the same respect with one approaches other agaves. It’s not espadín’s fault it grows fast! Try an expertly made espadín and fall in love with what was probably your first agave, all over again.

02/26/2024

02/16/2024

Pedro is removing the “torta,” the
“cake” that forms from the compression of the grape skins in the secondary press.

Remember, pisco is wine single-distilled, the skins cycle back into the fields as ground cover and compost.

02/09/2024

Palenques from the mezcaleros masters who produce Alipús at .

Mezcals are spirits distilled from the agave plant. Tequila is a mezcal, but tequila producers remove the agave solids before they distill. Tequila distillers put just the fermented juice into their stills, but artisan mezcal distillers include the fermented agave solids, meaning that well-made artisan mezcals from Oaxaca are richer and more complex than tequila.

Alipus is distilled from local plantings of the agave espadín, the genetic ancestor of the blue agave Weber of tequila. Distillation takes place at small family distilleries in remote pueblos in Oaxaca state.

02/03/2024

Who is Ansley Coale?

If you’ve never heard of Ansley Coale it’s because he has kept himself behind the scenes, intentionally pushing the people he works with and the brands that represent them to the forefront. Brands like Los Danzantes/Los Nahuales, Alipus, Mezcalero, and Comunidad, Cuentacuentos, and others under the umbrella of Craft Distillers here in the United States. The storytelling of these brands focuses on the humans and the communities from which the mezcal comes, which has played a significant role in their success. Leading with information and insight into the products was something Ansley adopted after co-founding Germain Robin, a California brandy distillery that is itself a story of creative pioneering in the beverage industry.

Read more by going to Mezcalistas.com new article “Who is Ansley Coale?”

https://bit.ly/482ndHX

01/27/2024

Try our Low Gap Bourbon (and 5 others!) from the comfort of home and get to meet some of the makers at the February 15th event! Order now before the 1/30 deadline.

Order at: https://bit.ly/4bdzKv1