Three hours south of Oaxaca on a two-lane, pot holed highway on route to the Gulf of Tehuantepec is the turnoff to San Luis Del Rio. One takes another 2 hours on a winding, rocky, dirt road. The pueblo is located in a narrow, hot valley, with steep slopes full of Maguey Espadin. The Rio Hormiga Colorada (Red Ant River) flows through it. You may see Paciano Cruz Nolasco, tending his fields. Above the large fields of Maguey, the tops of the mountains are scattered with cornfields, iguanas crawling across the road, the trees and cactus with Bromeliads growing on them. San Luis Del Rio has a spicy, fruity and smoky nose with a high note of citrus. It is creamy, smooth and warming to the palate with a clean finish.

Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal is a beverage to be savored. Sip it. Don’t shoot it. “Stigibeu” – a term meaning, “For Mother Earth and our ancestors” — is the traditional Zapotec gratitude invoked before sharing a ritual pour of Mezcal together