Here at TequilaList, we have formerly had a small interview with Ernesto Valdés. At that time, he was very much working on a nice chaser for Tequila/Mezcal. In the meantime his business has grow considerably and Mezcal Trascendente is one brand out of an amazing big output of good mezcals from Oaxaca. What makes Mezcal Trascendente stand out, is its approach to the concept of mezcal. The Trascendente underlines freshness and more feminine qualities, making it look more like a Patron than a Vago. It is interesting and Mezcal Trascendente is an interesting company.

Albeit being young, the company has solid plans for selling. “We are going to start in Amazon.com/mexico, In the Airport in Mexico City, Tequila and Mezcal Museum in Mexico City, City Market, Super market in whole country and we are in conversations to send the mezcal to Russia, China, Kazajstan, Germany and USA”, says owner, daily leader, Ernesto Valdés.

We have made a small interview with Ernesto Valdez about his venture here:

Q: Who are you and what is your background?

A: I am Ernesto Valdés, I am Mexican and I am an entrepreneur. I am dedicated to the production and marketing of mezcal, for 5 years.
I have a diploma in agaves and mezcal in the cradle of mezcal, which is the state of Oaxaca in Mexico
I have represented the mezcal throughout the country and in Germany through a commercial and business agreement between the two countries.

Q: When did you start Mezcal Trascendente?

A: The transcendent mezcal, started 2 years ago, we are a group of successful Mexicans in various areas of other businesses and also friends. One day we talked about the fact that in Mexico we needed to promote a very traditional product in the country and with a lot of growth potential and we think that it is better than an ancestral and great tasting beverage such as Mezcal.

My partners and friends are lovers of mezcal and we decided to embark on a trip to Oaxaca through several municipalities with different styles of mezcal, for example: The Ancestral, Craft or Industrial Mezcal.

Q: Mezcal comes in many variant. We have tried different flavors and aromas with different styles of agave species. What agaves are you using?

A: Well, mezcal gives us sweet, citric, bitter and fruity flavors and we wanted a mezcal with citrus and fruit flavors and finally we found it to be a THREE AGAVES ASSEMBLY: ESPADÍN, TOBALÁ AND CUISHE.

• AGAVE ESPADÍN
• AGAVE TOBALÁ
• AGAVE CUISHE

Q: How many people work in Mezcal Trascendente?

A: The place where mezcal is produced, is called PALENQUE, A palenque is where the mezcal is cooked, fermented and distilled.

25 people work in mezcal production. And another 5 people work in the marketing, promotion and logistics part of the mezcal shipping nationally and internationally.

One of the most important persons in this production is our MEZCAL MASTER, his name is: Roberto García Chagoya, he is coming from one the most important families on the production industry with 4 generations in his family, producing the mezcal, so his knowledge is important for the taste of our mezcal,

Q: Where in Oaxaca are you situated?

A: Our palenque is located in the state of Oaxaca, specifically in the municipality of Tlacolula de Matamoros. About 35 minutes from downtown Oaxaca

In the photos you can see that our palenque has a beautiful view and mountains. In those mountains there are cave paintings of our ancestors and the place of Tlacolula de Matamoros by mezcal and the paintings were called WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY

Q: Where do you source your agave ?

A: In our mezcal production process, we have our own agave plantation, where we carry out an agave irrigation and plantation process.

We do not use any type of insecticide and our fertilizers are organic.

It is important to meet certain requirements as our product has an organic and kosher certificate. In addition, together with the most prestigious public University of Mexico, we will apply to get our seal: ¨Bat Friendly¨.
As the bat is an important actor in the pollination of the agave and we want its habitat to be adequate to perform his function.

Q: Where do you distill?

A: We distill in our same manufacturing. We do this in a brick distillation furnace, where the physical-chemical process is done through stainless steel stills. With this we reduce that there are heavy metals such as copper, lead or others that are carcinogenic agents and this means that we take care of the consumer’s well-being. We are distilling under NOM-070.

Here we make the distillation.

Q: The bottles are described as Artesanal. What does that mean in terms of production?

A: It means that our workforce is handmade, because no machinery is involved in the process of manufacturing mezcal.

Likewise, our bottle is hand painted and the labels are also placed with the hands. With this we indirectly employ dozens of people

Q: Why is the brand called Trascendente?

A: Transcendent is called that, because the transcendent word can amount to many areas of life. We all want to transcend our daily life, our work, our family and when we die we transcend to another plane of the universe. (As you well know in Mexico we are very traditional in terms of life and death) And if you see in our name, a hummingbird comes. The hummingbird is the guardian of time that TRANSCENDS

Q: Can you tell a little about the different taste profiles of Espadin, Tobala, Cuishe. What are the differences?

A: Sprat agave is a sweet-smoked taste. Agave Tobalá is a fruity flavor and Agave Cuishe is a citrus-sweet flavor. The combination of the 3 in our mezcal is an experience that only when you try it, you can understand, because it is an explosion of sensations in the mouth and neuronal stimuli are endless emotions

Espadin, Tobala, Cuishe are different agave plants… do they mature at the same speed?

The Espadín agave takes about 5 to 7 years to mature. The Agave Tobalá, it takes to mature between 10 to 12 years. The Cuishe agave takes 10 to 15 years to mature.

Q: Can you give us some tips as to how we should drink mezcal? Cooled, warm etc…

A: Mezcal in general should be sipped, never take the entire shot completely in one stroke. First you must smell it gently and bump it between the body of the glass where you served it, since it will be better to appreciate the aromas that the mezcal is taking.

Later the taste buds begin to activate and the salivary will begin to act in our mouth. Preferably that saliva should be spread throughout the mouth and after swallowing it, it is advisable to give only a small sip to the mezcal, but very small and that liquid again, spread it throughout the mouth.

It can feel very hot at the beginning and very smoky flavors, then you have to swallow that sip and poster then you have to swallow that sip and then give it now if a much larger sip and you will see that the first taste is very different from the second, because in the second drink, you will appreciate the true flavors of that mezcal: fruity, bitter, sweet, citrus, smoked, caramel, honey, etc.

Catorce Agaves Manager
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