Mezonte
A Guadalajara-based curator project distributing traditional agave spirits from producers across Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Durango. Because most of Mezonte's producers work outside the mezcal Denominación de Origen, every bottle ships as Destilado de Agave rather than mezcal. Only Jorge Pérez (Michoacán) uses a non-copper still — his hollowed tree-trunk method with a copper cap is traditional but does not meet strict NOM-070 Ancestral (which prohibits metal in the still).
Mezonte is a Guadalajara-based project — part shop, part cultural organization, part curator — that has spent over a decade documenting and distributing agave spirits from small producers in Jalisco, Michoacán, and neighboring states. Because most Mezonte producers work outside the mezcal Denominación de Origen, every bottle ships as destilado de agave rather than mezcal, regardless of method.
Zero Mezonte bottles are starred on this site. The closest is Jorge Pérez in Michoacán, who uses a hollowed oyamel tree-trunk still — historically significant Filipino-style production predating clay pot in the region. But his still has a copper cap (cazo de cobre), which disqualifies it from strict NOM-070 Ancestral (which prohibits metal in the still). We list Jorge Pérez here because his method is genuinely ancestral in the historical sense, but the star is reserved for clay-pot bottles specifically.
The remaining Mezonte bottlings — Lorenzo Virgen, Santos Juárez, Teodoro García, and the raicilla releases — all use copper alembic stills.
Sources
Catalog
8 SKUs — 0 ancestral ★Bottles from this producer we've verified in US distribution — each row cites a source. ★ marks true ancestral: the cited source must explicitly state both clay-pot distillation AND wooden-mallet or tahona milling for this specific bottle. Producer-line statements ("our whole line uses X") do not qualify — verification must be per-bottle. Copper-distilled, shredder-milled, or citation-gap bottles are listed but not starred.
| Bottle | Maestro | Agave | Still | Mill | ABV | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mezonte Jorge Pérez Michoacán Hollowed oyamel tree-trunk still WITH COPPER CAP — traditional Michoacán Filipino-style method, but the copper montera means it does NOT meet strict NOM-070 Ancestral criteria (which prohibits metal in the still). Río de Parras, Michoacán. | Jorge Pérez | Alto (Inaequidens) | Tree trunk | Wooden mallet | 46.8% | verify → |
| Mezonte Quiote (Jorge Pérez) Same tree-trunk method as Jorge Pérez Michoacán. | Jorge Pérez | Quiote | Tree trunk | Wooden mallet | — | verify → |
| Mezonte Lorenzo (Virgen) Jalisco Filipino copper still (copper saucepan lined with pine/parota wood). Chancuellar, Jalisco. | Lorenzo & Tomás Virgen | Yellow Ixtero, Green Ixtero, Brocha, others | Copper | — | 46% | verify → |
| Mezonte Santos Juárez Jalisco Tolimán, Jalisco. Raicilla-style. | Santos Juárez | Alineño, Cimarrón | Copper | — | 48% | verify → |
| Mezonte Teodoro García Oaxaca Miahuatlán, Oaxaca. | Teodoro García | Bicuixe, Espadín | Copper | — | — | verify → |
| Mezonte Cándido Romero Loma de Guadalupe, Jalisco. Raicilla. | Cándido Romero | raicilla varietal | Copper | — | 45% | verify → |
| Mezonte Aciano (Aciano Mendoza) Sierra Tepehuana, Durango region. | Petronila and Aciano Mendoza | Tepehuano varietal | Copper | — | 50.3% | verify → |
| Mezonte Raicilla Japo Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. Raicilla. | Hildegardo Joya "Japo" | Amarillo | Copper | — | — | verify → |