The Spirits Producers Reclaiming and Honoring the Terroir and Culture Colonialism Captured
Photo by Fred Crandon/Unsplash
The legacy of colonialism continues to define business today, from fast fashion to farming to spirits.
While many individuals and organizations are beginning to denounce overt examples of cultural appropriation and serious debates around reparations for descendants of enslaved people in the U.S., the UK and elsewhere are finally gaining some traction in the halls of power, many of the products we consume regularly—from your favorite dish at your local takeout joint to spirits—are arguably products of a culture’s plunder and conquest.
And too often, the process, even today, of creating those almost universally beloved delights are done in such a way that injury after injury—economically, socially, culturally—is added to the original foundational insult of colonialism writ large.
Exploitation, including colonialism, is at the heart of all consumerism. However, in the drinks industry, some producers are trying to rewrite the script. Read on for insights from spirits makers doing their part to make change, deliciously.
Tequila Makers Prioritizing Economic and Cultural Sustainability
Tequila’s popularity in the U.S. has been spiking for decades, and in 2021, it actually outpaced sales of whiskey and is now lapping sales of vodka, traditionally America’s preferred spirit of choice. By 2027, it is expected to reach $27.7 billion in sales.
But the rise of the distilled alcoholic beverage made from the agave tequilana plant cannot be separated from colonialism. Tequila’s roots date back to around 1000 B.C., when the Aztecs made pulque from the sap of the agave plant. Back then, the drink didn’t take the form we know today. It wasn’t until the 15th century, when the conquistadores arrived, that the brandy-deprived Spaniards allegedly improvised and developed a recipe for mezcal. By the 1600s, Mexico’s first industrial-sized distillery in Tequila, Jalisco, opened its doors.
For centuries, local Mexican families, like the Cuervos and the Sauzas, developed and perfected the sustainable farming and production of artisanal tequila and mezcal. (Technically, all tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila).
In 1936, the Margarita was invented, and multinational corporations and organized crime rings got involved. The process of making the drink was soon industrialized, and as tequila’s profile grew, celebrities like Sammy Hagar, Elon Musk and Kendall Jenner launched their own brands.
Today, several spirits producers are working to restore tequila’s local roots while also using its soaring popularity as a way to elevate more contemporary ideals.
Cierto Tequila, founded in 2017 by tequila investor Todd Chaffee and fourth and fifth generation agaveros (agave farmers) and Master Distillers Enrique Fonseco and Sergio Mendoza, was created to elevate artisanal tequila-making on a global stage.
“Enrique and Sergio’s families have tended land in the Jalisco Highlands for 150 years,” says Jim Ruane, Cierto’s chief growth officer. “They have a unique perspective as generational landowners and are invested in preserving the land for generations to come.”