Aguascalientes Mezcal Masters Workshop

Fourteen new commercial brands of distilled agave beverages resulted from the Workshop of Mezcal Masters: Women Learning from Women, organized by the association Women Entrepreneurs of Maguey and Derivatives of Aguascalientes, presided by Mylenna López Castro, in alliance with the Secretary of Economic Development of Aguascalientes, Manuel Alejandro González Martínez, and the Certifying Agency of the Center for Innovation and Agri-Food Development of Michoacán, Dr. Eliza López Loeza.

The Palenque of the famous San Marcos Fair was the stage for the inauguration and closing of the workshop, which included the participation of expert instructors related to the agave distilled beverage industry; Luz María Saavedra Hernández, master mezcal maker from Michoacán; M. C. Adriana Torres Huerta, Bacanora entrepreneur from Sonora; Mónica León Cano, specialist in positioning and international marketing of alcoholic beverages; and Amalia Abalos, expert in agave plant cultivation.

The support of the state agencies was crucial for the success and acceptance of this first workshop aimed at strengthening the position of the State of Aguascalientes in participation of the Denomination of Origin Mezcal. The Secretary of Tourism and its director, MVZ. José Ángel González Serna Paquín; the representative of the Institute of Education of Aguascalientes, Mtro. Ulises Reyes Esparza and the Secretary of Rural Development and Agribusiness, Mtro. Miguel Muñoz de la Torre, were sponsors of the Aguascalientes Mezcal Master's Workshop, which began in mid-August and lasted five weeks.

The Mezcal La Realenga factory lent its facilities and expertise for the workshop practices. The 18 participants took part in the work, together with the mezcal masters, of making a batch of mezcal, from the harvest and the agave jima to the double distillation process, as indicated by the regional tradition of El Llano, Ages.

The fourteen commercial brands that were born in the Taller de Maestras del Mezcal differ in their strategies to serve different niches in the enormous market of distilled agave beverages. Each of the businesswomen, personally advised by experts, started in the triangle of brand positioning, whose vertices are the mission of their company, its distinctive characteristics and its contribution to the current mezcal market.

In his closing message, Mr. Manuel Alejandro González Martínez recognized the work of the women organizers and instructors, which promotes the consolidation of the mezcal sector as an engine of the rural economy of Aguascalientes. The Women Entrepreneurs of Maguey and Derivatives of Aguascalientes, in the voice of their representative Mylenna López Castro, thanked the invited instructors for their support and thanked the state officials for their vision and sustained support to the mezcal sector, a commitment to economic development that promotes local development.

That same afternoon, the members of the Mujeres Empresarias del Maguey gave away various handmade products, such as agave honey baked goods, mango jam with mezcal, handmade chocolate, tepezcohuite and oatmeal soaps. In addition, attendees tasted Mezcal michoacano Nanakutzi, Bacanora Hasta La Muerte and Mezcal de Aguascaientes La Realenga to present the first batch of Mezcal Empresarias del Maguey to the guests.