Los Danzantes & Alipus

One would be hard-pressed to take issue with Restaurante Los Danzantes in Oaxaca as a supporter of the precepts of Slow Food, given the restaurant ambiance, food quality and presentation, and its pricing, at least relative to higher end non – Slow Food proponents in the city, and of course establishments such as Don Emiliano. But mezcal at between 329 and 679 pesos for 750 ml (blanco espadín and tobalá respectively), hardly translates to “accessible prices for consumers.”

Los Danzantes produces mezcal under its namesake, and as well works with palenqueros in a few villages to market their mezcals under the name Alipus, to this extent similar to Ron Cooper and his Mezcal del Maguey modus operandi. Alipus uses 12 varietals of agave. It’s labelling indicates village of origin and palenquero, once again similar to Mezcal del Maguey.
Héctor Vázquez, an employee of Los Danzantes, oversees the production of Alipus in the villages, and is in charge of mezcal production at the Los Danzantes distillery in Matatlán.

Héctor acknowledges that the Los Danzantes packaging (bottle, stopper and label content) may be considered “elitist.” He stresses that Los Danzantes does not run a family business, and accordingly prices are inevitably higher than those of producers who are helped, for example, by spouses and children (i.e. Mezcal del Amigo). Los Danzantes bodes well in that it employs several Matatlán residents in its production facility, buys agave from campesinos, and has a reforestation project; but it’s far from a small scale producer.

Los Danzantes bakes its agave the traditional means, using mesquite, supplemented by encino negro. However, it uses propane to fuel its stills. Héctor points to propane as a clean fuel, and notes the debate regarding the use of wood as opposed to propane or diesel. Héctor burns wood to maintain the traditional flavour of mezcal. Los Danzantes planting 1,000 mesquite saplings annually seems to be a rationalization for cutting forests, but of course it serves to maintain supply. Héctor also points to the use of a special type of cement used in constructing the stills, reducing heat loss and accordingly fuel consumption. Others employ the same or similar heat loss prevention techniques.

The facility uses an electric circulating pump to cool the water in the serpentine side of the still. Solar energy is being contemplated for the future. As in the case of Mezcal del Amigo and others, Los Danzantes uses a sophisticated water filtration system. Los Danzantes (including Alipus), as do the producers noted above, ferments naturally, using no artificial means to speed up the process.

Similar to the case with Mezcal del Maguey, it’s clear that Los Danzantes and Alipus mezcals have improved the economic lot of a number of producers and their villages. The unanswered question, to be sure, is the extent to which the sharing of economic wealth between the producers and the sophisticated businessmen constitutes fair trade. Both Los Danzantes and Mezcal del Maguey, by reducing prices to consumers, could do even better for residents and their local communities and improve their rankings on a Slow Food continuum. At its Oaxaca restaurant, Los Danzantes charges between 65 and 125 pesos for a shot of its own mezcals. In fairness, Los Danzantes does sell other brands of mezcal as well; but it is effectively selling its house mezcal at a premium.

Benevá

Benevá is one of the largest and most sophisticated producers and exporters of mezcal. Don Pedro Mateo and his wife Doña Violeta remain hands-on in terms of overseeing operations, traveling throughout the state to procure agave, as well as in sales and promotion. Benevá is found on supermarket shelves, in its own downtown Oaxaca retail outlets and in restaurants. It is much more accessible to consumers than Mezcal del Maguey and Los Danzantes, at 150 pesos for blanco, and 160 – 190 pesos for reposado and añejo; although the much more artisanal Mezcal del Amigo has comparative pricing. It does not appear to produce mezcal using agave other than espadín, and therefore would not be considered a “designer” product. However, it does make a gran reserva añejo, of similar quality to the Mezcal del Amigo añejo.

Relative to other highly commercial mezcals on the domestic and international markets, Benevá produces an excellent product. But Benevá is big, commercial business, and as much as it produces a spirit of reasonable quality accessible to the general public, it is very close to one end of the continuum. While on a tour of the production facility, when asked the difference between mezcal as produced by Benevá, and tequila, Doña Violeta readily admitted it’s simply the variety of agave used, and climate in which it’s grown.

Fueled with diesel, Benevá steams its agave in massive stainless steel drums. The agave is crushed using sophisticated machinery; the nutrients are then washed out of the fiber in a similarly high-tech fashion. Stainless steel receptacles with steam running through tubing in the middle are used to ferment the baked agave juice in only 24 – 36 hours, as compared to several days the natural way. Sophisticated diesel-powered stills are employed. Mezcal is produced as quickly and efficiently as one can imagine, in huge quantities, employing a minimum of personnel. Is the Benevá technology mezcal production of the future, surpassed only by Zignum?

Yes, Benevá is a family operation, and at its facility one finds photos of Don Pedro’s father producing mezcal the old – fashioned way. But otherwise, the only vestige of tradition is at the Benevá – owned restaurant, Rancho Zapata, strategically located several miles away from the ultra-modern commercial production facility. Here, tourists can see mezcal being made using the pit with firewood for baking, horse for crushing, pine vat for fermenting, and copper and brick still. But it’s a demonstration, albeit producing mezcal, serving an important marketing function – as more and more producers who have discarded true tradition have come to exploit.

The Future of Mezcal in Oaxaca as Representative of the Slow Food Movement

Is Slow Food in Oaxaca fighting a losing battle as Andres Amato would seem to intimate? The changing nature of mezcal production and distribution appears to suggest that indeed, while artisanal production continues, there are several components of contemporary manufacture which are at odds with the Slow Food mission. A ray of hope is the effort being made by Hilarino and his syndicate, in their attempt to battle COMERCAM . Certainly there will be increased costs for small scale producers if their own group becomes highly regulated, but hopefully not to the extent of the checks and balances of COMERCAM and associated costs.

The alliance between Slow Food International and Los Danzantes, if in fact it can be termed as such, is based on good intentions, and aside from the restaurant’s prices for its mezcals, food is accessible relative to the competition in Oaxaca and elsewhere throughout Mexico. Its mezcals are another matter. Yes, Los Danzantes supports the Slow Food mission in terms of supporting small scale production under its Alipus label. But cost makes its Los Danzantes brand products inaccessible to most consumers, effectively acknowledged by Héctor.

Mezcal del Maguey has almost everything going for it, so much so that Slow Food International ought to forge links with Ron Cooper. Perhaps inviting a representative from Italy to visit Oaxaca, and look at the palenques in operation and the standard of living of the producers and village life, would go a long way to either illustrating that fair conditions and pay are indeed at work, or working towards price adjustment. It is suggested that regardless of the willingness of the two sides to work together on all issues, an accord can be reached.

Mezcal del Amigo, like many other palenques of its type, is illustrative of family run businesses which will continue into the future, and maintain their niches somewhere between the highest priced sipping spirits, and the Benevás. The Mezcal del Amigos in Oaxaca must adapt to survive and maintain their placement, and this inevitably means changing some of the traditional production methods. Survival is just as much a part of Slow Food as any of the other noted indicia. It is hoped, however, that what these producers lose in one dimension of the Slow Food mission, they make up in another.

Benevá is not going to change dramatically. It will maintain accessible pricing, because it can afford to do so, and at the same time will enter untapped international markets, such as Canada – just as McDonalds, Burger King and the rest did, and continue to do. Perhaps Benevá actually assists the Los Danzantes, Alipuses, Mezcal del Magueys and Amigo del Mezcals out there – and there are many – since giving consumers an initial taste of a basic, agreeable spirit might be just what’s needed to whet the appetite for a higher end designer product – expensive, yet nevertheless sensitive to the Slow Food movement.

As mezcal in Oaxaca moves through the 21st century, it must become more accessible to consumers as a quality spirit, while at the same time respectful of the Slow Food mission. Otherwise, Slow Food in Mexico will remain for the rich, and yes, elitist.

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Alvin and his wife Arlene run Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http://www.oaxacadream.com http://www.casamachaya.com), a unique Oaxaca b & b experience combining the comfort of a Oaxaca hotel with the quaintness and personal touch of a country inn and the privacy with full amenities of an apartment. Alvin writes, consults to documentary film companies, takes couples and families to the sights in and around Oaxaca, and together with Chef Pilar Cabrera runs Oaxaca Culinary Tours (http://www.oaxacaculinarytours.com).

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