The MHW Mark Podcast
Welcome to the MHW podcast, bringing you conversations with experts and leaders in the alcoholic beverage industry. Covering topics ranging from selling alcohol online, creating a new brand from scratch, and what you need to know when you start doing business internationally. Hosted by Jimmy Moreland and a rotating cast of cohosts from the folks at MHW.
The MHW Mark Podcast
Mezcal is a Woman's World - with Mia Tonelli and Alana Abbitt
The mezcal category continues to show striking year-over-year growth. On this episode, we welcome two founders of newer mezcal brands to share their stories of navigating brand development, distribution, compliance, and other challenges. Host Jimmy Moreland and MHW's Brigid McCabe welcome Doce Mezcal's Mia Tonelli and Santa Almagia's Alana Abbitt.
Find out more about Doce Mezcal | Website
See more about Santa Almagia | Website
More info about MHW at https://www.mhwltd.com/
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Welcome to the MHW Mark Podcast, where we take deep dives into various aspects of the alcohol industry. My name is Jimmy Moreland. MHW is a U.S. and EU beverage alcohol importer, distributor, and service provider. Welcoming back to this show. We are very happy to have Bridget McCabe. Welcome back.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you, Jimmy. Glad to be here.
SPEAKER_03:Have you gotten over your jet lag on your return flight from overseas?
SPEAKER_02:Finally, yes. But it was a great report from Barcom in Berlin this year. Our listeners, many of whom probably were there in attendance. It was an excellent show. We had a booth where we were taking meetings with clients and potential new clients, but we also had the opportunity to have a coffee bar sampling, two of our clients, Noblewood with Baluba vodka and Amaretto Adriatico. So that was excellent. Adriatico actually had won the Bar Comet Brooklyn brand pitch competition. So this was part of their prize package, and the feedback was overwhelming about how delicious the espresso martinis and the amaretto coffees were. So very excited to see the traction that comes from that show and always energized to see brands from over 80 different countries at that show.
SPEAKER_03:Well, welcome back to the States. I'm glad that you had a fun time. We've got a good conversation today with a couple of founders uh who are in the same category, but they're not necessarily in competition.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. So today we are talking women in Mezcal, and specifically today's title episode is Mezcal is a Woman's World. Um that came actually from the interview that you're about to hear. But I think it's so true to where the category is headed and the doors that are opening in this space for not only female founders, but also mezcalistas and the woman working at the Palenques. So it's very exciting.
SPEAKER_03:All right, let's jump into our guests. First up, she is a co-founder of the Dose Mezcal brand. Welcome to the show, Mia Tonelli.
SPEAKER_00:Hi, Jimmy.
SPEAKER_03:And also joining us, she is a co-founder of the Santa Almagia Mezcal brand. Welcome, Alana Abbott.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for having me, Jimmy and Bridget. It's a pleasure being here.
SPEAKER_03:Now, can each of you take us back and just talk about the founding, the starting of these brands? Mia, can you start? Let's talk about Dose. Why Dose? Why Mezcal? Why now?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Jimmy, just to quickly preface, I started a Dose with my two co-founders, Gabriella and Gabby, not to make it too confusing. So we are a woman-owned business. And when Dose started, it really actually started almost 12 years ago, back when Gabby and I were studying abroad in Doha Qatar. We had entered this business competition and joked that one day we would start something together. Fast forward to our late 20s, we were very much both ready for a change. We had been in our careers. She was in engineering, I was in fashion and business development. And she was visiting me in New York when her dad was here for a bike race. And she was staying with me in my tiny railroad apartment in Hell's Kitchen. And we're just chatting one night, super late. And she's like, dude, she's like, we never started that business. And she was like, we should really start that now. And um it almost kind of felt like chills. And I was like, you know what? I was like, that's a really interesting time to want to start a business. But I saw kind of the passion and I saw the opportunity. So we started brainstorming, and one of the most important things for Gabby is she's born and raised in Mexico in Aguas Calientes, and she very much wanted to bring a Mexican product to the US. I had worked in Oaxaca years before, specifically with women artisans and in production. So Mezcal really kind of felt like this perfect meeting point of heritage and craft for us. And we also really felt like there wasn't necessarily Mezcal that was really speaking from necessarily a more modern female perspective, something that was more elevated, but still deeply rooted in the authenticity of the production. So after we kind of had that initial meeting of the minds, that's when I brought in my third co-founder, Gabriella, who is our chief brand officer. And she had worked formerly in PR, was actually one of her clients. She's a brilliant storyteller, so creative, such an ideator, and she really helped us to hone our brand voice and really be able to bring Dose to life through experiences. So, really, I like to say Dose was born over friendship, timing, and over a 12-year period. And we came together building Dose because we truly want to exceed expectations, but also create a lifestyle for more elevated experiences. And it's very much a modern drink for the mindful consumer.
SPEAKER_03:And Alana, can you tell us about Santa Almagia?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, of course. And a lot of what Mia said really resonate, especially with the craftsmanship and the artistry. I think you'll probably hear a lot about that from both of us. But frankly, I yeah, I never set out to start a Mescal brand. That's actually kind of the funny point, is I fell in love with a spirit that carried so much soul and history. And it, long story short, I was on a vacation with my mom in Oaxaca, and I was on maternity leave. So I was really thinking about legacy and when am I going to leave my daughter? And we felt met these families who have been making mescal by hand for generations. And it sounds so cheesy, but it's true. It felt more like a calling to be able to represent my heritage in the US market in a way that is depicted very differently than Mescal and Tequila and Agave spirits are today. So it felt a little bit more like a calling than an option. But the opportunity to educate the market at this point in time was so important to me that I felt like it was the right time to make the change. So basically, Al Mahia and I obviously were, as you can tell, I would found it with my mom. It's a portmanteau. Al Magia is Alma Soul and Mahia Magic. So we try to bring that to every bottle.
SPEAKER_03:We've talked a lot about this podcast. Longtime listeners will know that I am I'm not a clear spirits person in general. So I'm not a mezcal expert by any means. But we can change that.
SPEAKER_02:I'm your target demographic.
SPEAKER_03:But I keep telling um folks who are in that space that I need someone who can be my my spiritual guide to tell me like what I'm trying to taste for, what I'm looking for when I do taste what on its surface doesn't appeal to me, but maybe I just need someone who who can walk me through it. So, Alana, let's start with you. Can you walk me through why mezcal and what are people looking for when they pull a bottle of mezcal off the shelf?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's a very good question. And I think you're also touching on some misconceptions of what mezcal even is in the first place. A lot of people think it's smoky tequila, maybe it's not for them. And obviously, I want to respect people's palettes and preferences. But what I think is really interesting is mezcal is much richer and more deep than what people think it is. It can be fruity, it can be floral, it can be citrusy. So there's a lot more depth than one might imagine. So if you think of tequila, it's purely blue weber agave. Um, mezcal can be several different types of agave. So we focus on tobala and we focus on lumbre, which there might be more to come in the future. But what's distinct about that is that they're wild. So for our process, it's 100% ancestral, which basically means everything is done by hand. There's no machinery, there's no shortcuts. So a lot of the labor of love and adjustment is done from generations of experience, but you can actually taste that. So the terroir, all of the climate, everything that was happening within that time, it's kind of like putting a snapshot into a bottle. So even though there's a specific craft, it might not, it's not gonna be a hundred percent identical from bottle to bottle, which is actually really interesting because you might really like the flavor profile, but you'll get certain varieties kind of like you do in wine. So a little bit of more kind of a background on why the process impacts the taste. So as I mentioned, it's hand cut wild agave, it's slow cooked underground. So you get a little bit, that's kind of where the smokiness elements come in. But when you cook it well, it kind of dissipates. Um we crush it by hand with wooden mallets, then we ferment it in sabine wood tubs, and we distill it in clay pots. This entire process takes months, so it's not an industrial method, you know. All of this is adjusted to the taste of the mezcalero. So each uh town that we participate in has its own kind of spin on this, and each uh mezcalero has its own spin on it. So that's when somebody pulls off the bottle, you kind of should look for some of these types of things and also the ABB.
SPEAKER_03:And Mia, can you talk about what we're looking at with Dose?
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. And Alana, I think that was a really beautiful summary of how Mezcal is made and why it's important, um, down to all the details through the production process, and especially how every small factor from the terrain to the climate to the wood that's used affects the final finished liquid. And that's something that I don't think a lot of consumers truly understand yet. A lot of people we find as a misconception is that people think mezcal is a tequila, not tequila is a mezcal. And so we always try to start with education saying that mezcal is really similar to the wine industry. It's effectively there's a lot of different types of species of agave, just like there's a lot of different species and varieties of grapes. And using that as kind of that visual reference and framing really helps people to start to separate and understand at a larger kind of scale of how diverse mezcal is. And so for us, we actually use an espadine. And our goal with Dose, we say on a scale of one to 10, we're a Dose, 12 out of 10 out of everything we do. And truly, our focus with creating Dose was making the best possible espadine on the market that took no shortcuts, but that was great for an entry-level consumer who was a little bit afraid of kind of the harshness that people hear all the time about mezcal and the roughness and the gasoline taste. And we wanted to create something that was very easy to sip and something that was very approachable, but still had that really lovely sweet smoke peppered in. And then also wanted to be complex enough for someone who is more experienced, mezcal drinker, that is able to find the nuances in every bottle and every batch, just to the Lonus Point. You know, no batch is ever going to be the same because you can't make anything down to the exact uh detail of anything during the production process because it's truly a labor of love and it's so hand-produced. And in terms of our production process, Jimmy and Bridget, we do an artisanal. We've partnered with Margarita Blas. She is our Maestra Masculera, she has run the Planque with her several children, and we're very proud to say that 60% of the workforce on the Planck are actually made up of women, which is really exciting. And um that's awesome.
SPEAKER_02:That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:It is, it really is. And you know, you think of the production of Mezcal being very much a man's world, and you know, we love to be like, well, 60% of our planque is actually run by women, and there's a lot of women support behind the scenes. So we love to say dosay is made by a women's touch from start to finish. And in our production process, uh, we use an eight-year Capone d'agave. Uh, we Capone the Espadine and leave it in the field for three months so that the plant is able to absorb and get all those sugars. And then we go into the roasting process where we do a pine and oak blend and we roast for about a week. And then we use a Tahona method, which is where the horse takes the wheel and crushes the agave. And then we do our fermentation process, which is about a little week in wood oak and oak barrels. And then we do the distillation, which is in copper pots for a double distillation. So it's actually really beautiful too to hear how Alana, both of our spirits have, even though they're mascals, they're also produced in very different ways. Down from like, you know, you're using clay, we're using copper, you're using hand mallets for crushing, we're using tahona. And um, you know, again, I think that just speaks to the spirit and the interest of the category of how you know you can produce mezcal in so many different ways and with so many different varieties.
SPEAKER_02:I think that's such a good point that there's so much nuance and variance and room for everybody. And you actually um gave me the inspiration probably for the podcast title, which is Mezcal is a woman's world.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. Another fun line, I love that. Um, we also say this is a quote directly from Gabrielle, and we use it all the time: Mezcal is the woman's whiskey.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I love that. Well, I think this pivots us very nicely into my next question. You obviously both have such rich history and wonderful, I think, homage to the actual production process and to the ancestry that's really rich in Mezcal. But I think in terms of how you're innovating and bringing the world of Mezcal forward, your brands have both been really integral to paving the way for more agave spirit founders who are female, black, Mexican, young, um, woman in STEM. That was something I heard from one of the founders of Doche, as well as you, Alana. Um, entrepreneurial. I think the list is really long here in terms of sort of these categories that you're opening up. What does it mean to you to inspire that change in the industry? And how do you honor that background within the brand story?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so Bridget, that's a great question. It really is huge and it's quite honestly very humbling because there still aren't many brands in the overall liquor space, but especially in the agave space that are specifically woman-owned. And with those say, we really are proud to be a woman-owned, black-owned, and Mexican-owned brand. And you don't see that very often. And again, it sounds sometimes like, you know, when we say it, we're checking off a box. But, you know, we're proud of that representation and we don't lead with it as a marketing hook, but it's just truly who we are. And again, down to the DNA of our story, it's been built through friendship and us being friends, colleagues, uh and exploring the last 10 years together and different very paths of our lives. But one thing that I would say that is still very interesting to me is we do very much most of the hand selling still, Gabrielle and I are very much on the ground. And one thing that we have found, I'll give a little example story that I find the most, is when we do say, hey, we're a women-owned brand, a lot of times we'll get people that kind of scoff and be like, Well, there's a lot of women-owned brands. And I love to say, Oh, okay, great. And then they're like, You're not the only one. I'm like, by no means are we the only one, but there are very few. And so when they say that they have too many women-owned brands, I was like, well, okay, how many, what's the percentage on your shelf of women-owned agave brands? And generally they say 0%, or maybe it's like 2%. So I'm like, okay, but then how many of your whiskey brands are owned by women? And then it's like 0%, but how many are they owned by men? And it's generally about 100%. So it's like, if you can have brands in other categories that are predominantly dominated by men, why can't we have 10, 15, 20% of agave brands be owned by women? And why does it have to be such a miss in terms of the representation aspect of it? So it's really interesting to get that feedback still. And when we do share that we are a women on brand, people are very dismissive of it. And um, again, by no means are we the only women in the space, but you know, it is interesting how it seems a lot of people want to make it seem like there should only be one woman on brand. And that's very frustrating, to be honest. Um, and I'm sure Lana, you felt this as well. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Even the production with working with a female mezcalera and having like the 62% owned, I feel like probably not a lot of liquor store owners in the US understand like the barriers it took to overcome that because a lot of times you needed to get that like special permission from the mezcaleros to kind of work within the same community and to learn. And there was a mezcalista I worked with at one point on another brand who had to basically join a different palanca in order to have her grandfather recognize her and to come back into it. So it is something that you know it it takes barriers to overcome. And so I think, you know, the founding as well as the production, it's so impressive. So I stay, I say keep beating that drum. And I think that's great that you point that out about the shelf representation. Um, Alana, I want to get your thoughts on this as well.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and of course, and and Mia's story resonates so much because it does feel like a quota, like, oh, I got one or I got 10%. You know, it's not us checking the box that we're female founded, it's almost sometimes on the other side, on the vendor supplier side as well, the purchasing side. So it I feel like it is more difficult, like although it's kind of a seal of differentiation, sometimes that differentiation comes with strings attached, I would say. Um, and not necessarily that people have treated me differently, um, although I definitely understand where Mia's coming from and I've experienced that as well. But I guess taking a step back, you know, I'm I'm used to being in industries where I'm one of a few women in the room. I am the only female leading a woman, and especially kind of with my background and STEM, it's just kind of uh par for the course, which I wish we were not the exception. I wish that it was a different demographic. But what I appreciate about the spirits industry is that it lives in this broader hospitality world, and that space is all about relationships, and the strongest bonds to me come from authentic relationships. So, what I try to do is we're my mom and I try to talk about you know our story, our connection with this brand and why we're doing this, and this kind of passion project and this labor of love that really spawned into a business, and that we're not chasing trends or personas. We're trying to build a community of like-minded people that enjoy this and we realize that we're not for everybody, and that's okay. But if people are open to trying it or open-minded to even telling a friend who might like Mescal, that's kind of where we really start to get the right people together.
SPEAKER_00:I just want to piggyback off of that, Alana, to your point of, you know, we're not just checking off a box and in a greed, like for us, also one of the most important things about being a female owned brand with Dose is that, you know, we're showing up authentically and we are celebrating women. And we're doing that not just through, you know, in terms of kind of like performative, but you know, we are specifically looking, always hiring a diverse team. We sought out and found Margarita Blass, who's our Mescalera, and she has equity and Dose, as well as her plank, has equity as well. And and you know, giving opportunities and opening doors for others that might not necessarily have that opportunity is very much so important to us and really using our platform to effectively open doors for others.
SPEAKER_02:And Mia, tell me a little bit about Pronghorn's investment and involvement in Dose Mezcal. What does that mean to have a black co-founder and to have Mezcal be represented by the Pronghorn portfolio?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so Pronghorn is we recently joined their portfolio. They're an accelerator company. We joined about a year ago, and uh their whole ethos is to invest in minority-owned and specifically black-owned spirits brands. And, you know, the biggest thing that I would say is in terms of support for being part of the Pronghorn portfolio and community is the mentorship and network support that they've been able to give us. Again, we're relatively still pretty new with the portfolio, and we're always looking at ways and how they can continue to support us. But again, it's it's really coming up and being a place for networking and using as a springboard to think creatively, think outside the box, but also in ways to be able to support founders that are minority and them using their network to open doors that we might not be able to have access to, especially being an early stage and minority women-owned brands.
SPEAKER_03:I want to ask about, you know, we've talked a lot already about the culture and the traditions involved. I'm curious if there is any sort of difficulty reconciling, is there, do you feel that there's a tension between authentically telling these stories and representing and honoring these traditions and the idea that you're running a business and you're aiming to make maximum profit and so forth. Is there a tension there and how do you communicate that authentically to your end consumers?
SPEAKER_01:For us, innovation doesn't mean replacing tradition. I think they can kind of coexist in what is the right thing and the moment. And what I mean by that is we modernize how the story is told. We sell on digital channels, we change the packaging, you know, all the branding and the the tone we think is is more modern. But the process to us is what remains pure and sacred. You know, it's cooked in the underground ovens, the fermentation process, the double distillation, the 48 to 50% alcohol by volume where it's kind of untouched. That stuff is the things that you do not change because it's the craftsmanship. The stuff that you do innovate on is how to target your audience, how do you reach to your audience, how do you get in front of it? How do you think of creative ways that haven't been done before to commercialize and showcase the elevation of this product? So to me, it's maintaining that balance and kind of knowing which channel works for the message that you're trying to convey.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, your your packaging and your social media to me is very it's a great way to kind of modernize but still honor the traditions. If you any listeners who want to look up the packaging, it's absolutely beautiful. And the social media I think is is very cool and is bringing in that next generation into Mazcal. So compliments there.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you, thank you. We um we got some awards on the packaging, which I didn't expect. I was like, it's the juice. The the juice got more awards, but the packaging is also critical too.
SPEAKER_02:But it's true, it's true though that that's what gets consumers to take a second look at it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and also take it seriously too, right? That it should be worth the price. Um, so I I'm a very strong proponent of uh what I've seen is it's either really, really cool packaging in other spirits, and the taste is like, what? They spent all the money on the box, or the opposite, the taste is so good, but the packaging is not eye-catching. Um, so I really, you know, that branding was important to me. And then, you know, even looking at Dulce Today, I was like, wow, this is so cool. The elements of representation that feel also very modern and fresh, but I'll let me speak to that. I'm just saying I think both our brands can stand side by side together well.
SPEAKER_00:Could not agree more with you, Alana. And and also, you know, but there are some, there are differences, but they very much complement each other. And I think we are approaching the market and the also just the commercialization of Mescal in very much the same way because same thing for us, the first rule is tradition first, truly, and then innovation second. But really by tradition first, we mean is to what Lana said, which is you know, making sure that the production process is still staying the same. And that's very much led by our palenque and led by uh Margarita's guidance, and that we're very much honoring their traditions and the craftsmanship that generations before have been using. So for us, you know, really that craftsmanship needs to stay intact. And one thing we always say is we take no shortcuts, we're not racing to become the well, uh, because that you know ruins the integrity truly of the mezcal. And mezcal is not meant to be cheapened. It's a it's a very laborous process and truly made with love and a lot of time and commitment, and a lot of hands are involved in it. And then for us, you know, where we innovate is similar to just how do we share Mescal? How do we create the experience of dossi? And we do that through design, storytelling, experiences, uh back to where Alana was saying packaging, branding, something that's you know, really more elevated, modern. We love to use color and have a lightness and playfulness to the space, but still, you know, weaving in moments of education as well. And so we do a lot of, and I would say that's kind of where we're leading right now in our marketing efforts is education first. And we do a lot of corporate events. We've worked with like Glossier, uh Pepsi, law firms, and you know, we go and create these like really meaningful tastings and that allow people to sip and reflect and learn more about the process of how Mescal is made, but also the nuances of the sphere itself and and the background. And, you know, again, that's what we're trying to do is you know, stay true to the roots of Mezcal, but also creating more of a modern uh communication style to help bring in the new age of consumers and you know, new drinkers.
SPEAKER_02:I was gonna say that as well for Jose. What comes top of mind for your team is just the live tasting experiences, the experiential, the branding. I just think it's it's all fantastic. And I think it shows in the growth of your brand. So, you know, in in very different ways, I think you guys walk the same path. And so that's really exciting to see kind of how Mezcal is evolving through your brands. Now, this brings me nicely into my next question, which is distribution, which as we know can be one of the biggest hurdles in um the growth of brands. What have your experiences been, respectively in terms of opening up retailers, bar programs? What are some recommendations you could give to other brands that are listening here for how to kind of implement this in a way that's true to them?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, distribution is really difficult. The first two years we were self-distributing quite literally out of my teeny little apartment, which was basically our distribution site as well, and literally selling bottle by bottle. I'll never forget uh when we got our first official case order in, and that just, you know, seemed like the biggest win. And then, you know, it dawned on us, and we're like, oh my God, we have to do this thousands of times. How are we ever gonna do this? So it was very overwhelming in the beginning, and especially doing it through self-distribution. And now we are assigned with a distributor in our New York market, and um, it's still very challenging because it's all about, and I think Alana had made this point earlier about the industry. What's so beautiful about the industry is the relationship aspect of it. And that's truly what a distributor is it's a relationship. Uh, you're dancing with them, and you have to be able to work together to be able, and it's partnership at the end of the day. And being able to manage expectations, I would say, is you know, the most important thing, and also just getting liquid to lips and showing up consistently, not just for your consumers, but for your reps who are working with your distributor, because they really are the gatekeepers and they are the ones who are sharing the story on the ground when you're not necessarily there. And I think the most important thing is back to education, not on the consumer, but also to the distributor, so that they know how to sell your brand and they understand and can share your vision. And so I would say that's you know one of the biggest hurdles is being able to make sure that people can showcase and tell the story of your brand just as if you were almost there with them. And making sure that, you know, they understand the vision and that they are the best salesperson and that they are coming in to really champion you.
SPEAKER_01:I couldn't agree more on you know, being the bartenders and trade advocacy is really what's going to sell it at the end of the day and being your sponsors. Distribution is, at least for us, has always been kind of one of the hardest parts of navigating a spirits brand and especially a new brand. Um, we've learned to be intentional. So I think in initially of spending a lot of time and resources on trying to do too many things at once. And so we limited the markets that we're in to areas where we think we'll be more successful. There's also higher affinity for Mescal. There's also, you know, kind of a more Latino presence. That said, there's more competition in those markets. You know, I live in California, and California is, you know, not new to agave spirits, but also a lot of different, you know, emerging brands that you need to stand amongst. So similar to what Mia said, it's the education that you need to do to really make sure that people understand what is the difference within your product or any other spirit that they could be purchasing. So for us, we've you know really care about the brand story, not just the volume. It's been a much slower intentional growth, I would say. It means it keeps our integrity but also our margins intact. So we're that would be my one recommendation is to really focus on markets and accounts that are most suited to your brand and grow from there.
SPEAKER_03:Can I ask? I know that we are on the MHW Mark podcast, but I don't want to turn this into a big MHW commercial. But Mia, I know that that Dose is already an MHW client. Can you tell us a little bit about sort of how that relationship came to be and sort of how it works? How does it benefit Dose?
SPEAKER_00:You know what, Jimmy, I literally, as I was going into the question, I was like, should I do a shout out to MHW? It's not necessary. You don't want Jimmy. It dawned on me and I was like, you know, let me just take the diplomatic route first.
SPEAKER_02:I I didn't put it in here on purpose because actually Alana's not an MHW client, and that's fine. We want to highlight everyone, right?
SPEAKER_00:So as I was saying earlier, when we were self-distributing, we were self-distributing with MHW in New York for the first two years. And where I would say MHW's biggest strength is really with compliance and having your account manager, which I'll give a little shout out to Sawyer, who is always available, you know, literally a call or an email away, to really help troubleshoot and help navigate the one, the legalities of selling alcohol, and also being able to help you to be more organized in understanding, you know, the AR of your orders, understanding like the process of how you're getting the product from the warehouse to the wholesaler, to the customer, and how that invoicing works. And I will say MHW has been really beneficial from a compliance standpoint. MHW is also an importer as well. And um, you know, we've really enjoyed having that relationship with MHW. For the last three years. And now currently MHW is our distributor in New Jersey right now. And so, you know, again, I think that's where MHW really helps a small emerging brand is from the compliance side. And that's that's what we found to be the most beneficial thing. And again, having that support from you know your account manager is very important, and just someone that can give you guidance and advice, especially if you're not coming from a spirits background, which none of my co-founders and I were. So it was very, especially in the early days, having MHW being able to guide us through the legalities is very important.
SPEAKER_03:And Alana, I guess the way that I'll phrase a tee up for you here is Santa Almagia is not yet an MHW client. But what would you be looking for in that kind of partnership? What would you be hoping for?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think what Mia said, you know, really resonates with me, especially as an emerging brand. Um compliance to me was like the biggest headache. I'm like, I'm never going to learn this. I don't ever want to learn this. Please somebody help me. You know, white white flag, like please come help me on this island. So I think self-distribution is a really good entry point for brands, and then having a good partnership. So that to me is kind of the table stakes of the compliance and all of that stuff is incredibly helpful. But what is a differentiation and what you look at for partners is we're small, we're lean, you know, we don't have a lot of resources. How do we leverage these expertise as collaborators? You know, I don't look at any vendor that I have as a vendor, I look at them as a partner to grow my business. So what I, you know, really resonated when I first spoke with Bridget and the team is how close they are with their client base and how much of a helping hand that they provide in navigating this complex world.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you, ladies. I'll send you your money later.
SPEAKER_01:Well, we pay a Mezcal around here.
SPEAKER_02:So I'll take it. Jimmy, Jimmy will get you onto Mezcal. I swear we're gonna do it.
SPEAKER_03:And Bridget, does that all, I guess, resonate from coming from your side of the MHW wall there?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, absolutely. I think being the on the marketing side, I too am in awe of the MHW compliance team and the operations team and everything that they do. Um, I'm still learning every day in terms of what they can do for brands. And I always say like the best thing to do is just ask. And I think Mia, you're a testament to this as well, in terms of just picking up the phone and calling. So you're your account manager. We don't know what we don't know, right? So if there's ever an opportunity, uh, obviously there's you know things that are scheduled in like state registrations and price posting and all the good stuff that you know we know has to happen. But just having over 600 clients and having an operations team that has an average 10 year or 15 plus years, there are very few situations that they haven't encountered. So even on the event side, when I'm planning and I'm like, oh no, I need to get a shipment here to this event. And they're like, no problem, here's what you have to do. I mean, it's just such a breath of fresh air. So I share the sentiment as Mia and Alana that I think the partnership and asking questions is really important. And I used to be on the client side as well. I don't know if you ladies know. So when I was brand manager for Pierity Vodka, I used to ask a lot of questions as well.
SPEAKER_03:I do want to ask, because I'm a bit of a a geography and a travel nerd enthusiast, we'll say. And both of you mentioned Oaxaca. Can you tell me, like, is Oaxaca like special for Mezcal? Is that one of those where champagne has to be from the champagne region? Is that the case here?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So there's um something called the denomination of origin. So just like exactly what you're mentioning. So there's I think 10 states that can follow this. Um there's Durango, Oaxaca, you know, some others, like tequila is from Jalisco specifically. So uh what's interesting about that is uh most of the production is from Oaxaca. Oaxaca is the most popular version, and a lot of their exports are based in Mescal. And then even the towns around them kind of do different processes depending on how you how you do it. So, for example, one of our mezcaleros is from Santa Catarina y Naminas, another one is from San Pedro Loto Machapam. So it's it's just very kind of unique, but it's it's at the culture in the center of their roots. So basically, like mezcal was used for medicinal purposes, it's used for celebrations and ceremonies and weddings, and um, that's kind of what's so beautiful about the area, at least at least for me. But I would love to hear Mira's perspective.
SPEAKER_00:I think you hit the nail on the head, Alana, with that, and that you know, the denomination of origin, and you know, there's certain states where mezcal can be produced. I don't remember the exact statistic, but I want to say like 80% of all mezcal is produced in Oaxaca. And very that's what I've heard, yeah. Yeah, it's very much the heartbeat of the mezcal production. And our producers are based in Santiago Matilan. But to also Alana's point, there's so many different agaves that don't grow in Oaxaca, that maybe grow in Lake Puebla or Durango, Sunola. So, and those are also, I would say, harder regions though, to be able to source and create the supply chains for Mezcal, which is Oaxaca is just, and Alana, I'm curious if you've found this as well. But especially when I was doing work in Oaxaca 10 years ago, Oaxaca is relatively very easy to get to from a geography standpoint and a travel standpoint. And I think that's why a lot of mezcal is produced in Oaxaca, is just from the supply chain aspect and also the access to so many different agaves, specifically the Espadine. And that's one reason why we chose Oaxaca. Because for up to me, I would my favorite agave is a Bacchanora.
SPEAKER_02:But um, I love Baconora too.
SPEAKER_00:Baconora is really hard to reach, and those supply chains are just so difficult to build out, and just from a transportation level. So that's just kind of my tidbit that I would say is no, Oaxaca definitely has an ease in terms of being able to collaborate, produce, and transport there.
SPEAKER_03:Time for our final fun question that we like to ask everybody, starting with Alana. What is your favorite, we'll say adult beverage of choice?
SPEAKER_01:Well, obviously, I'm biased and I've been really kind of playing with agave a lot lately. So if I'm not drinking our mascal neat, um, which actually, you know, kind of a backstory is that I always thought neat drinks were like too potent or too strong. And my husband would drink old-fashioned or whiskey drinks, and I'm like, oh my god, this tastes like medicine or cough syrup. Now I'm kind of getting my palate refined and obviously been drinking our our liquid straight just because it's you know meant to be drank at room temperature and have time to breathe. That said, you know, when I'm not, I've been really playing with you know different spirits and the mixology of that just because more out of curiosity, I've made a lot of mistakes. But my current, you know, this is California, so it's still a little warm out. So I'm trying to extend summer as much as possible. So if I'm mixing, I'm trying to do a pineapple mascal spritz and playing with the flavor profile.
SPEAKER_02:Ooh, that sounds great.
SPEAKER_00:I love the pineapple aspect. That's such a good call, and people don't really think of it. It pairs so beautifully with mezcal. Yeah, it's bright and balanced and a little unexpected. So I love it.
SPEAKER_03:And Mia.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so similar to Volana said, I'm also biased, and uh, I very much only drink Dose Mezcal these days and generally meat, and I'm usually sipping it. And then if I'm, you know, trying to maybe have more of an adult beverage, I will do a mezcal martini. That's my go-to. I love that you can still taste the spirit, but then you know, it's got a little bit of balance with the remove. And then having like a citrus expression from an orange slice is just in you know, you can top it with orange bitters if you want something that's a little bit more citrus and bright, or if you want something that's a little bit more peat and pepper and spice. I like to do like a habanero bitters for my mezcal martinis, and then again, you just can't go wrong with a mezcal martini glass. Um, just it's you know got a beautiful kind of structure. What can I say? We're New Yorkers, and um, we love to mix, you know, New York meat swahaka. What's the more perfect example of that than a mezcal and a martini?
SPEAKER_02:Mezcal Manhattan. I love it.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, Bridget, that too. That's a good one.
SPEAKER_03:I want to thank you both for your time. Mia Tonelli with Dose Mescal. Thank you for stopping by.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much, Bridget and Jimmy, for having us. Really appreciate it.
SPEAKER_03:And thank you, Alana Abbott with Santa Almagia.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks for having me. It was so much fun to have this conversation, and I hope it helps others.
SPEAKER_03:And for folks who want to check out more about Dose andor Santa Almagia, we will put links to those in the show notes. So check that out there. And thank you, listeners, for joining us on the MHW Mark Podcast. And thanks again to Bridget McCabe for joining me and hosting.
SPEAKER_02:Thanks, Jimmy. Good to be here.
SPEAKER_03:This podcast is produced by me, Jimmy Moreland, with booking and planning support by Cassidy Poe and Bridget McCabe. It's presented by MHW. Find out more at MHWLTD.com or connect with MHW on LinkedIn. Lend us a hand by subscribing, rating, and reviewing this podcast wherever you listen. We'll be back in your feed in two weeks. We'll see you then. Cheers.