Q&A: Meet the National Geographic Photographer Behind One of the Year’s Best Additive-Free Tequilas

This article is a part of Agave Spirits Week, a week of content celebrating tequila, mezcal and other distilled spirits crafted from agave. Click here to check out the rest of our Agave Spirits Week content, which focuses on the best distilleries to visit in Mexico, the best agave spirits of the year, unique agave cocktail recipes and more.

(Photo: Wild Common)

The adventurer turned entrepreneur is a known archetype in the alcohol industry. Spend your years trekking the far reaches of the globe, and there’s a non-zero chance you’ll cross paths with an off-the-beaten-path distillery and a fascinating backstory to boot. Carthusian monks making blisteringly strong herbal liqueur from a centuries-old manuscript, or perhaps a Bolivian brandy that’s never seen the light of day outside its home country. Quite literally, the spirit of discovery. It certainly doesn’t hurt that adventurers — whether or not they wear that title on their sleeve — tend to be the type of folk willing to take the plunge into the infamously cutthroat liquor market.

Few founders exemplify the trajectory quite like Andy Bardon. Based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Bardon’s work as a photographer is defined by the extremities of the natural world. Think thundering waves, stampeding horses and enough free solo climbers to make your heart drop off a cliff. His journeys to the peak of Mount Everest to the serene depths of a French Polynesian pearl farm are a regular sight in National Geographic, for which his photos are occasionally christened on the cover inside that iconic yellow rectangle. Other clients include ESPN, Patagonia, Red Bull and Eddie Bauer.

Bardon’s career took a boozy turn in 2021 following a trip to the Jalisco lowlands. Bardon, like many Americans before him, fell in love with the picturesque fields of agave stretched to the horizon and beyond. It was to his immense good fortune that he happened to be at Tequila Cascahuín, which many consider to be in the upper echelon of adored distilleries making big waves in the tequila industry.

One thing led to another, and Bardon now counts himself as the Founder and CEO of Wild Common Spirits.

It was a right place, right time kind of success. Additive-free tequila had emerged as one of the hottest buzzwords of the early 2020s, thanks in large part to a network of savvy influencers and an interest in cult-hit brands like Fortaleza, G4 and — fortunately for those at NOM 1123 — Cascahuín. Mezcal was also having a moment, as was the beginning of a trend toward high-proof agave expressions that pushed the gauntlet beyond 40% ABV.

Wild Common ticked every box on the list. The brand now offers a total of seven expressions, including four tequilas helmed by the Cascahuín distillery and three mezcals produced by different palenques dotted throughout Oaxaca. Our personal favorite in the catalog is the Añejo, rich with spiced flavors of apple pie, apricot, butterscotch and marzipan that’d work excellently in some sort of gourmet Butterfinger cocktail. Wild Common Ensamble, a blend of Espadín and Tobalá agaves brimming with tropical flashes of banana and pear, also demands a mention.

We sat down with Bardon to learn more about the process and what it takes to launch one of the most critically-acclaimed agave spirits brands of our time.

How does one make the journey from National Geographic photographer to agave founder?

For 15 years, I worked as a professional photographer (www.andybardon.com). I was down in Jalisco, Mexico, documenting a story on “Sustainability in the world of Agave spirits” for National Geographic. Naturally, I had to meet the team at Cascahuín. After sipping tequila under the shade of a mango tree at their distillery with Chava and his father, Don Salvador Rosales, we both laughed and blurted out, “Let’s collaborate together!” I, being a NatGeo photographer, brand builder, storyteller, and Chava being a master distiller, it made so much sense.

Tequila Cascahuín is — according to many — one of the all-time greats currently working in the industry. How did you forge a relationship with the team, and what do you think sets them apart from the competition?

So we started with the premise, “What do we want to drink?” and “What can we do to make the most exceptional tequila in the world?” We decided on higher proof, minimal filtration, no chemicals added, and simply exceptional. So let’s make that and then we created Wild Common. I reckon you’ll have to come to the distillery one day. What sets Cascahuín apart is its commitment to excellence, creativity, and the fact that we are all having fun in the process. It is not just work for us, it’s both passion and play.

Years after “additive-free” became a headline, high-proof and still-strength expressions have finally found their moment to shine. Why do you think that higher-ABV tequila is experiencing a surge in popularity in 2025?

All of the decisions we make collaboratively are rooted in our premise, which is to make the best tequila on earth that we want to drink. We chose high proof because it’s better, has more flavor, brighter aromas, and less dilution. It’s a no-brainer if you only care about making the best liquid on earth.

Finding a tequila distillery is one thing. Discovering palenques dotted throughout the valleys and mountains of Oaxaca is another. Tell us about the mezcaleros behind Wild Common’s trio of mezcal offerings.

We highlight different maestro mezcaleros from different regions and different species of agaves. This allows us to talk about terroir or regional differences. If you put all three of the Wild Common mezcal expressions in a lineup, they taste extremely different and that’s the whole point! We don’t just want to highlight the amazing flavors and aromas of these traditional spirits but we also provide a sustainable route to market for the producers and some economic security.

Agaves are famously easy to replant — trim a clonal shoot (hijuelo), and plop it in the ground. Yet, there also exists a large swathe of endangered and historically vulnerable species. What’s the distinction of a sustainable approach?

Our sustainability efforts are also tied to my respect and love for the natural world. We have a number of greenhouses in Jalisco and Oaxaca to help promote the biodiversity of agaves. We use recycled glass in all our bottles and real wood tops, which are regenerative. We aren’t doing it because we think it will help us sell more products. Instead, we are doing it because we think it’s the right thing to do for the people, the land, and the planet. When it comes to agaves, you can start plants from genetic clones and we do, but we also plant them from seed. By using the seeds of the plant, you are helping to pass along important genetic information from one generation to another. It allows the plants to adapt to a changing climate – one with hotter summers, wetter wet seasons, etc.

Few spirits have witnessed quite the seismic growth over the past decade as tequila. Where do you see the industry going in the years to come?

As consumers dip their toes into the world of agave spirits, I think we will continue to see growth in the segment that we operate in, which I still call “craft tequila.” This segment of the category is just so amazing! It has incredible flavors and a great variety for people to sip on at home. Bars will always crank out tequila but as you can see in the headlines in the news, consumers are asking for more transparency in how their tequila is made.

Anything on the horizon for Wild Common?

Of course! We are always innovating and have a number of tricks up our sleeves. Stay tuned for more launches from Wild Common.