Not All Mezcal is Smoky: In Conversation with the Women-Owned Distillery Pioneering A 25-Year Agave

Desolas Mezcal is a women-owned brand hoping to expand what’s possible within the agave spirit industry. (Photo: Desolas Mezcal)

Mezcal is often described as “tequila’s smokier cousin.” It’s a slogan that may ring true anecdotally, but it only captures one half of a rich, complex history.

We sat down with GG Mirvis, founder of Desolas Mezcal, to hear the other side of the story.

Desolas Mezcal specializes in agave salmiana, a ten-foot-tall behemoth of a plant that takes nearly 25 years to grow to maturity. Grown and distilled in the city of San Luis Potosi, Desolas boasts a region, a technique and a flavor that may not be immediately recognizable to most consumers.

“The Green Giant”, agave salmiana. (Photo: Desolas Mezcal)

Above all else, Mirvis aims to uplift the immense variety of flavors that are possible within the centuries-old tradition of mezcal, flavors that expand far beyond what is typically associated with the spirit.

“Ultimately, the goal is to get consumers to understand the beauty of a non-smoky mezcal.”

A Hidden History

San Luis Potosi, a city with a rich but oft-forgotten legacy of mezcal. (Photo: Shutterstock/CaleoPhotos)

The majority of commercially available mezcal is made from agave espadin grown and distilled in Oaxaca, Mexico. Just as tequila is synonymous with the state of Jalisco, many consider Oaxaca synonymous with mezcal; in fact, 70% of all internationally distributed mezcal is grown and produced in the state.

There, centuries of tradition have formed the techniques and flavor profile closely associated with mezcal today. Six to eight-year-matured agave espadin is roasted in large, underground earthen pits, a process that highlights the characteristically smoky taste you’ll see boasted about on the side of many a mezcal bottle.

But Mirvis explains that Oaxaca hasn’t always been the epicenter of mezcal production.

“Mezcal used to be the ‘worker’s drink’, produced in mezcalarias operated out the back of factories. San Luis Potosi, once one of Mexico’s biggest industrial cities, was in many ways a hub for that industry,” says Mirvis.

When the Mexican Revolution swept the country in the 1910s, many factories were destroyed in revolt against the economic policies of dictator Porfirio Díaz. 

“Oaxaca was one of the few places less touched by the revolution. It’s why there are so many mezcalarias there to this day,” explains Mirvis.

Still, tradition has held strong in places like San Luis Potosi.

Desolas’ master mescalero descends from a century-long line of artisans who have used above-ground hornos, rather than underground pits, to roast their agave.

Combined with salmiana’s earthy, citrus-forward profile, Desolas becomes a mezcal defined less by smoke and more by its herbal flavor and rich terroir.

Desolas on the Horizon

Mirvis first debuted the brand back in 2020 after a mezcal sampling trip to Mexico.

“I liked ones with less smoke. I got back to the U.S. and realized there weren’t many available, and those that were available weren’t always affordable,” says Mirvis. 

Mirvis had previously founded a tequila coconut water brand while she was still in college, and would later go on to work for French Spirits group Rémy Cointreau. But building a mezcal brand from the ground up — particularly one made using an underutilized agave varietal — proved a struggle.

“Since mezcal is such a new category for the consumer, Mexico is still figuring out the landscape. It’s an artisanal spirit not nearly as standardized as tequila. In terms of getting approvals, it’s been far more challenging,” says Mirvis. 

Just as there exists a Tequila Regulatory Council, there also exists a Mezcal Regulatory Council (CRM).

The past few years have borne witness to a tumultuous struggle between the CRM and various other mezcal regulating bodies, one that has created a difficult environment for new mezcal brands to get off the ground.

Nonetheless, Desolas has been able to extend their wings.

Currently available in Florida, New York, Georgia, Texas and California, Mirvis plans to continue the brand’s expansion throughout the United States with the upcoming addition of a mezcal reposado.

Chock full of earthen notes and hints of lemon peel, vanilla, basil and mint, Mirvis hopes that Desolas will help to expand public perception of the mezcal category.

“Many are scared to try the smoke,” says Mirvis. “We want to expose them to something new.”

You can check out the Desolas Mezcal website here.

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