Authentic Mezcal Experience Oaxaca Small Group Local Producers

Irwin is an excellent, knowledgeable guide and just a nice guy. You visit a palenque where he explains each step of the process of making artisanal mezcal, the difference from the industrial and traditional processes and the difference between the types of plants used. You meet a sweet horse named Suzy and taste the different mezcals including those made from the undomesticated plants which are not so easy to find elsewhere (at least without a hefty price tag). Irwin then takes you to his own fields and shows you how to cut off the leaf of a maguey plant (as well as take a shot off of one) and you head to his mother’s store where she sells his mezcal along with beautiful hand embroidered clothes. Finally, his cousin prepares a great lunch for you in their space next door. This is an excellent small tour (we literally had one person with us making for a total of 3 people) that is family run. Highly recommend!!

Irvin is the friendliest man we met on our trip to Oaxaca. He has a genuine passion for mezcal and for connecting with the people on this tour. The transportation, mezcal, food, and wealth of information from the tour are easily worth twice the price. Do yourself a favor and just book this tour.

We had the best time on this tour! Irvin is great company, funny and easy to talk to. We visited an agave field with the palenque's maestro to see how the plants are grown and harvested, and we got to try cutting the leaves ourselves (with limited success 😁). We then did an excellent tasting of many different mezcals, and had a delicious lunch of traditional Oaxacan food made at the palenque. It was definitely one of the highlights of our time in Oaxaca!

this is 100% the best way to experience a traditional mezcal tour in oaxaca! it was just me and my partner and irvin personally drove us all the way to mitla and then onwards to his friends ancestral mezcal distillery. You get to try so many mezcals and we even got to taste a new batch that hadn’t been bottled yet. Irvin is very friendly and knowledgeable to answer all of your questions! his auntie makes you food that you eat in the middle of his own agave field and then you go to a different artisanal mezcal distillery! there’s options to buy different mezcals as you go as well. This is by far the only right way to get a real and authentic mezcal experience, i couldn’t recommend it enough :))

+2

We had the best time with Irvin, our super friendly guide that knew everything about the area and mezcal. It felt like spending the day with a friend. He drove us safely to his hometown, where we got to visit two palenques run by his friends, both showcasing different traditional production methods. We particularly fell in love with the first place, Herencia de Lucas, that produces the most delicious mezcal with ancestral methods. Another highlight was definitely the picnic in Irvin's agave fields, where we sat in the shade of an umbrella and had delicious tacos made by his mum, and of course more mezcal! Also, we were grateful that Irvin was very attentive towards the fact that one of us has a walking disability and made sure the experience was equally accessible and enjoyable for her. All in all, I can only recommend this tour to anybody that values small groups and a truly authentic and personal experience guided by a local. Thank you!

We booked this for our last day in Oaxaca and could not be happier with the experience. I have been to 40+ distilleries around the world and my experience today was the best by far. Our guide was so helpful, so friendly, and such great company. I feel like I made a new friend. If this tour is available you should book it right now. There is no better option in the world.