What is the meaning of Mezcal for Los Santiago’s? Tradition, culture, authenticity, for us to talk about mezcal is to talk about Oaxaca. Our tradition dates back to before 1950 we are the fourth generation of mezcaleros, but we wanted to honor the origin to the mezcal master Alvaro Santiago Jimenez. Don Alvaro was born in 1950, from one of the most recognized families in Matatlan as mezcal producers or Palenqueros as they used to  call them in previous years. The primary activity of the people was to be a Palanquero; Basically the entire region was dedicated to that noble and ancestral work. This work was inherited for generations and was due to a mere necessity, since it represented the only source of income of that time.

 The history of Mezcal would not be what it is today without people like Don Alvaro. During that time, it was different, back then you risked even your life to sell mezcal. Although it is an ancestral tradition, it was previously Illicit and only people of yesteryear remember how life in the countryside and the palenque was hard and difficult.

 Los Santiagos were farmers of origin, and gradually became merchants. Don Alvaro along with his wife Maria Feliz Lopez Mateo, who also came from one of the most traditional families in the Mezcal industry; los López and los Mateo who undertook the challenge to open outlets in different places in Oaxaca. During that time it was not known about brands or records. Instead, they sold mezcal in garrafones and bottles without a label. From different places and even from other states they came to buy our mezcal.

 Don Álvaro always thought that el mezcal has the potential to be an emblematic drink of the Mexican world and his dream was that one day his mezcal would be emblematic of his beloved Oaxaca and that his work was known worldwide and now that dream is reflected in Real of 1950 Mezcal.

 After years of tenacity and hard work, one of his sons Gregorio Santiago decided that it was time to have a brand, that’s how Mezcales Real de Oaxaca and Mezcal Real was born in 1950. The own brand does not imply that the production process has been modified, on the contrary, the tradition continues and has consolidated artisanal production with a business model without implying that the way in which this distillate has been worked is lost.

 The Mezcal has a strong link with Oaxacan life, it is present in food, art, parties, countryside, in history and in our stories; The mezcal belongs to us and when something is yours, you share it, and here nothing is shared as much as the Mezcal, so come any day of the year to our tasting room at Real de Oaxaca Restaurant and discover a proof of what we have authentically passed from generation to generation.