Frequently

Asked

Questions

Tileño Mezcal

FAQs

Tileño Mezcal aims to provide transparency into our people, processes and place to ensure you are getting what you think you are getting.

  • Tileño is distilled and bottled in the Zapotec community of San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca birthplace and home to our founder, José Ángeles Elias and his parents. 1 hour south of Oaxaca City, and named for the patron saint of the town San Martin Obispo y Tilcajete, it comes from Zapotec and means "place of dyes." The town is well known for crafting of ‘alebrijes’, hand carved figurines made of copal and painted with natural dies.

  • Jose Angeles Elias Ojeda. He was born in San Martin Tilcajete and orphaned at the age of 4. He earned money by working in agave fields and crafting alebrijes. He launched Tileno Mezcal in order to provide for his family, his mother and to celebrate the culture of his town.

  • After a lifetime of making mezcal and working in agave fields, Jose Angeles, launched Tileño Mezcal in 2014

  • Yes. This is the same brand you would find in our home village, throughout Oaxaca and in major metro areas like Mexico City.

  • Yes, our Maestro Mescalero is the brand owner and distiller.

  • We source our agave from the hills around the Palenque. The people who harvest the agave also distill Tileno Mezcal. We go through great pains to source our agave using sustainable methods, in order to ensure the protection of the species.

  • Depending on the agave, the roasting process can take 4-6 days. We use a slow roasting process, which provides delicate smoke and the true flavor of each agave to shine through.

  • Depending on the temperature, fermentation can take up to 2 weeks. In summer months, fermentation will take 5 – 6 days

  • Espadin is cultivated. All others are 100% wild harvested from the lands around the Palenque.

  • Wooden vats

  • All of the yeast used for fermentation naturally occurs in the air around the Palenque. No commercial yeast is added in the process of fermentation.

  • Tileno Mezcal is Artesanal (copper pot) distilled.

  • Twice, two times.

  • In addition to the Espadin, Tobala and Tepeztate, available in the US Tileño produces Jabali, Coyote and Madre Cuishe. Agave expressions. We look forward to bringing these to the US in the future.

  • The Palenque is only accessible by 4 wheel drive vehicle and visits are by appointment only.

  • “Tileño Mezcal is a mixture of the 4 elements of nature, fire, water, earth and air that result in the inheritance of a liquid culture, which is made with the heart.”

    -- Elias José Ángeles Ojeda, Maestro Mezcalero