But First! Flash sale tickets are now on sale for Mexico in a Bottle Chicago! I can’t believe this our 10th year of celebrating agave spirits in the beautiful city of Chicago. We’ve got some great plans in the works for this years event so be sure to grab your ticket before they are all gone. And if you are industry, ask about our industry special.

With the launch of these tickets comes the introduction of our refreshed look for Mexico in a Bottle. Every year Mariana (Mezcalistas’ creative director) and I talk about how to refresh the Mexico in a Bottle look. It starts with the simple question of what is on our mind. When we talked about changing things up for 2026, a few words resonated with us: herencia (inheritance or heritage), cultura and diversidad. Once again, she hit it out of the ballpark creating a design that incorporates the kaleidoscope of colors from the iconic Mexican serape. The imagery folds across the landscape, it fills a bottle, it makes words jump from the screen and it bursts with so much energy. I hope it brings as much of a smile to your face as it did to mine, cause given how long and intense this month has been we need something to smile about.

January is the month I go deep into industry news to try and get a sense of how the year might play out. But here at the end of January, I am left with more questions than answers. What does the future of bars look like? Is the USMCA Trade Agreement (what replaced NAFTA) going to blow up? How much lower is the peso going to go? But perhaps what is looming large in my mind is, what the heck is happening with distributors and distribution? The California collapse of RNDC, one of the largest alcohol distributors in the country, and the rippling effects it’s having not only in CA, but also across the country is troubling. It has compounded the difficulties faced by brands, especially the little guys, looking for distributors, and has led to a number of inventory dumps that have put increasing pressure on an already price sensitive market.

As Esther Mobley of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in this piece explaining the issues “When Republic National (RNDC) left California, brands it sold scrambled to find new representation — but not everyone secured an escape route. “There’s just not enough options out there right now to absorb how many suppliers will be looking for a distributor,” said Marian Leitner-Waldman.”

The company seems to have avoided a total collapse due to a last minute deal with the Reyes Beverage Group. We’ll see how this plays out and hopefully it will help with these supply glitches we have been seeing.

In the meantime, we’ve got these two terrific pieces. New contributor Laurel Miller had a chance to explore the Rio Sonora Bacanora area with Borderlandia and details her experiences. There’s also this profile by Leigh Thelmadatter of Cuatro Volcanes, a micro distillery producing whiskey that is looking to put Tlaxcala, Mexico and its heirloom corn farmers on the map.

In other news, registration is open for the Agavos Awards. Check out the details below in our Spotlight section. Also check out details about a special batch of NETA in our El Último Lote section below.

Finally, support Mezcalistas and help keep us ad free and independent!

Saludos,

Susan & the Mezcalistas team

MEZCAL NEWS

MEZCAL EVENTS

• February 7th, Bowl of ‘Zole, Boston

• February 15th, Expo Bacanora, Hermosillo, Sonora

• February 28th, Mezcal Fest MX, Mexico City

• March 23rd, Mexico in a Bottle, Washington, DC 

• April 11th, Mexico in a Bottle, Tucson

• April 26th, Mexico in a Bottle, Chicago

• Save the dates: Mexico in a Bottle October 4th, San Diego, November 8th, San Francisco

SPOTLIGHT: AGAVOS AWARDS

SUPPORT MEZCALISTAS!

EL ÚLTIMO LOTE: NETA ENSAMBLE