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15 + Dalton Kreiss & Hanna Woodside
/ Maguey Melate
In this episode, we talk with the founders and owners of Maguey Melate, a subscription-based agave spirits club. Dalton and Hanna explain how and why they decided to create a bi-monthly subscription model. We discuss what it’s like to build a business from scratch and how the creation of the signature box developed over time.
They also spoke in detail about their motivation behind highlighting the Mezcalero in such a prominent way, how they utilize video and social media to educate their customers and why they believe transparency matters. If you want to learn why these guys choose to bottle as Agave Spirits instead of Mezcal this is a must-listen.
Dalton and Hanna live in Oaxaca and we talked about what it has been like integrating into the community, the importance of building trust with their producers and how they had help from amazing friends and colleagues.
Learn more about their Mezcaleropedia HERE.
Read Dalton's Mezcalistas article HERE.
1. Maguey Melate office and living room in neighborhood Xochimilco, Oaxaca
2. Jose Velasco and Hanna Woodside conduct Maguey Melate’s first company interview with Ageo and Felipe Cortes in Miuhuatlan
3. Isaac & Mart’s palenque on Old Federal Highway in San Lorenzo
4. Darinel Silva, Maguey Melate’s go-to mezcal taster and guide
5. Darinel, Isaac, and his team watch “El Process del Mezcal Artisanal” video
6. Interview with Isaac and Marta for the Signature Box
7. Isaac Garcia Martinez samples his creation
Photo credit: Chris Dodds
8. Dalton and Hanna sample mezcal from Felix’s famous giant jicaras
9. Félix Ángeles Arellanes and his team pose for a photo after completing their horno (oven) in Minas
10. Bottling Maguey Melate’s first Signature Box batches in November 2018
11. Maguey Melate’s initial bottle and agave fiber label design for Felix’s Signature Box feature
12. Hanna creates the assembly checklist for the Signature Box in November 2018
13. Assembly of the first batch of Signature Boxes
14. Antonio Carlos Martinez, aka Conejo, greets Maguey Melate after returning from a harvest in October
Photo credit: Rakhal Turcotte
15. Conejo demonstrates to his daughter Alma how to trim the baby agave roots for planting
Photo credit: Crisman Photography
16. Antonio Carlos Martinez, Mezcalero of June 2019, poses for a photo in his Minas palenque
Photo credit: Crisman Photography
17. Agustin Güedulain Maya, Mezcalero of August 2019, poses for a photo in his San Luis Amatlan palenque
Photo Credit: Crisman Photography
18. Felipe Cortés Venegas, Mezcalero of November 2019, poses for a photo in his Mengoli de Morelos palenque
Photo credit: Crisman Photography
19. Don Goyo, Mezcalero of September 2019, poses for a photo in his San Baltazar palenque
Photo credit: Crisman Photography
20. Agustin Güedulain Maya, Mezcalero of August 2019, poses for a photo in his San Luis Amatlan palenque
Photo credit: Crisman Photography
21. Behind the scenes with Crisman Photography and Luis Juarez, Mezcalero of July
22. Luis' dad and partner, Sergio, harvests a seven-year-old Espadin grown on their family land in Amatengo
Photo credit: Crisman Photography
23. Another pic of Sergio harvesting the 7-year-old espadin
Photo credit: Crisman Photography
24. A wild 4-year-old tepextate agave grows on the side of a hill in Amatengo
25. Sergio, next to a 5-year-old Tepexatate, peers out to the mountain which has mature Tepextates available to the local community willing to go harvest them
26. One of 120 original Signature Boxes from Maguey Melate
27. The second design and batch of Melate’s Signature Box (100 produced total).
28. Melate’s second Signature Box with screen printed pine wood and laser engraved details
29. Mezcalero of the Month Club advertising
30. Mezcalero of the Month Club infographic of how the subscription works
31. Mezcalero of the Month box for June-July with 375mL Barril clay pot distillation from Conejo and 375mL Tepextate from Luis
32. 375mL Belató from Agustin for August 2019 edition; final Maguey Melate label design as of November 2019
33. Hanna gifts Félix Ángeles Arrellanes one of the first Signature Boxes made which is now showcased in his tasting room
+ All images courtesy of Dalton Kreiss and Hanna Woodside unless otherwise noted
