About Us

Mezcalistas is the leading media, event, and consulting company dedicated to raising awareness about mezcal in the United States since 2012. Through our blog and tasting events we share the world of mezcal to a mixed audience of industry and consumers. Since its founding, Mezcalistas has become the trusted source of information for all things mezcal.

OUR TEAM

WORK WITH US

CONSULTING

Our Team

Susan Coss

Co-founder/Director

Susan is the Co-founder and director of Mezcalistas, and has been traveling the backroads of mezcal producing regions since 2010. She is a long time business, marketing and communications strategist in the sustainable food and beverage worlds. Over the past 15 years, Susan’s work has focused on promoting the connection between land, farmers and food and beverage crafters through her work not only with Mezcalistas but also with CUESA and the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, the Eat Real Festival, Slow Food Nation and more. Through her work, she has developed innovative and experiential programming to engage consumers including events, tours, talks and educational materials. She was named a 2019 Drink Innovator by SevenFiftyDaily and featured in Imbibe Magazine as part of its Agave issue. She has a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and is bilingual.more +

Cristina Mariana Garcia

Creative Director

Cristina is the Creative Director for Mezcalistas. Part of Mezcalistas since its inception, she has designed all of the artwork and logos and has been key in not only helping develop the vision for Mezcalistas but also in bringing clear identity and beauty to our projects. She has participated in diverse artistic and graphic design work in Mexico, France, United States and Germany. Cristina was the Director of Design and Production at the Centro de las Artes de San Agustin in Oaxaca. Her creative work has led her to develop projects that foster the right to culture and the strengthening of the biocultural identity of communities within the state of Oaxaca.more +

Tess Rose Lampert

Program Director/Contributing Writer

Based in New York, Tess has worked in the drinks and hospitality community for nearly 15 years, and has become one of the nation’s leading agave educators. From importing and wholesale, to retail, buying for restaurant groups, and judging for national spirit competitions, she has experience in virtually all positions within the industry. This diversity has cultivated a unique and valuable set of skills, relationships and knowledge to offer full and customized service to her clients.more +

Felisa Rogers

Contributing Editor

Felisa lives in rural Oregon, but has been spending a good part of each year in Mexico since infancy. Fifteen years ago, she began seriously researching agave spirits while working as a writer and editor for The People’s Guide to Mexico. She has written about Mexico for National Geographic, was a culinary columnist for Salon, and is a contributing writer for The Guardian. Mezcal writing encompasses many of her interests, including rural economic development, Mexican history and culture, ecosystems, sustainable solutions, and drinking. more +

Anabel Jacinto Blanco

Oaxacan Associate

Ana has been part of Mezcalistas since its beginning, acting as the trusted Oaxacan arm and keeping us up to date on news and events and more. Her background in restaurant management, events and marketing, combined with her knowledge of local food traditions and mezcal has been vital to our understanding of Oaxacan culture. She has recently expanded her role by leading small, personal tours throughout Oaxaca, taking on concierge like tasks for visiting industry needing assistance in planning their visits, and developing and maintaining relationships in Oaxaca for Mezcalistas. She also recently launched a mezcal tasting experience called Recia.more +

Joahna Hernandez

Contributing Writer

Joahna is a Mexican entrepreneur and a passionate advocate of heirloom maize and mezcal. She recently moved back to Mexico City from Washington, D.C. where she lived for more than ten years. During her stay in the nation’s capital, she did public relations for the Mexico’s Tourism Board before transitioning to the hospitality industry, where she worked in management and marketing before starting her own food business company. Joahna became immersed into the mezcal world by completing the first certification course about Mezcal which helped her spread the love of mezcal in the restaurants where she worked to curate one of the first agave spirits bar menu in the city. She also founded and operated Manos de Maíz in DC. When she is not writing for Mezcalistas, Joahna works with Arca Tierra Collective, a group of young chefs and emerging talents transforming the freshly harvested ingredients from the chinampas in Xochimilco into delicious meals. Joahna began collaborating with Mezcalistas in 2020.more +

Anna Bruce

Contributing Writer

Anna Bruce is a British photojournalist based in Oaxaca. In 2013 she achieved a commission from the Mexican Embassy (London) to capture details of the mezcal process. The project led to exhibitions at venues including and London School of Economics and this exposure brought work with mezcal brands and further journalism on the subject. She developed an artists exchange between the UK and Mexico called the First Food Residency that explored food sovereignty through a creative lens and became part of the Mexico/UK dual year in 2015. Following years of facilitating visiting artists, while working intimately with mezcal producers for publications and brands, Anna harnessed this experience to start Rambling Spirits; a project offering a spectrum of experiences, such as exploring Oaxaca’s beauty and crafts while learning about agave. She also continues to work as a photographer and journalist with a focus on agave spirits. You can see her photography work at www.ramblingspirits.net/gallery and in her own publications – Masters of the Spirit and Perros y Palenques. Anna began collaborating with Mezcalistas in 2022.more +

Ferron Salniker

Event Manager (Washington DC, San Francisco)

Ferron is a freelance food and beverage writer with a focus on identity, origins and the systems behind how we eat and drink. She also produces events, and offers consulting on creative storytelling and agave spirit curation and education. For Mezcalistas, she produces Mexico in a Bottle. Ferron’s reporting has been published in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Vice, Whetstone and other publications. Ferron has lived in Mexico and developed deep relationships on both sides of the border of the mezcal industry. She has a degree in Spanish and Journalism. She is currently based between Oakland and Los Angeles.more +

Cristina Clark Gutiérrez

Event Manager (Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego)

Cristina, born in Mexico City, is a passionate advocate for mezcal, with a deep-rooted appreciation for its cultural heritage and diverse flavors. Her travels through Oaxaca and Michoacán, where she visited numerous palenques and vinatas, have deepened her connection to this artisanal spirit. Now living between San Diego and Valle de Guadalupe, Cristina continues to celebrate and preserve the rich traditions of Mexican culture. With 12 years of experience as a bilingual educator, she recently transitioned to the world of event planning and management. After years of volunteering at Mexico In a Bottle events, Cristina has taken on the role of event manager for the San Diego, Phoenix, and Chicago editions of Mexico in a Bottle. Her dedication to crafting unforgettable experiences underscores her commitment to honoring and showcasing the vibrant world of Mexican culture through mezcal.more +

Max Garrone

Co-founder

Max is the Co-founder of Mezcalistas. Max has been a journalist and editor covering events as diverse as presidential elections and the meaning of David Lynch’s movies for publications like Salon.com and SFGate.com. He is currently a content strategist and digital media consultant for a variety of clients with projects as diverse as tablet magazines, global education curriculum, and an open source video news platform.more +

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Consulting

Brand & Product Launch

Whether you are launching a new product or looking to invigorate an existing brand, we can plan and execute activations strategically targeted to your most important audience. Through consumer and trade facing events, social media campaigns, and engagement with local distributors we can help you both identify the necessary steps and enact them to reach your goals.

Strategic Brand Planning & Development

Understanding the market landscape is key for any brand or organization looking to build or launch its business. We can help identify new market and/or growth opportunities for new or established brands, develop creative and/or marketing strategy and manage the development of art and materials for brand or organization.

Education & Events

These two cornerstones are part of our customized approach with each client, though we also offer these services as standalone services. Examples of these include staff trainings, distributor and sales force presentations and work withs, consumer dinners, educational tastings, online talks, and tours, among others.

Messaging and social media presence are extremely important in today’s world, especially within the intimate space of the agave industry. Our combined experience informs our guidance on what to prioritize and how to craft a product or brand story. Just as important is communicating these stories in an authentic way on your own social media channels as well as through advertising and social media on Mezcalistas properties and elsewhere.

Alternative to Brand Ambassadorship

The brand ambassador model that works for other spirits does not work for many agave spirits brands. We can distill the key activations and strategic relationship building your brand needs, focusing on the most important accounts and industry leaders in key cities. Through a customized plan, your brand can enjoy more benefits than one full time brand ambassador can provide, with access to national coverage for a fraction of the cost.