Salvadores Mezcal

Salvador Palacios Hernández, founder of Salvadores, traces his mezcal heritage back to his great-grandfather Tomas Hernández, who began distilling the spirit in the town of Tlacolula, Oaxaca, at the turn of the twentieth century. Tomas, and later his son (and Salvador’s grandfather) Ramón, would carry the mezcal from Tlacolula, which lies smack between Oaxaca City and Santiago Matatlán in the center of the state, to Tehuantepec far on the southeastern corner of Oaxaca’s Pacific coast, selling liters by the side of the road along the way. When a car accident left Ramón unable to work for over three years, Salvador’s grandmother Lucia Castillo Herrera took over production, continuing to distill mezcal to support their family while also raising nine children and operating a small fruit stand out of their home. When this finally became overwhelming, the family retreated to her sister’s house in Oaxaca City, disconnecting them from their mezcal heritage during Salvador’s childhood.

After moving to California at twenty years old, Salvador married Flor Palacios, and the two of them began a family of their own. During a 2005 visit to Oaxaca, Flor and Salvador were picking flowers after a rainstorm in the fields of Tlacolula; consumed by the beauty of Sal’s ancestral home, they hatched a plan to return and restore his family’s mezcalero heritage. His young nephew, Gerry, had apprenticed with a local maestro mezcalero, Flavio Pérez Méndez, and they soon convinced Flavio to join their project. Gerry’s two brothers also joined the team: Miguel, who has a background in business administration, and Lalo, a trained chef who had been cooking in Los Angeles before returning home to Oaxaca; in 2018, Salvadores mezcal was born.

Salvadores produces a range of single-varietal mezcales, from Espadín to Arroqueno, at traditionally high proof (45%–55% ABV), but their most surprising and thrilling work lies rooted in their combined talents. Sal has been inspired by the possibilities of destilados con sabores—mezcales distilled with added ingredients and exemplified by the tradition of Pechuga; his creative vision has been brilliantly realized by Flavio and Gerry, with culinary guidance in flavor and balance from Lalo, Sal’s chef-turned-mezcalero nephew. The group’s output is both informed by tradition and innovative in its approach, making it one of the most compelling new mezcal labels to hit the market. And with full-force flavors like these, it’s hard not to find something to fall in love with!