I first tried mezcal at a cocktail bar in Vancouver in my twenties. It’s easy to forget the countless nights ending with a crappy shot of tequila, but when I was first instructed to sip the mezcal that landed in front of me I knew something was likely different. The complexity of flavour from my first sip was overwhelming, it felt strong yet delicate at the same time. By the time I was on to my second sip, I knew that I was going to love this spirit.
I spent a couple of nights on the couch of a friend of a friend of mine in Los Angeles, I had just finished a shoot and had a couple of extra days before my flight, but rather than just book a hotel, I opted for a couch of a stranger, and this stranger also allowed me to crash in his apartment without ever meeting me. The first thing I noticed when I walked in to his apartment was a nice collection of mezcal, mostly brands I had never heard of, bottles that were only available in the US but hadn’t made their way up to Canada. I told him how much I loved mezcal and he shared that he and a few others were working on a mezcal brand and that I should check it out, the brand was called Esfuerzo.
A few months later, back in Canada, I got a phone call inviting me to Oaxaca to document the process of making the mezcal. Things had come full circle from sharing my love for mezcal and my career as a photographer. I gladly accepted and had an opportunity of a life-time spent with Margarito and his family learning the traditional craft of producing mezcal.

After the shoot, I was inspired to import Esfuerzo to British Columbia, so others could love and appreciate the story and the spirit like I do.

¡Salud!