Mezcal is not just a spirit. It is a cultural artefact — the product of knowledge systems, ecological relationships, and social structures that have developed over centuries in specific communities in Mexico. When that artefact is extracted for international markets, a set of ethical questions arises that anyone involved in the trade — including us — must take seriously.
The Extraction Problem
The story of mezcal’s internationalisation is, in some tellings, a story of extraction. Foreign capital flows into Oaxaca. Demand drives up agave prices. Traditional producers are pressured to scale. Wild agave populations are depleted. Brand names and marketing budgets overshadow the families who actually make the spirit. The producers who built the tradition get the smallest share of the value chain.
This is not hypothetical. It has happened. It is happening. And any importer who claims otherwise is either ignorant or lying.
What We Can Do
We cannot fix the structural inequalities of global trade from a small UK operation. But we can be honest about them, and we can make specific choices that matter at the level where we operate.
Name the makers. Every product page on this site names the maestro mezcalero, the community, and the production method. These are not anonymous bottles from a faceless supply chain. They are the work of specific people in specific places.
Pay fairly. Gota Gorda’s relationships with producing families are built on long-term partnership, not transactional purchasing. The producers set their prices. We do not negotiate them down.
Accept scarcity. When a batch produces 23 bottles, we sell 23 bottles. We do not pressure producers to increase volume, blend batches, or cut corners. Scarcity is not a marketing strategy. It is the natural consequence of doing things properly.
Tell the truth. Including the uncomfortable parts. Including the fact that we are a UK business profiting from a Mexican tradition. We believe the exchange can be fair. We work to make it so. But we do not pretend the power dynamics do not exist.
The question is not whether mezcal should reach international markets. It already has. The question is whether it can do so in a way that enriches the communities that created it, rather than extracting from them.
The Role of Dani
This is one of the reasons Gota Gorda matters to us. Dani Tatarin is not an arm’s-length buyer. She lives in Mexico. She has spent over a decade building relationships with producing families. She speaks their language, understands their economics, and has earned their trust through years of presence and reciprocity. That is not something you can simulate from a London office.
An Ongoing Conversation
We do not have all the answers. The ethics of this trade are genuinely complex, and anyone who reduces them to a slogan is not taking them seriously. What we can promise is that we will continue to think about this, talk about it openly, and make the specific choices — about who we work with, how we price, what we say — that align with what we believe.