Fuego y Humo Tepeztate is produced by Jose Manuel Mendez in San Dionisio Ocotepec, Oaxaca. The agaves are cooked in an underground pit oven, milled by tahona, fermented in pine wood tanks with open air yeasts, and double distilled in a copper still. Tasting notes from the brand: Sweet herbal notes on the nose with distinctive green, fresh, and earthy aromatics common to most marmoratas. Pops of jalapeño, green peppers, and vanilla ice cream, Overall, sweeter and more rounded than a tepeztate’s typical sharp, more defined flavors.

As a husband-wife team from California with a passion for mezcal and Mexico, Elliott and Karen Reese founded Fuego Y Humo to share the love of all things mezcal, which is not only delicious, but deeply rooted in the physical beauty, celebratory culture and familial traditions found throughout Mexico.

With the help of serendipitous timing, the Reeses found a great business partner and someone who crafts amazing mezcal in 3rd generation artisanal producer José Manuel Mendez. Always prepared, excited (in his relaxed José way) and ambitious, it brings them great joy to have found someone who is both wonderful to work with AND creates truly delicious mezcal.