Our Story
𓂎
Puebla Proud
Our mezcal begins with a slow 90-minute drive outside of Puebla, Mexico. The dramatic terrain, rugged high-elevation mesas, and cyclical weather patterns are the perfect recipe for thriving agaves.
Nestled in the foothills around the small village of Huehuetlán el Grande, the palenque and agave fields are at the center of the budding Poblano mezcal movement.
✜
A MASTER OF MASTERS
Our story starts with fourth-generation master-mezcalero Aarón Alva Sánchez. A true mezcal visionary, Aarón is a pioneer in the mezcal space, having played a central role in the tobalá renascence.
Aarón is an artist and a scientist who has spent his life mastering the end-to-end process of agave farming through mezcal production.
Recognizing how difficult the tobalá agave is to cultivate, Aarón set out to develop a sustainable process for reproducing the finicky agave at scale. A true pioneer in the mezcal tradition, Aarón’s charismatic demeanor and legendary expertise command respect and admiration within the mezcal community.
︾
FEMALE-LED
A match to Aarón’s mezcal vision, Mariana Hernández has driven the commercial strategy & ambition for the business. Equally as comfortable at the palenque as she is in navigating contracts, Mariana has helped to put Puebla on the map as a leading mezcal region.
The magic of Fósforo began as Lisa Detwiler, soon-to-be brand founder, met with Aarón & Mariana. In the early 2000s, Lisa became infatuated with mezcal after an introduction to the spirit one transformative evening with her husband in San Miguel de Allende. As the years passed, her love and curiosity for the spirit grew alongside a sense of frustration at the inconsistent quality of the mezcal offerings in the U.S. Determined to find mezcal greatness, and now driven by a belief that others would appreciate a brand that echoed this quest for perfection, Lisa sought out to build Fósforo.
After having visited a number of producers that weren’t the right fit for her vision, Lisa knew she had found something special in Puebla. The community, the agave fields, and the exceptional liquid that Aarón and Mariana produce all served as the perfect underpinning for the Fósforo brand.
The House of Tobalá Mezcal
At Fósforo, we believe that our artesanal expressions of mezcal are the culmination of a thousand small decisions. Harnessing both the art and the science of mezcal prouction, Aarón and Mariana meticulously cultivate and distill the highest-quality agave to create mezcal that we’re proud to pour––from copitas to crafted cocktails. We celebrate mezcal as it should taste––balanced, approachable and less-smoky than most. With nothing to hide, we suggest you try our expressions neat before mixing them into your favorite cocktails. Find us where great spirits are poured. Salud!