"Everything that we do is very pure. We are mingled or entangled with other species, with the trees, with everything. That's one of the purposes of this tequila: not only producing tequila, but maintaining the harmony and equilibrium with the surroundings." – Daday Suárez

Daday Suárez is a completionist. When he was wrestling with questions of reality and being, he got a degree in philosophy. When he wanted to order wine at restaurants with more confidence, he became a certified sommelier. When he was looking for the perfect tequila, he used his degree in mechanical engineering to pave a road to the top of a mountain, then built the world’s highest elevation tequila distillery, Alto Canto.

Of all he has accomplished, Alto Canto is Daday’s crown jewel. He built it with a lasting legacy in mind—of quality tequila, yes, but also as a promise to nature. The distillery is entangled with native flora whose wild yeasts spontaneously ferment only organic, mature agaves. Coyotes and armadillos roam across the forested Sierra del Tigre range. Bees swarm, drawn to the vinaza, or liquid byproduct from distillation, which gets repurposed as fertilizer for local avocado farmers.

In this episode with Justin Lane Briggs, Daday shares his thoughts on what it takes to craft the highest quality distillate with as little intervention as possible, and where additive-free tequilas like Alto Canto fit in the flashy league of premium craft Mexican spirits.

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Skurnik Wines & Spirits

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