A century has passed since the Lucas family first laid claim to their agave fields in Miahuatlán, in the south of the central valleys of Oaxaca, Mexico, but they continue to honor their ancestral tradition each day.

Jose Lucas, a third generation distiller, currently oversees the family-run operation, where he shares the knowledge gleaned from his years of experience with his eleven children. He is proud of avoiding deforestation and of his skill in blending agave species and the discipline to work the fields in an organic and natural way.

In 2013, brand owners Kristina Díaz Paterson, who had previously worked to nurture environmental startups at a non-governmental agency (“NGO”), and Gabriel Pacheco, a seasoned, Fortune 500 marketing executive, met the Lucas family and sampled what would become Viejo Indecente. Impressed by the family’s unwavering dedication to environmentally friendly production methods and the mezcal’s bright flavor profile, Paterson and Pacheco partnered with the Lucas family, and together set out to market and establish the brand within Mexico, and now in the U.S.

“We are traditional producers. We grew up cultivating our terroir – learning about the climate, the seasons, and the wind, which all contribute to our craftsmanship. My grandfather used to burn a lot of wood to make mezcal, we burn none.”

— -- José Lucas, Third Generation Master Distiller.

Mezcal Viejo Indecente is produced in the small community of San Isidro Guishe, within the district of Miahuatlán, in Oaxaca.
Viejo Indecente sits in a unique location. Its fields are among the driest in Oaxaca, with no more than 20 inches of rainfall per year, but the land’s proximity to the sea and exposure to the sea winds in the spring and fall contributes to Viejo Indecente’s subtle marine and salty notes.