Agave by Montiel is the passion project of Rosa and Gry Montiel. Rosa was born in Juchitan and grew up in Oaxaca de Juarez surrounded by women whose delicious cooking is still fresh in her mind. Her earliest memories of mezcal are intertwined with visiting her uncle's ranch near Ocotlan, and fiestas where large clay dishes filled with food were accompanied by copitas of mezcal, purchased directly from neighborhood producers in reusable plastic or black clay jugs.

In 1990 Rosa moved to the United States in order to help her family financially. While living in San Francisco and working in hospitality, she tried her first Tequila at Tommy’s, the famous outpost of Tomas and Julio Bermejo. It was there that she first learned to taste and distinguish different kinds of Tequila. On her visit back to Oaxaca she took an interest in tasting the different types of Mezcal, always stored in unlabeled reusable bottles, never with a formal label. When she was in the United States, she would sip on her precious stash of Mezcal from Oaxaca as a way to connect with her family roots and sharpen her palate as she continued to learn more about wine and spirits in the hospitality industry. 

Eventually becoming an American Citizen in 2008, she seized the opportunity for travel to go deeper into the world of Mexican gastronomy and beverage culture in order to share her passion and knowledge around the globe. In 2014 she ended up in Denmark where she met and married her wife Gry. She has called Denmark home ever since.

 

Gry, born and raised in Denmark, has 15 years of experience working with responsible sourcing, workers rights, human rights, and sustainability in the supply chain. When she fell in love with Mexico, and in particular the colorful culture of Oaxaca, she took her time to get to know the essence of the culture, mezcal included. 

Disappointed in the quality of agave spirits available in Denmark, Rosa and Gry were inspired to connect with women and traditional producers in Oaxaca and Jalisco to understand the contemporary landscape of Mezcal and Tequila. The people they met became family, bonded through a common desire to share and respect all that mezcal encompasses, including the protection of the rich culture of mezcal through maintaining local biodiversity. 

They founded Agave by Montiel driven by a passion to share the true nature of agave spirits, the connection to generations of family heritage, intimate relationships with nature, and respect for culture and the environment. It is their sincere intention to support the families and communities that produce traditional agave spirits and educate European families while responsibly offering the highest quality spirits.