Epifanio Vásquez Ríos, master mezcalero, sits in the middle of a tahona, a stone grinder used for mezcal production, as the sun sets at Hacienda Carreño on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. "Each agave has its own personality. You drink a little bit of the soul of the plant and the soul of the maestro, the mezcalero," Daniel Soria, a mezcal representative of Oaxaca said.

Ivan Carreño, Co-Founder of Compa spirits, is greeted by his grandmother Luty Carreo, center left, and father Jesus Carreño, background left, upon arriving at Hacienda Carreño on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. Luty and her husband were originally sugar cane farmers for the Bacardi family of Mexico. Only recently did Luty, who had 10 children and decided to split their land in 10 equal pieces which then in turn became allowed her daughter Lorena to start the Mezcal company.

From left, Jorge Carreño, Felimon Rodríguez, Colton Brock, and Jesús Carreño lift a cut agave heart into a truck at Hacienda Carreño on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. Brock is a representative of mezcal Illegal, another mezcal company in Oaxaca, and he also runs three bars in Phoenix which carry a variety of producers. "Colton knows more about agave plants than anyone I know," Ivan Carreño said.

Jorge Carreño, left, and Felimon Rodríguez, check the weight of an agave hearts before cooking them at Hacienda Carreño on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. Carreño, along with his brother and sister, run the production part of the business.

Epifanio Vásquez Ríos, center, takes a break from shoveling dirts on top of the oven at Hacienda Carreño on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. The oven is topped with a cross as an offering to the gods for a good batch of mezcal. Ríos is a Maestros in mezcal and his family has been making the spirits for generations. Ríos started chopping agave and turning it into the now popular distilled drink since he was a child.

Marcelino Vásquez Ríos, grabs a bunch of spent agave fibers used to make mezcal at Hacienda Carreño on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico.

Iván Carreño records and Instagram video while working at Hacienda Carreño on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. Carreño regularly shares his company's group trips from Arizona to Oaxaca for people who want to learn more about the regional drink, food, and culture. His great grandfather, Don Apolonio Carreño started a business in 1904 hauling iron ore in wooden carts drawn by oxen. He eventually amassed 1,500 acres of land used to grow sugar cane for molasses and large rum producers. As wild agaves grew on the land, Apolonio began producing mezcal which was consumed only three times a year. "For his birthday in February, in April for the start of planting season, and in October at the end of the harvest," Carreño said.

Employees cut agave hearts to place in the oven at Mal de Amor on Dec. 7, 2021, in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. The workers, who live in a town only 15 minutes away called Xaaga, cut through roughly 13 tons of agaves in six hours which distill unto roughly 1500 bottles of Mezcal.

Lorena Carreño gives a talk on the history of mezcal and her families production of the spirit during a tasting at Hacienda Carreño on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2021 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico.A former public relations executive in Mexico City, the 54-year-old woman founded the Mezcal Carreño business in 2012, incorporating her interests in travel, food, and wine. Now agave plants have replaced sugar cane as the hacienda's cash crop. She remains one of very few women who lead a Mezcal brand in Mexico. "This is mezcal that is produced almost completely by hand, without any machinery, nothing," Lorena said. "It starts with the cutting of the agaves with machetes."

Iván Carreño, center, co-founder of Compa Spirits, teaches a mezcal class for bar staff at Taco Guild in Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Carreño put a second mortgage on his mother's home to help start his company a year ago. He spends most his time going to local restaurants and bars in the South West to get them to buy his families spirit and teach bartenders how to properly educate patrons on the pre-colonial drink which is gaining popularity in the U.S.

From left, Caleb West, Daniel Soria and Iván Carreño drink pulque at El Pulquito de Matatlán on Dec. 8, 2021, in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. Pulque is juice of the agave heart which was originally consumed before the process of distillation was introduced in the Americas. Soria works for a micro-distillery called Dixeebe, while West is a cocktail manager in Phoenix who regularly utilizes Mexican spirits.

Ivan Carreño, Co-Founder of Compa spirits, right, poses for a photo with his mezcal cart during a soft opening for The Mexicano restaurant on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 in Phoenix. Carreño used a model VW bus to carry his families mezcal during a party at the Mexican themed restaurant. "When you're buying my family's mezcal you're not helping some billionaire buy his tenth vacation home in Bali. No, you're helping me put my little brother through school," Carreño said.

The Carreño family has produced mezcal since 1904 in San Dionisio Ocotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. "It was seen as a poor man's drink," Ivan Carreño said. Ivan, who moved to Phoenix, Arizona from Oaxaca when he was six, runs the distribution side of his family's mezcal business—often running production tours to Mexico, introducing the spirit at restaurant openings, or training bar staff on its various flavors. Recently, the spirit has gained popularity in the US and has begun to bring a higher price tag.