Mezcal has long been treated as a category that demands reverence. A spirit steeped in ritual and gatekept by expertise. Ciudadano Irreverente was built on the simple and quietly radical idea that this is exactly the wrong approach, especially when it comes to drawing the eyes of a young and new consumer. Born in Oaxaca's mezcal-producing region, it is a spirit with the craft credentials to command respect and at the same time the confidence to not ask for it. Ciudadano Irreverente occupies a distinctive and commercially compelling position. It is approachable without being watered down, expressive without being priggish, and traditional in every way that matters—while refusing to let tradition become a barrier to entry.

Origin: Born as a Gift, Refined as a Craft

Ciudadano Irreverente did not begin with a market brief or a positioning workshop. In fact, it began as an idea for a gift, with founder Emmanuel Simancas wanting to make an honest, exceptional mezcal for his friends. That origin story is not incidental; it is the brand's DNA. The question being asked was not "what will sell?" but "what would I be proud to put on the table?"

The answer was found in San Isidro Guishe, a mezcal-producing community in Oaxaca's Sierra Sur. Here, Simancas found a fourth-generation maestro mezcalero, an artisan whose knowledge of the craft spans the technique, land, the agave, and the rhythms of a process that simply cannot be rushed. Together, they set out to make something of real depth that remained genuinely open and accessible. The vision was understood immediately and  the mezcal that followed is its proof.

The Agave and the Process

Ciudadano Irreverente is produced from Espadin — the workhorse of the mezcal world and, in the right hands, one of its most expressive. Here, the agave is cultivated to a maturation of seven years before harvest: long enough to develop genuine complexity, and a reflection of Oaxaca's capacity to produce Espadin of real character. The production process is fully artisanal and follows a method that has been honed across generations. The agave hearts are cooked for five days in a conical stone oven — a slow, enveloping heat that concentrates sweetness and develops complexity without the aggressive char that can dominate. After cooking, the agave is crushed and milled, then fermented naturally over seven days. Double distillation in copper pot stills refines and clarifies, producing a spirit that is clean, precise, and layered.

A defining characteristic of this mezcal — and a deliberate one — is its smoke profile. Where many Oaxacan mezcals wear smoke as a badge of identity, Ciudadano Irreverente makes a different choice: it is a non-smoky, fully flavoured expression. The stone oven cooking builds depth and sweetness rather than campfire intensity. This is not a compromise; it is a considered stylistic position that opens the spirit to a far wider range of pairings, occasions, and drinkers.

Ciudadano Irreverente

On the Palate: Smooth, Expressive, Versatile

Ciudadano Irreverente is smooth on the sip and generous on the finish. Approachable enough for the uninitiated, layered enough for the experienced. As a Joven mezcal, it is bottled without aging, allowing the clarity of the agave and the craft of the distillation to come through the conversation clearly. Served neat, it offers the full expression of seven-year Espadin from Oaxaca's Sierra Sur. In cocktails, it performs with equal confidence. The brand makes no apology for this versatility. A mezcal of genuine quality does not need to be protected from the bar. Ciudadano Irreverente plays well with others, and considers that a strength rather than a concession.

For on-trade buyers, this dual functionality — a spirit that earns its place on a cocktail list and holds its own in a spirits flight — is a meaningful commercial asset. It speaks to food-curious consumers, adventurous drinkers, and the growing global audience discovering that mezcal does not have to be an acquired taste.

Positioning: The Anti-Sermon

The mezcal category is crowded with mysticism. Heritage claims, ancestral narratives, and smoky gravitas have become the default register — a house style that can feel more like a gatekeeping exercise than an invitation. Ciudadano Irreverente goes the other way deliberately and without apology. The brand describes itself as a citizen of the world — Mexican by origin, comfortable anywhere. Its natural audience is the traveller, the food lover, the curious professional, the creative who doesn't fit neatly into categories and has no patience for spirits that require a seminar before the first sip. It is a mezcal that trusts the drinker. 

For importers, this positioning addresses a genuine market gap. The premium mezcal consumer is evolving: younger, more internationally mobile, less interested in collecting rare bottles and more interested in finding spirits they can actually live with. Ciudadano Irreverente is built for that consumer — one who values substance over spectacle, and who will return to a bottle not because they have been told to, but because they enjoyed it.

The irreverence is attitudinal, not operational. On the fundamentals of quality and sustainability, Ciudadano Irreverente holds firm. Seven-year agave maturation is not a shortcut category. Nothing in the process is rushed or artificial — the cooking, fermentation, and distillation are each given exactly the time and attention they require. The fourth-generation maestro mezcalero brings a depth of knowledge that cannot be replicated elsewhere or accelerated by modern shortcuts.

Sustainability is embedded in the philosophy as much as the process. Respect for the land — for the agave that takes seven years to mature, for the community of San Isidro Guishe in which this mezcal is made, for the traditions that make Oaxacan mezcal one of the world's great spirits.

The Opportunity

The premium mezcal market continues to grow, but it faces a retention problem. Drinkers are drawn in by curiosity and too often lost to a category experience that feels inaccessible. Ciudadano Irreverente is built to convert interest into loyalty. A mezcal that earns repeat purchase not through reverence, but through genuine, consistent pleasure.

It has the artisanal credentials to satisfy the connoisseur and the accessible character to welcome the newcomer. It is non-smoky in an era when smoke fatigue is real and cocktail-friendly at a moment when the global bar industry is its most influential marketing channel. And it carries a brand story — irreverence as a conscious, principled act that resonates across cultures.

Mezcal without the ego, without the pretense. That is not a category gap — it is a commercial proposition.

Header image sourced from Ciudadano Irreverente.