Bixhidú (bee-she-doo) translates to “a small kiss” in the Zapotec language. In partnership with three families, we craft traditional, small-batch, premium Artesanal and Ancestral Mezcal in the lush and mineral rich region of Sola de Vega, Oaxaca for those who seek an authentic and 100% agave spirit. Bixhidú connects the senses to Oaxacan earth, sun, moon, rain and fire. Our agave cultivation, harvesting, roasting, grind, fermentation, distillation and glass-aging process strictly adheres to multi-generational traditions. Our spirit is free of additives and accelerants. We produce ten expressions: Espadin, Barril, Mexicano, Arroqueño, Coyote, Tobala, Tepeztate, Jabali, Cuishe and Pechuga. Bixhidú Mezcal is the culmination of arduous labor and time-honored craftsmanship from each agave farmer and artisan. Bixhidú Mezcal preserves & celebrates a rich cultural Mexican heritage. Each sip of Bixhidú Mezcal unveils elegant, pungent and complex aromas, textures and flavors that entice the senses, inspire us to savor each sip like a small kiss, and leave us lamenting the last drop. Bixhidú is a multi-sensory experience. Bixhidú!
Production
The Bixhidú experience begins with the heart of our spirit, the earth of Sola de Vega, Oaxaca. Deep in the remote mountains, 2.5 hours south of Oaxaca City, the land offers a diverse and fertile topography accompanied by a relatively cooler climate that makes it ideal for agave cultivation. The region sustains the greatest agave diversity in Oaxaca with varieties such as Espadín, Barril, Coyote, Arroqueño, Mexicano, Cuishe, Tepeztate, Barril and renowned Tobalá.
Our agave plants, cultivated and wild, are organically grown and only harvested when they have reached full maturity, anywhere from 5-25 years. We are committed to planting as a means of sustaining the rich agave diversity of Oaxaca. In partnership with local farmers, we have planted over 75,000 agaves including Tobala & Jabali.
We roast the agave hearts in an underground earth pit with scorching river rock, local wood source, and layered with native plants and earth. For our Bixhidú Ancestral mezcal, the roasted agave hearts are mashed and muddled manually via wooden mallets over a wooden canoe. This increases sugar presence in the pulp which culminates in complex aromas and flavor profiles. Fermentation occurs in wooden vats and strictly via native yeasts. Finally, our Ancestral expressions are double distilled in clay pots which craft a textured, complex and mineral rich essence.
Our Artesanal and Mezcal expressions are distilled in a copper alembic or via “single pass” in a stainless-steel alembic still with copper refrescadera. Finally, each batch is aged in 19-liter glass jugs for at least one year, up to three years for some batches. These methods amplify body and elegance, aromatic pungency, and flavor complexity. Every bottle of Bixhidú Mezcal is a layered extraction of agave magic!
Los Maestros Mezcaleros
Two hours southwest of Oaxaca City, on the long winding road to Puerto Escondido there is Sola De Vega, a municipality made up of 16 communities and a population of less than 2500 households and 15,000 people. The Maestro Mezcaleros and Maestra Mezcaleras of this proud community maintain a rich heritage and prestigious tradition for producing world class mezcal. Bixhidú produces in partnership with three families from this fabled and storied community.
Don Gerardo Silva Rios—Seccion Cuarta, Sola De Vega
Perched high above rugged terrain and forested with oak and pines in the highlands is the small village of Seccion Cuarta and the palenque of Maestro Mezcalero Don Gerardo Silva Rios. He forms part of a tight knit family who maintain 4 generations of mezcal tradition. Gerardo’s father, at the age of 80, can still be found producing mezcal. The arduous labor of producing mezcal is not Gerardo’s alone, and he often relies on the support of his wife Hermelinda, daughter Selina and son-in-law Luis Rey to produce his batches. Through the years, they have also acquired a keen knowledge of the mezcal craft. The work also depends on lifelong friends and neighbors who often assist with the Tapada and other aspects of production. When Gerardo put up his own Palenque 35 years ago, he chose a stainless steel still with copper refrescadera that allows his distillation to complete in a “single pass”. This method yields at a higher rate and (unlike clay pots) loses less product through evaporation. Two years ago, Gerardo added copper and clay stills to his palenque. Gerardo is fortunate to have mountain spring water in ample supply which he uses for his fermentation and distillation. Gerardo produces mezcal that is dense, aromatic and elegant. Gerardo crafts various Bixhidú Mezcal expressions including Bixhidú Pechuga with a recipe that is revered for its tropical mix of flavors and viscosity. Gerardo is a firm believer in the rhythm of nature and only harvests according to tradition. He looks to the moon for guidance and does not harvest or produce when it’s too wet or cold for fear that the agaves will not yield enough due to low sugar complexity and water saturation. Gerardo prides himself in only harvesting agave plants that have reached full maturity. He often says, “I prefer an old, small, weathered plant than a big pretty shiny one. There is no use in good looks if it doesn’t make great mezcal.” Many years ago, Gerardo fell in love with music and played saxophone in a local band. These days, when Gerardo is not producing mezcal, he keeps himself busy caring for his agave plants, his cattle, planting and harvesting corn, or enjoying time with his two grandchildren.
Don Nahum Fructuoso Vasquez—San Francisco Sola, Sola De Vega
East of the bustling town center, down a long winding dirt road, agave and corn fields fill the rolling landscapes. The mythic Ahuehuete trees line the river down in the valley and traditional Spanish tile homes dot a sparsely populated village known as San Francisco Sola. Here, we find our compadre and Maestro Mezcalero Nahum Fructuoso Vasquez, a renowned member of this storied and prestigious Mezcal producing region. He forms part of an extended family of uncles, brothers, and nephews who also produce mezcal. Theirs is the art of clay pot distillation, an ancestral tradition that encompasses five generations of knowledge passed down from family to family. His traditional palenque is made up of six clay pots and is situated in the midst of a lush field with Espadin, Arroqueño, Coyote and Tobala agaves which he tends to after planting from pups or germinating from seed. The water source arrives from a nearby spring. Nahum’s production is often a family affair that involves his three sons Francisco, Andres and Alfredo, his daughter, son in law, and older grandchildren. Nahum’s favorite agave is Tobala. He often makes long trips to his ranch in the mountains with a donkey or horse to bring down a few wild plants. He’s also not afraid to produce Jabali Mezcal despite the challenging genetic properties of the plant. Nahum produces nine Bixhidú Ancestral Mezcal expressions including Wild Jabali, Tobala & Tepeztate. Nahum possesses a keen and proven understanding of his craft which often attracts mezcal lovers from all walks of life to his palenque for a taste of his authentic, traditionally-crafted, complex, mineral rich, small batches but it is his personality that seduces all who have the pleasure of meeting him. He’s welcoming, joyous, and never fails to share a mezcalito with a story of a long life-lived and a bite to eat. He’s also a creative soul who is always immersed in various projects. He recently ran into a large tree trunk. Within days, he was busy sculpting chairs and tables for his guests. Whenever he’s not producing mezcal, Nahum is busy running errands with his wife or tending to his corn, garlic, onion, squash and bean harvests. And his favorite pastime is enjoying the fruits of his labor. His home is often the center of festive occasions filled with music, family, friends, homemade food and chilena dancing.
Maestro Mezcaleros Luis “Chino” Mendez & Yovanni Juarez
Brothers Luis and Yovanni are representatives of a new brand of Maestro Mezcaleros. They are young and have inherited a broad and in-depth perspective of the mezcal industry. Their father, Luis Mendez, was a renowned civil engineer who left a lasting legacy in Sola De Vega for his efforts to transform and improve cultivation methods, especially the Tobala agave. With mezcal in hand, wit, an endless well of knowledge, and a knack for storytelling, he was a cultural ambassador who hosted and exposed visitors from all over to the world of traditional mezcal. Bixhidú owner Javier Ramiro was lucky to be invited to various mezcal “sessions” filled with passion and reverence for the agave, the farmers, and the land. From their mother, Georgi, an engineer specializing in food processes, Luis and Yovanni have garnered a keen understanding of agaves and mezcal chemistry, biodiversity, and science. Today, in his Palenque situated next to his home in the lush, water-rich hills of Reyes, Luis proudly continues the ancestral tradition: first-hand knowledge of each agave, roasting in an underground conic oven, mashing by hand, fermentation in wooden vats, and distilling in clay pots. Luis, married to Ana Laura and father to daughter Ariana, is an ardent futbol fan. Yovanni, like their late father, also studied to be a civil engineer. He goes back and forth with his profession, but his heart belongs to Mezcal. He has been distilling since he was 14 years old. Their father formed a collective of palenques and mezcaleros, and he was exposed to all aspects of production. Now he produces ancestral and artisanal mezcal in his Palenque in Seccion Cuarta, next to Maestro Mezcalero Gerardo Silva--Tio Gerardo to those who love him. Yovanni’s favorite agave and mezcal is Coyote. He says, “Unlike many things in life, Coyote is easy to understand. It can have complexity, but it will always taste like Coyote, like caramel, simple and elegant.” Luis and Yovanni have produced various Bixhidú ancestral batches, including the award-winning Bixhidú Mexicano Amarillo Ancestral and three six-year glass-aged exclusive ancestral batches of Jabali, Mexicano de Campo, and Coyote. The brothers are part of a growing consciousness over the last decade focused on sustainability efforts and the revitalization of rare agaves, which are now being reproduced and cultivated from both seed and clone. They believe the ancestral tradition and the conservation of hyper-regional agaves are important in maintaining healthy ecosystems and preserving gusto histórico of local flavors and recipes.
Bixhidú prides itself in crafting traditional, authentic and premium quality agave spirits. This is the work of talented mezcaleros who recognize that no production will ever be exactly the same. They embrace the recipes and knowledge passed down and shared through family and community. However, they also acknowledge that variables such as environmental conditions, soil diversity, water and natural yeasts all contribute to nuances of each batch. Each Bixhidú production is the art of artisans who experiment to carefully fine-tune each batch in order to express their own tastes, observations, and relationships with the natural world.
Javier Ramiro Velazco
Bixhidú Founder
To know Javier Ramiro Velazco is to know a storyteller, a mezcalero, a socio, an educator, and a seeker of justice, of connection, of truth. He is a compadre, a collaborator, a romantic, a wanderer, and a soul-searcher. A son of Mexico, born in the steep, rugged Sierra Norte of Puebla, Javier’s journey has been one of movement—immigrating to California as a child, returning to Mexico as a teenager, and carrying the spirit of both lands with him ever since.
His words opened doors—his autobiographical short story about life in his village earned him a place at Emerson College in Boston. After exploring journalism and entertainment, he found his true calling: two decades as a public high school English teacher in South Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, shaping young minds while never losing sight of his own roots.
Javier’s love affair with mezcal began in the mountains of Sola de Vega, Oaxaca—on winding bus rides, in conversations over shared copitas, and through friendships that would eventually plant the seeds of Bixhidú. He understood early on that mezcal is more than a spirit—it is heritage, craftsmanship, and deep connection to the land.
Committed to sustainability, Javier and his partners have planted over 75,000 agave plants—Tobala, Jabali, Cuish, Mexicano, Arroqueño, and Coyote—preserving tradition while ensuring its future. Since 2017, Bixhidú has stood for something greater than mezcal alone: a celebration of culture, a commitment to the land, and a promise to honor the past while building a more sustainable future. Bixhidú is not just mezcal—it is memory, it is movement, it is Mexico!
