Born of bootlegger parents (yes, actual bootleggers) in a Bohemian outpost in the mountains of Virginia, our founders Adrina & Elliott grew up off-grid in a vibrant, community-driven countryside, where hands were seen as tools for creation. If we were to describe our founders today as a place, that tiny Virginian county named Rappahannock is a perfect descriptor. Approachable, collaborative, supportive, inventive, celebratory. Similar in so many ways, but unique in so many more, our founders arrived on the planet as artists, and so they remain today, architecting lives inspired by culturally rich experiences, endless exploration, and the guiding belief that leading a holistic lifestyle and mindfully (being present) celebrating life, expands human consciousness. (After all, it’s curiosity and harmony with the ever unfolding mystery of life that breaks barriers and opens us to new experiences, perspectives and deepens our gratitude. And so it has with them.)
As for the story of how that same adventurous spirit landed Adrina & Elliott in Oaxaca for the very first time? Let’s travel back to 2011, when the two first visited Oaxaca. At the time, the artist-alchemist duo had already begun collaborating on various creative projects across the U.S., which transformed into hosting underground speakeasies where the duo served up damiana-infused mezcal cocktails to their creative global community under the title “GEM&BOLT”– a name that arrived serendipitously as the two brainstormed a title that would stand as an expression of art, celebration, ritual & plant intelligence. They made the damiana elixir by hand-infusing bottles of mezcal with the herb. After arriving to Oaxaca for the first time, both immediately felt at home, recalling that “Oaxaca felt so familiar. So connective and yet wild, colorful, open, and deeply celebratory.” The two then moved to Oaxaca, where they spent many years (Elliott still lives in Oaxaca), deeply knitted within the community as artists, collaborators and friends, before being encouraged to launch a mezcal brand of their own. It was also in Oaxaca that they dedicated themselves to learning and exploring the mezcal spirit, drawn to its rich, mystical history, slow artisanal production and connective, clean experience. Upon learning the Oaxacan folklore tied to mezcal (“As legend has it, during a storm a lightning BOLT struck the GEM, or heart, of the Maguey plant, roasting and fermenting its sugars, and outpoured the sacred sap known today as mezcal…”), the connection was too deep to ignore, and thus, GEM&BOLT, as we know it today was born. Well, almost…
“GEM&BOLT” as a bottled spirit made its first appearance on the hospitality scene in 2012, when the duo, now living permanently in Oaxaca, hosted their very first Día De Los Muertos party (now a brand tradition). Concurrently, they began driving thousands of liters of bootlegged mezcal (hand-infused with damiana by Adrina & Elliott) from Oaxaca to elsewhere in Mexico, fueling art-filled underground parties and becoming evermore integrated in an international community of creatives.
From there, the popularity of the botanically distilled mezcal began, and four years later in 2016, Elliott & Adrina, alongside their Oaxacan partner Vicente Reyes, worked with a chemist to develop a way to to distill mezcal with the herb damiana (think of how botanicals are used to make gin), in an effort to bring forward the flavor profile they developed in the original infusion. GEM&BOLT officially launched into market, already familiar to and beloved by a dynamic cultural community, built by curiosity and a desire to connect, collaborate and create.
Mezcal is CLEAN SPIRIT: But how so?
INSPIRED BY ARTFUL LIVING AND CELEBRATION, GEM&BOLT IS A REFLECTION OF OUR DEEP CARE FOR WHAT WE TAKE INTO OUR BODIES. MADE WITH ONLY 100% ESPADIN AGAVE, FRESH MOUNTAIN SPRING WATER AND ORGANIC DAMIANA, artisanally DISTILLED by fourth generation Maestro Mezcalero Ignacio Martinez USING A PROCESS DEEPLY INFORMED BY HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF TRADITION. YOU CAN FIND MUCH, MUCH MORE ON THAT, HERE.
Beloved by many for its clean, additive-free nature, mezcal has quickly become a choice spirit across the health and wellness arena and there are facts to back it up. Here’s what the experts are saying:
“Hard science there is not, but we have noticed our post-mezcal mornings are not nearly as bad as some others. Jimenez says this is because good mezcal contains no additives: ‘Many alcohols have a ton of sugar and other chemicals. My brand has absolutely nothing but organic agave and water. When you wake up after drinking it, you feel the same way as you do when you drink natural wines. Your body just recognizes the difference.’ Of course, alcohol of any kind can and will give you a hangover if you drink too much too fast, but that’s not how mezcal is meant to be consumed. ‘People in Oaxaca drink it with a lot of respect,’ says Jimenez. ‘You don’t drink it to get shit-faced. You sip it, you sit with it, you live with it. I think for some people it can change their entire relationship to alcohol, because the experience is so different.’” – Healthyish / Bon Appetit, 2019.
“The word tequila might immediately conjure up a wild night of debauchery, followed by a raging hangover. But there is such a thing as a ‘clean’ tequila, and it’s called mezcal. First, it would help to think of mezcal and tequila as family members, with mezcal being the fit, clean-eating cousin of tequila. Most tequilas (like the ‘well’ kind in your margarita) are a blend of the liquor, blue agave, sugar, and a slew of other potential additives. Mezcal, such as Gem & Bolt‘s Mexican-made mezcal, is crafted with 100 percent organic, fair trade, and sustainably grown agave, ensuring a cleaner, purer liquor. It’s also distilled with damiana, a flowering herb grown in Mexico that was used by the Aztecs to treat everything from stomach ailments to sore muscles. The damiana contributes herbaceous notes to the pleasantly smoky mezcal. Try sipping it straight up or in one of the brand’s inventive cocktails.” – Shape, 2018.
“You’ll get the best experience—and the least chance of a hangover—if you’re choosing low-sugar mixers and fresh ingredients.” – Ariane Resnick, certified nutritionist for Well + Good, 2018.
“Mezcal can be considered cleaner and more pure than tequila, especially if the later is mixed with artificial sugar and way to many margarita mixers. When it comes to health, wellness, and alcohol, consider balance and sip in moderation – mezcal included.” – Organic Authority, 2018.
MEZCAL IS A METAPHOR: Supporting Our Partners & Communities
Supporting the Arts
What began as a partnership tied to shared values, evolved into a distinct lifestyle rooted in art & celebration. GEM&BOLT is now a commercial spirit, but it remains equally a lifestyle deeply rooted in our founders’ global community spanning from Oaxaca, across Mexico, the U.S., Europe and beyond. Founded by artists, the brand is characterized by the same art community from which it was born. Heavily tied to the global art scene, GEM&BOLT ebbs and flows with the waves of its creative community. In the commercial market, GEM&BOLT remains deeply invested in creative communities, adamantly supporting and partnering with numerous artists, foundations, organizations & non-profits. Far beyond simply supplying Mezcal, GEM&BOLT actively collaborates as a creative participant in these events.
GEM&BOLT Humanitarian Partners
GEM&BOLT’s investment in our marketplace communities goes well beyond the arts. We are committed to supporting progressive environmental initiatives, civil liberties, women’s & LGBTQ rights to name a few. Please visit our partnerships page here to view the extended list.
2017 Oaxaca Earthquake Relief
In Oaxaca, GEM&BOLT is an invested partner in social-impact programs that support economic autonomy for agave farmers and their families (learn more here). In wake of the devastating earthquakes in Oaxaca, GEM&BOLT hosted a fundraiser in NYC, raising donations to support Tejamos Oaxaca of Fondo Ventura, an organization dedicated to providing immediate shelter and rebuilding efforts for those affected by the disaster.
Dia de Los Muertos Proceeds
In 2018, proceeds from GEM&BOLT’s annual DAY OF THE DEAD Celebration were donated to the construction of a 100% adobe school in San Agustin de Etla, a collaborative initiative of various Oaxacan artist, local philanthropists and architecture studio, ROOTSTUDIO, under the direction of Joao Boto Caeiro. In 2016, event proceeds directly supported infrastructure needs within the small Oaxacan town of San Pedro Ixtlahuaca, where the event was hosted. To learn more, please reach out to us!
PEOPLE & PLANTS : Oaxacan Partnerships
GEM&BOLT is built on the strength and integrity of our partnerships. We are honored to work hand in hand with strong and resilient Oaxacans from this culturally rich region.
Vicente Reyes: GEM&BOLT Partner & Director of Operations
photo by Kristina Bakrevski
GEM&BOLT partner and Director of Operations, Vicente Reyes is a longstanding foundational and connective figure in the growth of GEM&BOLT. Born and raised in Oaxaca, Vicente has over 20 years of professional experience in the Mezcal industry. Throughout his career, Vicente has established multiple social impact initiatives & cooperatives to ensure better working conditions and fair pay for farming families. As founder of Proyecto Hermano Maguey, Vicente remains dedicated to honoring communal land ownership and fair-farming partnerships by working directly with agave growing communities to uphold traditional Oaxacan land ownership & economic systems. Vicente is a leader in sustainability initiatives in Oaxaca and as the mezcal category grows, he is often the frontrunner of investigative and innovative techniques to ensure tradition, quality & preservation related to agave agriculture.
Vicente works to connect producers and growers with brands and investors to form ethical, sustainable and fair partnerships. GEM&BOLT is an invested partner in Agave Plantation Program, an initiative under Proyecto Hermano Maguey created to build relationships that protect communal land ownership and growing practices by investing in crop futures and outlining ethical standards related to all aspects of agave farming. This includes the cultivation, harvesting, biodiversity and land management activities related to mezcal production. Follow Proyecto Hermano Maguey’s Instagram here for updates.
Ignacio Martinez & The Martinez Family
Photo by: Enrique Leon
After years of friendship and working closely with the Martinez family, Vicente established a working partnership between GEM&BOLT and Maestro Mezcalero Ignacio Martinez, a highly skilled & knowledgeable fourth generation craftsman with over 50 years in mezcal production. The Martinez family honors traditional mezcal production methods using hand-harvested agave that is slow-roasted over an earthen fire pit, mashed by traditional Tahona stone, naturally fermented using naturally occurring yeasts, distilled in copper stills and, finally, bottled by hand at the source.
Just as with the Martinez family, GEM&BOLT is dedicated to ensuring fair wage partnerships with agave growing and mezcal producing families. We uphold the highest industry standards to ethically source and distill our mezcal, and to ensure the livelihoods of our partners. GEM&BOLT promotes an open dialogue relative to the state of the agave market in order to evolve & proactively offer resolutions to the many challenges of a growing and booming mezcal industry.
More questions? We’re an open book. Drop us a line at [email protected].
