20th anniversary of Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Global celebration: PI Day, March 14, 2015 (03.14.15)

20th anniversary of Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal
Global celebration: PI Day, March 14, 2015 (03.14.15)
Del Maguey 's Toast Around The World

The world's best bars will join Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal in a special STIGIBEU at 11:00 p.m. (local time for each city) on March 14th, 2015 to celebrate Del Maguey's 20th Anniversary. Bartenders, family and friends around the globe are invited to join Ron Cooper in this milestone moment, and many have already started telling their customers about it.

"We will, of course, be participating in this," says Jon Santer of the Prizefighter in Emeryville, California. "We celebrate Ron every day with our customers and we're happy to do it now, in a public forum and in stellar company. Thank you Ron and family."

"Ron Cooper, an accomplished visual artist and founder of Del Maguey, has worked diligently to bring us Single Village Mezcals for 20 years," says Del Maguey's Steve Olson. "And, Ron made it his mission to preserve the ancient process and preserve the culture of the Zapotec producers in the remote villages of Oaxaca."

In 1995 Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal introduced its original two single village expressions (Chichicapa and San Luis Del Rio), named after the villages from where they are made. Now, Del Maguey has eighteen expressions and produces from ten different agave varietals. Del Maguey is credited with pioneering the artisanal mezcal category, in which every other brand has followed.

"Twenty years ago there was nothing in the U.S. mezcal category that connected people in any way to the ancient practices that the indigenous people of Oaxaca have been employing since before the Spanish conquest," says Ron Cooper. "I wanted to share what I had discovered in Oaxaca - this previously unavailable artisanal mezcal, produced in the original handcrafted way - I had to create a new category, and rely on craft bartenders to help me educate consumers along the way."
Del Maguey is Single Village Mezcal, which is a methodology that honors its Zapotec farmer producers and the distinct character and singular purity preserved from village to village. Assuring consistency within each expression, Ron works with the same producers as he did two decades ago. This has lead to the great sense of family within the brand's own team, as well as the international bartender and mixologist communities.

Del Maguey was, just this year, ranked by the U.K.-based Independent Academy for World's 50 Best Bar Brands Report as the No. 1 Top Trending Brand.

Steve Olson concludes: "TWENTY YEARS. Call us crazy, but we think that's good cause for celebration. So with that in mind, we welcome all of our wonderful friends and family worldwide to raise a Stigi this March 14th."

How To Participate:
Join us in a celebration of Ron Cooper and 20 Years of Del Maguey with a very special celebratory STIGIBEU on March 14th (Pi Day), which is the actual day of the beginning of the company. We have started this with 20 great bars for the 20th celebration.

These 20 bars are listed on Facebook as official celebratory STIGI locations, but all bars are welcome to jump in. Every bartender, as well as family and friends around the globe, can raise a glass to Del Maguey's indigenous farmer-producers for bringing us this delicious Mezcal. We suggest featuring a Vida Buena (recipe below) or a Mezcal cocktail from your bar/your choice.

LA VIDA BUENA
1 ½ ounces Del Maguey Vida Single Village Mezcal
¾ ounce Carpano Antica
¾ ounce Aperol
2 dashes Regan's orange bitters
Stir all ingredients over ice in a glass vessel, strain over a large single ice cube (BFIC), and garnish with a wine orange peel. STIGIBEU

What Is Stigibeu?
"For Mother Earth and our ancestors" followed by "Stigibeu" - this is the traditional Zapotec gratitude invoked before sharing a copita of Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal. The symbolism is recognition and thankfulness to the earth, nature and to those who have come before us.

Participating bars are invited to post comments and pictures to the following social media platforms that we've created especially for this event:
Follow us on Instagram #stigiveinte
Twitter #stigiveinte
Facebook stigiveinte

About Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal

Today Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal sweeps accolades for innovation, flavor profile, best in category and even best outside of category. The full scope of awards are too vast to list here, but consider three-time winner of the Ultimate Spirits Challenge Chairman's Trophy 2011, 2013, 2014; Four-Time Double Gold Winner, San Francisco Spirits Competition; San Francisco Competition Distiller of the Year 2011; Academy for World's 50 Best Bar Brands Report's No. 1 Top Trending Brand; Best New Product 2014 (Iberico) at Tales of the Cocktail; and, 2014 James Beard Award nominee for "Outstanding Spirits Professional, Ron Cooper," to name a few. Recent project partnerships with industry icons include names like Jose Andres and Michael Mina, and Del Maguey continues to garner coverage from titles as diverse as Playboy Magazine to The New York Times, from The Robb Report to Wine Enthusiast.
www.delmaguey.com