Erstwhile is a boutique importer of agave spirits based in Brooklyn, New York. Our passion and focus: artisanal and ancestral mezcal crafted by small, family-operated producers. We are a mission-driven company. Erstwhile's mission is to partner small, independent, family-owned producers go global and bring their craft to international markets for the first time. We set ourselves apart from others in several ways. First, the family producers we work with are independent family businesses, not employees. We pay our partner producers fairly. We do not ask them for exclusivity or discounts. We seek out producers who are interested in exporting out of Mexico, but do not have the means to do so on their own. We help them get certified and licensed for export. We feel good about the fact that we help our partners clear these hurdles from the get-go, independent of their work with us in the future. We are not encumbered by loyalty to any particular family. When you support Erstwhile, you support not just one but all the family producers we partner with. Second, we are committed to brand transparency. Look at the back label of every Erstwhile bottle: it gives full disclosure of where you can find our partner producer in Oaxaca and buy directly from the source if you so choose. Read our website, product pages, blog posts, newsletters, social media. Talk to us at events and tastings. We are proud and open about who our partner mezcaleros are, and every aspect of how we do business. Third, we are committed to mezcal education, both as teachers and as students. That is why Erstwhile takes a curatorial, rotating approach when deciding which mezcals we want to bring you. Erstwhile is a woman-owned, women-led business. We are outspoken about elevating women in Mezcal and the broader wine & spirits industry.