1 GEM&BOLT is a clean spirit.
Why is this important?
We would not be involved with anything that didn’t have super high ethos. It’s really important if you’re going to be a brand that represents mezcal in the world that you do things right. It’s a protected element of Mexico and Oaxaca. We’re also very dedicated to the concept of clean spirit across the board. One of the things that attracted us to mezcal is it’s intrinsically a clean spirit. [Mezcal is closely regulated to adhere to strict traditional methods and must be 100% agave. GEM&BOLT is made from espadín agave, fresh mountain spring water, and damiana.] It should be organic, and the people that are farming, producing, and cultivating it should be treated well, and it should be a holistically clean spirit. Every part that goes into it is part of a bigger overarching theme of clean and pure.
2 What led you to add in damiana?
We grew up with a lot of herbalists, so damiana was always on our radar. Everybody made tinctures and elixirs, and damiana had a cult following amongst herbalists. We call it a heart opener because it umbrellas myriad health benefits. It’s been long revered by the Aztec, the Maya, the Zapotec, many indigenous groups of Mexico, and the Oaxaca area for its healing properties. It’s elevating. And so for us, it marries really nicely with the agave because agave is naturally elevating. So you’ve got these two magical plant properties coming together in a really nice way.
3 How should GEM&BOLT be enjoyed?
We really like to promote that people try on GEM&BOLT for a night. Because it’s so clean and because of the addition of the damiana, it’s really an interesting experience for people to not adulterate the experience, to really experience it pure. But it does mix really well for mixologists or people who prefer cocktails. It’s not as intense on the smoke as a lot of other mezcals, which makes it more mixable as well because the smoke doesn’t tend to dominate. It makes a lot of great classic cocktails—a great mezcal paloma, a great mezcal negroni. We also love GEM&BOLT on the rocks with a dash of bitters and a twist of orange. It’s really good with citrus in general.
4 Why do you think mezcal has increased in popularity?
I think it has overlapped quite clearly with the whole farm to table movement, and people being very interested and dedicated to where their food is coming from and the story behind their food. So that increasingly has translated into spirits as well and beverage across the board. It has to do with the ethos and the cleanness of the product. Mezcal conveniently falls into all of those categories by its essence—it’s naturally clean spirited, it’s naturally artisanal, it naturally tends to have a really beautiful story behind it.
5 Tell us about the Warrior Generation platform.
Warrior Generation started with a fundraiser for the earthquake in Mexico, but we always had the idea that we would have a platform that would propel and elevate other platforms that are already established. It’s about recognizing the power of the voices that brands like ours have and using that for good, using that to promote and support important initiatives and people who are also doing really important things that we want to help get out there to the world. We’ll be initiating many, many things moving forward.
6 Advice for women in the industry?
Stick with your vision but always be flexible enough to reinvent yourself everyday, which is a tricky middle ground. Also, finding the right advisors and mentors can just cut through so much that you would have had to learn a harder way.
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