Santo de Piedra: The Oaxacan-Mezcal Whispering a New Language of Luxury
- The Epicurer
- 2 jun
- 3 Min. de lectura
“In the beginning, The Pastorale Series by Massimo Bottura wasn’t about celebrity or marketing,” said Raul Injoque, one of the investors behind Santo de Piedra Mezcal, in an exclusive communication with The Epicurer. “It was two people genuinely connecting over the craft of mezcal and the culture behind it.”
He’s referring to a quiet meeting between David S. Giles, the Managing Director of Santo de Piedra, and renowned chef Massimo Bottura — a moment that would eventually lead to a formal partnership collaboration with Bottura and its non profit Food for Soul. The collaboration was never announced with fanfare, but it marked a key turning point in how the brand envisioned its place in the world: not just as a mezcal, but as a statement on how luxury could — and perhaps should — behave.
Santo de Piedra, founded in 2018 in Oaxaca, is an exercise in restraint. Where other brands chase visibility, it trades on intimacy, process, and place. Its ethos is what the team calls “silent luxury”: a deliberate pivot away from flash toward something more meditative, more rooted. Most of their mezcal collections are crafted from wild, long-maturing agaves — some taking over more than a decade to harvest. Traditional production methods remain intact: agaves are slow-roasted in stone-lined earthen pits, crushed by tahona, fermented with native yeasts carried naturally by the wind, and distilled in small copper stills. The result is layered, earthy, and distinct from batch to batch — a spirit deeply tied to the land it comes from. Even the bottle tells a story of intention. Blown in Mexico, subtly imperfect, each piece is numbered. Labels are understated, corks natural. Nothing in the design feels rushed or overproduced. This is a brand that cultivates presence through absence. In an era where “authenticity” is increasingly commodified, Santo de Piedra walks a delicate line. The brand positions itself as values-driven, placing cultural stewardship and environmental responsibility at the core of its identity.
“We didn’t want to build just another regular high-end spirits brand,” Injoque says. “We wanted to build something with purpose, something that respects its origins.” Still, for some, the question remains: when purpose and positioning align so neatly, where does one end and the other begin?
A Global Footprint, a Local Soul
Despite its artisanal identity, Santo de Piedra has steadily carved out a place in elite hospitality. Its bottles now appear in select hotels across Tokyo, on curated menus in New York, and in private collections from Zurich to London. In 2023, it was named Best Luxury Bespoke Mezcal Distillery by LuxLife Magazine and secured a listing with St. James House, an office associated with the Royal Household. Yet the brand resists rapid expansion. Production volumes remain limited. Distribution is tightly managed. “We’re not trying to flood the market,” Injoque says. “We’re trying to be part of the right moments, in the right places.” That controlled approach to growth mirrors the philosophy behind the product itself — one that values depth over reach, and impact over scale.
Santo de Piedra’s broader ambition is not just to elevate mezcal, but to shift how luxury itself is understood. It wants to prove that luxury can be transparent, ethical, and context-driven — that it can honor tradition without packaging it for consumption. Whether that vision breaks new ground or refines an old narrative is still up for discussion. But what’s clear is that the brand is thoughtful, deliberate, and unapologetically authentic in its roots.“People assume luxury has to be loud,” Injoque reflects. “But what we’ve found is that the most meaningful experiences — in mezcal, in life — usually come in quieter moments.” Santo de Piedra has chosen to be one of those moments. Not loud. But not forgettable, either.
