Sons of Mezcal Documentary Will Be Screened at Bread Bar

Fans of mezcal can toast to the Mexican spirit by driving to Bread Bar in Silver Plume, just past Georgetown on I-70, and enjoy a screening of Sons of Mezcal on Saturday, July 19. The documentary was directed by Denver filmmaker Stephan Werk and premiered at the Mayan Theatre in 2021; it centers on four families who distill the spirit, which has been growing in popularity in Denver.

The film's first focal point is the Cortez family, who run a collective working with over ten families in the Oaxaca region. “Their mezcal dates back to 1842,” explains Werk, who says he experienced a powerful spiritual presence when he visited the original ancestral land just outside of Santiago Matatlán. “It’s where they started making mezcal as a family, where it was used as medicine, not just something that you would consume and sell,” he says. Today, the family has three different brands of mezcal under the Casa Cortez umbrella.

The second family in the film is led by Tío Pedro Vásquez, a third-generation mezcalero, or producer of mezcal. His family lives in a rural compound over four hours from the city of Oaxaca. “They are really fascinating because they are in tune with astrology and the moon and the stars, with a deeper connection to the earth,” says Werk. The family goes out at night during a full moon, believing the most sugar is in the agaves at this time. They will chop down the quiote, or the part of the plant that grows from the stalk, tricking the plant into continuing its growth and producing sugar concentrated into the stalk. “He’s out there during a full moon at night, chopping agaves,” says Werk.
The third family in the film is led by Ignacio “Don Chucho” Parada and his son Jose. They live in an area called Santa María Zoquitlán, where an agave forest surrounds the town in the mountains. Multiple rivers also converge at the base of the town. “When it’s dry season, there’s no water running,” explains Werk. “But during the wet season, it’s just ripping.” Parada also utilizes many different fruit trees and other vegetation from the surrounding area. He turns them into mango and pineapple distillates, special products that aren’t exported to the US. “The pineapple distillate is so vibrant and unique. A lot of his influence for his mezcals comes from all those fruit trees growing around his property,” Werk says.

The final family was led by Maestro Rafael Méndez Cruz, also known as Don Rafa; Werk says he passed away in 2021 from COVID. “He had the biggest laugh,” recalls Werk, who also says that the family was incredibly hospitable, putting the film team up at their house and feeding them. Don Rafa was known for having secret stashes of rare agaves. “We kept asking, what are you cooking now, and he’d pull out some drum that he made 30-40 liters of,” says Werk. After his passing, Don Rafa’s sons Ivan and Paco took the reins as the next generation of distillers.

Werk was introduced to the families after meeting the importer for El Jolgorio mezcal in 2017 on a set in New York City, where he was working as a commercial photographer. He was quickly welcomed into the homes of many of these mezcalaros. “If someone vouches for you, they’re taking you in just like family down there,” he says.

In some ways, it felt like Werk was always meant to make a film like Sons of Mezcal. His father was a cinematographer and ran a production company for over thirty years. “It’s just kind of been in my blood,” says Werk. “I used to wrangle cables for him and he’d take me on location.” One of his favorite memories was getting to sit in the car on the original Ghostbusters set.

After editing videos in high school, Werk attended film school at DePaul in Chicago before transferring to CU Boulder, where he completed a BA in film. He first discovered mezcal in 2015, participating in a tasting at a wine shop where he worked part-time. “I saw a photograph of mezcalaro Teo Pedro, he was on horseback in this beautiful mountainous region with the agaves behind him,” he recalls. “And I was so fascinated by his look and his story.”
Werk collaborated with Westword contributor Tony White when he'd run into creative blocks on the film. White and his wife run cultural tours in Oaxaca.

Werk is currently working on a project centered on Elaine’s, a famous New York City bar that ran from the 1960s until it closed in 2011. His wife’s late father was a well-known bartender at the venue. “It’s not just about the bar and bar stories, it’s about a place that shifted through the decades,” says Werk. “If you think of every major event in the world, someone could say ‘I was at Elaine’s.’” Werk plans on going into production for that film in 2026.

As for Sons of Mezcal, Werk has been very selective about where he screens the film. “I really want to get the education out about mezcal being more than just a spirit in a nice craft cocktail,” he says. “It’s something more powerful culturally to the people of Oaxaca,” he says.

Even as Werk focuses on a new project, he’ll never stop telling the stories of the families in Sons of Mezcal. “Until the day I die," he says, "I’ll promote these families and the culture and this project.”

Sons of Mezcal will screen at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 19, at Bread Bar, 1010 Main Street in Silver Plume; chef Pablo's taco bar will be available from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Find more information at breadbarsp.com and sonsofmezcal.com.