The Lost Explorer – a brand shaping the future of mezcal and tequila

In just five years, The Lost Explorer has created something genuinely refreshing in its category. Gary Quinn meets Tanya Clarke, CEO of the young mezcal and tequila maker

Red dust and traffic sounds rise among a sea of bougainvillaea, agave plants and the searing heat of Mexico as Tanya Clarke’s jeep cuts through the Mexican state of Oaxaca, en route to The Lost Explorer Palenque (distillery). 

It’s a traditional place – indeed, it’s still the home of its Maestro Mezcalero (master distiller) Don Fortino Ramos (pictured above with his daughter Xitlali) and his parents, who have spent a lifetime producing handmade mezcal from their family farm.

Tanya Clarke, the Lost Explorer CEO, smiles as she explains how this journey of building The Lost Explorer is changing all our lives. She recalls how Don Fortino Ramos, a very talented mezcalero, has emerged from being a renowned maestro in Mexico, to leading master tastings of his artisanal mezcal in cities like Paris, London, and L.A.

With 14 copper pot stills, underground earthen pits and concrete ovens, The Lost Explorer has given this local enterprise an international future, employing some 60 people and putting a spotlight on ultra-premium mezcal.

International reach

The Lost Explorer already operates in more than 20 markets, including the US, Australia and the UK “but Mexico is the country we want to impress most,” Tanya Clarke states with pride.

“We have around 60 people on the team, the majority of whom are Mexican, working across production, sales & marketing in Mexico. There are also team members with strong Mexican roots, operating in the U.S. Our designers are in Guadalajara, the bottle is designed and produced in Mexico City using recycled glass, our bottling and distillation is in Oaxaca for Mezcal and Jalisco for Tequila. This is an International but primarily Mexican enterprise.” 

It’s no surprise that this Irish CEO is leading an international mezcal and tequila company. After graduating in business and Spanish, her work life led her to work with global brands like Nestle and, particularly, Diageo, where she carved her niche within the luxury reserve spirits portfolio. 

From this international position she was approached by one of The Lost Explorer founders, David Mayer de Rothschild, the British explorer, environmentalist and businessman, with an idea that she might lead the startup of his fledgling brand. 

“I’ve always wanted to lead a brand on my own. Working with a small company but on an international stage is so refreshing. We’re all hands-on,  with no gaps in the production line,” she explains.

“I lead weekly production meetings, travel to meet with the teams in Mexico City and Oaxaca frequently and get to put the brand in front of consumers. It’s an amazing experience. I love when I am there, to ‘break bread’ together and get to know each other, to see the agave as it’s being worked on. It’s such a traditional way of working that creates such a deeply-flavoured spirit. It’s a real privilege.”

The Palenque has expanded naturally since the company arrived, with warehouses, bottling plants and over 20 open fermentation vats being built alongside agave plants and experimental greenhouses.

“Mezcal production can be backbreaking work,” she explains. “It’s very physical – from cutting the agave, filling the fire pits or ovens. Fortino is always looking for ways to make the process more efficient for his teams. To make it easier. Honestly, every bottle filled is a complete miracle – from sourcing these 20-year-old agave plants to producing the mezcal. So much work is involved. He’s a complete visionary.”  

Mezcal Vs Tequila 

Mezcal is made from the Agave plant. There are over 40 types of Agave, each with a distinct flavour profile from peppery to bitter to sweet; any of them can be used to make Mezcal. Tequila, on the other hand, is made from just one type of Agave: Blue Agave, which is native to Jalisco. 

“Fortino works hard to create a signature style of Mezcal,” she explains. “He prefers a less-smoky profile and takes very tight cuts of the heads and tails of the distillation. But he also uses different age statement agave. We wanted to highlight this: the maturity of each plant used. So, the number on each bottle represents not the age of the spirit but the age of the plant used to create it. Rather than aged in casks, we call it aged in the Earth.”

Tequila

It’s a five-hour journey by plane via Mexico City to reach the new branch of The Lost Explorer: their Tequila distillery in Jalisco. Led by former Don Julio master distiller Enrique de Colsa, it’s a fresh and artisan approach to tequila making. “It’s amazing to hear Mexican people try our tequila for the first time. They really exclaim how different it is, and that’s entirely down to Enrique’s approach,” Tanya says. 

“He wanted to make a lowland tequila as most tequila is made in the highlands of Jalisco. This climate change affects the flavour but Enrique also wanted to produce in small batches, using very particular blue agave, operating a brick oven and picking very specific fermentation and yeast types. It’s an amazing tequila with this fresh herbaceous profile that has lots of cinnamon and citrus on the finish. You’ll see his signature on every bottle, and you can trust that.”

This inaugural Tequila release is just the first in an ambitious project for the brand as it continues to develop and protect the tequila and mezcal category.

“I love working with the teams we have, “ Tanya says. “It’s great to see how much respect Fortino and Enrique have for each other and everything we have achieved together. This is an exceptional brand, a fascinating category and to get to work so closely with the people behind it is such a privilege.”

Click here to discover the full Lost Explorer range