For years, Mexico’s most famous spirit has had a sustainability problem. Tequila can by law only use blue Weber agave, and like other types of agave, the plant creates identical clones before it flowers. An agave that has flowered can no longer be used for tequila, as the plant uses its sugar during the process and dies shortly after.
Decades of agave farmers in the tequila region have selected the best clones and harvested the vast majority of agaves before they flower. The population of bats that rely on flowering agaves has taken a big hit, which has a cascading effect on the rest of the ecosystem. The harvesting practices also mean a more homogenous gene pool, so a disease that has a big negative impact on one plant theoretically means most of the agave plants that sustain the industry are at risk.
There’s also the popularity problem. Blue Weber takes eight years or more to fully mature. When demand spikes, that pushes producers to use younger agaves until the prices rise and incentivize growers to plant more. Then the prices fall when there is too much agave available in a cycle that repeats itself time after time.
There are fears of a similar situation with mezcal as interest grows, though the ability to use dozens of different agaves makes the same agriculture model slightly less attractive.
Bacanora has nowhere near the popularity of either of those spirit styles. Still, sustainability must remain top of mind to make sure Kilinga, and bacanora as a whole, avoids that path.
“The entire operation is built upon the respect of the land and understanding that you have to put back more than you take, or there will be a point when there is nothing left,” Bours says.
Kilinga monitors the agaves from its nurseries and leaves a portion to fully mature and flower for the bats. Kilinga’s team has also looked into studies on agave behavior in the wild to help ensure species continuation. Local farmers are getting interested in joining in as well, thanks to increased economic interest. Kilinga partners with farmers to pass on agave growing techniques and provide plants and tools “with the understanding that the agave is taken care of correctly and is up to our standard, we will purchase it back to use in future production,” Bours says.
Material sources, water management, and waste disposal are other aspects of sustainability that Kilinga focuses on, says Ramon Ernesto Rivera Ramsburgh, the brand’s chief operating officer.
“One of the key resources is the mesquite wood used in the process of cooking the agave,” Ramsburgh says. “When it comes to the materials, we begin by taking care of the mesquite trees as it’s the type of wood we use in our production process. We don’t cut down any mesquite trees, no matter where they are located; we prefer to prune them instead.”
Additionally, the Kilinga team has an annual planting program during mesquite flowering season where they collect seeds, germinate them, and plant them on the ranch. Over a thousand trees are planted through this program every season.
