Eric Hernández Cortés comes from Oaxaca. He was born on the land of agave and he belongs to a family who have devoted themselves to producing mezcal for generations. He is also the Maestro Mezcalero behind AKUL®.

Our Master has found his greatest passion in mezcal. That is why he says that mezcal is “Oaxaca’s blood running through its art, textile and hospitality filled veins.” If mezcal is its blood, Tlacolula is its heart. After traveling around the world, this made him return to his homeland and create a high-level spirit, his mezcal.

Eric took over 20 years to create the best mezcal. Throughout these years, he perfected recipes and secret formulas. More importantly, he got involved with the plants

“Having an agave thorn rip your clothes and go straight for your skin is immensely painful – as if the plant fed off of you. Our blood, sweat and tears are part of the creation of this spirit.”

There is no doubt that our Maestro Mezcalero is a pioneer who has led this Oaxacan spirit to the next level so much so that other brands have copied his processes. But, if there is something he is proud of, it is the fact that his art has contributed to the perpetuation of a tradition that at the same time has provided improvement to his people’s life and environment.

All of these made it an honor for our distillery to have Eric accept our invitation to make mezcal with us. His experience along with the distillery are captured in AKUL®, a spirit that our Maestro designed as dominating and strong, which made it ideal for important events.