THE PASSION AND PURPOSE ORELIA’S FOUNDER, ANI LEE, IS TO PRESENT HER MEZCAL TO THE WORLD AS AN “OBJET D’ART.” WITH A DEEP RESPECT FOR ITS RICH HISTORY AND TRADITIONS, AS WELL AS FOR THE ARDUOUS WORK BEHIND MEZCAL PRODUCTION, LEE WANTS TO SHARE HER VISION OF ORELIA AS AN EMBODIMENT OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION, IN BOTH ITS CREATION AND ENJOYMENT.
THE PROCESS OF MAKING MEZCAL IS AN ART IN ITSELF. IT INVOLVES HARVESTING AGAVE PLANTS, TRADITIONALLY ROASTING THEM IN UNDERGROUND PITS, CRUSHING THE AGAVE TO EXTRACT THE JUICE, FERMENTING THE LIQUID, AND DISTILLING IT. THE ENTIRE PRODUCTION PROCESS DEMANDS SKILL, KNOWLEDGE, AND EXPERTISE, MUCH LIKE CREATING A GREAT WORK OF ART.
SOME MEZCAL DEVOTEES REMARK THAT MEZCAL IS LIKE FINE WINE AS IT ADAPTS TO EVERY PERSON’S INDIVIDUAL PALATE. AT ONE TIME, MEZCAL WAS EVEN CONSIDERED TO BE ALMOST A WINE SINCE IT CAN BE DERIVED FROM MANY STRAINS OF AGAVE, JUST LIKE THE MULTITUDE OF VARIETIES OF WINE GRAPES. LIKE WINE, MEZCAL MIRRORS THE “TERROIR” OF THE REGION WHERE THE AGAVE IS GROWN. THE UNIQUE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF EACH AREA CONTRIBUTE TO THE FLAVORS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FINAL PRODUCT. THIS CONNECTION TO THE LAND AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE SPIRIT’S TASTE ADDS DEPTH AND MEANING TO MEZCAL AS AN ARTISTIC EXPRESSION.
ORELIA’S METICULOUSLY DESIGNED PACKAGING AND BOTTLE DESIGN, INSPIRED BY THE OPULENCE AND EXCITEMENT OF THE ART DECO ERA, EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF THE “GOLDEN” IMAGERY EVOKED BY THE PRODUCT. THE PACKAGING SERVES AS A VESSEL THAT ELEVATES THE MEZCAL’S LOFTY NATURE, PAYING HOMAGE TO A GILDED WORLD OF LUXURY AND GRANDEUR.
ULTIMATELY, ORELIA IS FAR MORE THAN JUST A DISTILLED SPIRIT. IT IS A PROUD “GOLDEN MEMBER” OF THE MAGNIFICENT MEXICAN MEZCAL “DYNASTY” …A SUPERB MANIFESTATION OF MEXICO’S INSPIRED CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSION.