Who We Are
This is a photo of Alvin Starkman, in the the fields with one of his mentors.
Alvin Starkman holds an M.A. in social anthropology from Toronto's York University and a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School. He has written one book about mezcal (Mezcal in the Global Spirits Market: Unrivalled Complexity, Innumerable Nuances) and over 40 articles centering upon Mexican craft beer, pulque, mezcal and sustainability, as well as a further 250 articles about Oaxacan life and cultural traditions.
Alvin co-authored a chapter in an edited social anthropology volume on culinary heritage (Edible Identities, published August, 2014), and wrote an article about brideprice in a Zapotec village (published in the Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies). While most of his writings are now for a lay readership including mezcal aficionados and novices alike, Alvin has more recently been writing for academics, drawing upon his background in law and anthropolgoy.
Alvin's qualifications for conducting Oaxaxa mezcal tours include the following:
From 1991 to 2004, Alvin was a frequent visitor to Oaxaca. During this period of time he became passionate about mezcal and pulque, and made one of his primary objectives in life to learn more. Then, in 2004, he became a permanent resident of Oaxaca. From that time onward and continuing to date, he has become friends with many of the growers and producers with whom he had previously had casual acquaintanceships. Today, Alvin dedicates his working life to mezcal and nothing else.
He continues to nurture his friendships with many in the industry, not because of their vocation, but rather because they are fine, welcoming people, readily including Alvin and his family in their social lives, and at times even seeking his advice on legal and other complex matters.
It is the richness of Oaxacan cultures, its 16 ethnolinguistic groups, and indigenous residents wanting to include the Starkmans in their rite of passage celebrations and day-to-day lives, which continues to maintain the appetite that the Starkmans have for Oaxaca, and of course its distilled and fermented drinks.
Feel free to ask how the revenue generated from Alvin's mezcal excursions, financially supports the education of bright young indigenous women and their families.
Contact Alvin at: oaxacamezcaltours at hotmail dot com
Alvin co-authored a chapter in an edited social anthropology volume on culinary heritage (Edible Identities, published August, 2014), and wrote an article about brideprice in a Zapotec village (published in the Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies). While most of his writings are now for a lay readership including mezcal aficionados and novices alike, Alvin has more recently been writing for academics, drawing upon his background in law and anthropolgoy.
Alvin's qualifications for conducting Oaxaxa mezcal tours include the following:
- federally licensed by the government of Mexico to teach both novices and industry professionals about the culture of mezcal and pre-Hispanic beverages such as pulque and tejate
- a decade assisting prospective exporters of the spirit to advance their business projects
- several years working with documentary film production companies and professional photographers interested in a diversity of cultural aspects of Oaxaca, including sustainable living models, Mexican cuisine and Day of the Dead
- several years training restaurant and bar owners, waiters and bartenders to assist them in better promoting and selling mezcal in and for the benefit of their establishments
- mezcal aficionado for 25 years
- author of the first full-color bilingual mezcal tasting wheel (rueda de los sabores del mezcal)
- Contributing Writer for Mexico Today, a program of the Mexican Government’s Marca País – Imagen de México
- Oaxaca "Destination Expert" for the internationally acclaimed travel website www.tripadvisor.com
- Co-owner of Oaxaca Culinary Tours (http://www.oaxacaculinarytours.com) and owner of Oaxaca Mezcal & Pulque (http://www.oaxaca-mezcal.com)
- First Canadian to be certified as a Master Mezcalier by Asociación Pro-Cultura de Mezcal, A.C.
From 1991 to 2004, Alvin was a frequent visitor to Oaxaca. During this period of time he became passionate about mezcal and pulque, and made one of his primary objectives in life to learn more. Then, in 2004, he became a permanent resident of Oaxaca. From that time onward and continuing to date, he has become friends with many of the growers and producers with whom he had previously had casual acquaintanceships. Today, Alvin dedicates his working life to mezcal and nothing else.
He continues to nurture his friendships with many in the industry, not because of their vocation, but rather because they are fine, welcoming people, readily including Alvin and his family in their social lives, and at times even seeking his advice on legal and other complex matters.
It is the richness of Oaxacan cultures, its 16 ethnolinguistic groups, and indigenous residents wanting to include the Starkmans in their rite of passage celebrations and day-to-day lives, which continues to maintain the appetite that the Starkmans have for Oaxaca, and of course its distilled and fermented drinks.
Feel free to ask how the revenue generated from Alvin's mezcal excursions, financially supports the education of bright young indigenous women and their families.
Contact Alvin at: oaxacamezcaltours at hotmail dot com
This is a photo of Randall Stockton holding court in front of a new fermentation vat at a palenque.
“I enjoy sharing my love of Oaxaca and mezcal with travelers to the region, both international and domestic visitors alike. The families we visit on our mezcal excursions are beautiful, kind, hard-working people. Whenever I see them it brings a smile to my face …. and to the faces of the clients we welcome into their fascinating worlds of mezcal, agave and sometimes pulque.” (Randall Stockton, 2018)
Randall Stockton holds a social sciences degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Randall was a mezcal aficionado prior to relocating permanently to Oaxaca, having first visited the city in 2003. By that time he was already an integral part of the Austin bar scene. In 2001 he inaugurated his flagship venue Beerland. At one point he owned nine Austin bars and restaurants, some with a significant offering of cocktails featuring the agave spirit. For the past dozen years his King Bee Lounge has been renowned for its broad selection of quality mezcal:
King Bee made it a goal to have the most complete and best collection of mezcal available in any Austin bar. (The Austin Chronicle, 2015)
King Bee has been touted as having some of the rarest mezcals in the city. “Somehow they manage to find the smallest, most obscure batches...you’ll get the best mezcal in Austin.” (Mezcal Reviews, 2016)
Randall regularly explores the central valleys of Oaxaca and beyond, continually seeking out different artisanal (and ancestral) family owned and operated mezcal distilleries (palenques), so as to ensure unique and diverse experiences for clients of Mezcal Educational Excursions of Oaxaca. The Starkman/Stockton team are firm believers in ethical mezcal tourism, as their clients come to learn and appreciate in the course of a day’s learning, photographing, interacting, imbibing, and buying if so inclined.
In his spare time, Randall is typically reading about mezcal and related topics in various books and academic journals. His hunger for knowledge about all things mezcal never ceases.
Randall is federally licensed by the government of Mexico to teach both novices and industry professionals about the culture of mezcal and pre-Hispanic beverages such as pulque. He assists prospective exporters of the spirit with their business plans. Randall also trains restaurant and bar owners, waiters and bartenders to help them better promote and sell mezcal in and for the benefit of their establishments.
Contact Randall at: oaxacamezcaltours at hotmail dot com
Randall Stockton holds a social sciences degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Randall was a mezcal aficionado prior to relocating permanently to Oaxaca, having first visited the city in 2003. By that time he was already an integral part of the Austin bar scene. In 2001 he inaugurated his flagship venue Beerland. At one point he owned nine Austin bars and restaurants, some with a significant offering of cocktails featuring the agave spirit. For the past dozen years his King Bee Lounge has been renowned for its broad selection of quality mezcal:
King Bee made it a goal to have the most complete and best collection of mezcal available in any Austin bar. (The Austin Chronicle, 2015)
King Bee has been touted as having some of the rarest mezcals in the city. “Somehow they manage to find the smallest, most obscure batches...you’ll get the best mezcal in Austin.” (Mezcal Reviews, 2016)
Randall regularly explores the central valleys of Oaxaca and beyond, continually seeking out different artisanal (and ancestral) family owned and operated mezcal distilleries (palenques), so as to ensure unique and diverse experiences for clients of Mezcal Educational Excursions of Oaxaca. The Starkman/Stockton team are firm believers in ethical mezcal tourism, as their clients come to learn and appreciate in the course of a day’s learning, photographing, interacting, imbibing, and buying if so inclined.
In his spare time, Randall is typically reading about mezcal and related topics in various books and academic journals. His hunger for knowledge about all things mezcal never ceases.
Randall is federally licensed by the government of Mexico to teach both novices and industry professionals about the culture of mezcal and pre-Hispanic beverages such as pulque. He assists prospective exporters of the spirit with their business plans. Randall also trains restaurant and bar owners, waiters and bartenders to help them better promote and sell mezcal in and for the benefit of their establishments.
Contact Randall at: oaxacamezcaltours at hotmail dot com
