Our Story
A New Class of Agave Spirit
The Ambition
We set out with a simple goal: to make an agave spirit outside Mexico that could hold its own anywhere in the world. South Africa has some of the oldest soils on earth. Its landscape is scattered with wild agaves descended from Mexico, plants that have spent hundreds of years adapting to new ground. We named our spirit Inzalo, meaning "descendant" in Zulu, to honour where they came from and what they have become.
The Founders
Inzalo was founded by Sebastian O'Keefe and Diego Avila. Sebastian spent years working abroad before coming home to South Africa with an idea he could not let go of. Diego trained as a biologist, and brought a scientist's eye to the plants, the soils and the process. Almost nothing was known about making spirits from local agave, so we became students. On three expeditions to Mexico, we learned from master distillers, agronomists and scientists. Back home, we spent nine months building and refining a process of our own. Many of the people we met on those journeys still advise us today.
The Search
Then we needed the right agave. We travelled the west coast, the east coast, the inland deserts and the subtropical north, meeting botanists and farmers along the way. Agave first arrived here as ballast on Spanish ships. It was later planted along railway lines, farmed for sisal and grown as drought-hardy livestock feed. We saw the same species grow differently from region to region. Then, up a dirt road in a remote valley in the Klein Karoo, we found one that stood apart.
The Discovery
These agaves had red-tipped leaves. We call them the wild "red agave". Intense sun, little rain and ancient seabed soils rich in minerals and salt have shaped them into something distinct. They thrive where little else grows, some for up to 25 years before harvest. When we distilled them, we tasted it: tropical fruit, sweet spice, minerality and a saline finish. We had found our agave. We also realised our ambition had been too small. This was a new class of agave spirit.
The Craft
We built our production close to the wild "red agave", so the plant stays in its own climate from harvest to bottle. Wild agave, mountain spring water and wild yeast are all we use. The agave is slowly steam-cooked, gently pressed and distilled in a copper column still. Wild yeast fermentation gives Inzalo its soft, buttery texture. Every bottle is small-batch and additive-free.
Wild Agave
Mountain Spring Water
Wild Yeast
The World's Most Awarded International Agave Spirit
Double Gold
International Spirits Challenge
Gold, 96 points
IWSC
Gold
Agavos Awards
Silver
San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Looking Into the Future
Wine grew beyond France. Whisky grew beyond Scotland. We believe agave is beginning the same journey, and that a new world of agave is emerging, where soil, climate and farming shape flavour as much as tradition does. Inzalo is our contribution from the Klein Karoo.
We're also building the farming that future needs. We're developing one of Africa's first commercial agave farming programmes for spirits. The first 12 hectares are being planted, with plans for more than 100 hectares over the next five years. Agave needs little water and thrives on land where little else grows, which creates new income for farmers in drought-stricken regions.
We're not here to replace tradition. We're here to explore what comes next.
Not tequila. Not mezcal.A New Class of Agave Spirit.
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