Third-generation distillers seamlessly blending modern and antiquated techniques.
Isidoro Krassel Sr.
100 YEARS IN THE MAKING
Brothers Isidoro, Rommel, William, and Axel Krassel Peralta continue the work that their grandfather Max started in the 1930s. An immigrant who fled his home country of Germany at the start of WWI, 16-year-old Max landed on the Gulf coast of Veracruz in 1917.
With no knowledge of Spanish, Max began working any odd job that he could find. He eventually found himself in the mountainous Cañada region of Oaxaca, where he met and married his wife. It wasn’t long before he began distilling aguardiente on a coffee farm (at that time it was common for the haciendas to distill their own cane). After learning the ropes, Max set out on his own to begin distilling his own aguardiente, using a still he designed and built himself.
Passing the Torch
Max’s three sons followed in his footsteps, improving upon his still design and increasing aguardiente production. Word began to spread far away from Santa Maria Tlalixtac about the quality of the rum produced by the family.
There was only one problem - there were no roads to Santa Maria Tlalixtac! Max’s family members began to literally mule the aguardiente to communities far and near, sometimes traveling for weeks at a time with mules loaded with 40-liter jugs of aguardiente.
But one of Max’s sons, also named Max, knew there had to be a better way. He studied to get his pilot’s license in Tehuacan, Puebla and came home to serve his community as an Aero-Taxista. It wasn’t long before roadless communities began carving out runaways in the rare patches of flat land that were found in the region. Throughout the 1970s, Max Jr. and his brothers would fly around the region with their Cesna plane loaded with aguardiente, dropping off orders as large as 300 liters for small towns' regional fiestas.
Nowadays, Santa Maria Tlalixtac has a road into town - a four-hour unpaved trek from the nearest highway that is as stunning as it is treacherous. Grandpa Max has passed away, but his son Isidoro and four grandsons Rommel, Axel, William, and Isidoro keep the family tradition alive, working alongside one another in every aspect of production. Thanks to their hard work, aguardiente aficionados no longer need to hike for days to try a rum that has been three generations in the making.
Isidoro Krassel Jr.
Rommel Krassel
William Krassel
Axel Krassel