Ilegal Mezcal

Ilegal Mezcal is a mezcal brand, established in 2006 in Antigua, Guatemala.[1][2][3][4][5] The mezcal is distilled twice and created using Espadín agave.[6] The brand is also known for its namesake cocktail, the "Ilegal."[7][8][9]

The company originally began in 2004 as an operation to import mezcal from Oaxaca, Mexico across the border into Guatemala.[10] By 2006, the company established a formal brand, marketing itself as "Ilegal."[11] In 2010, the company signed a United States distribution contract.[12] In 2017, multinational spirits company Bacardi acquired a minority stake in the business,[13] with the intention of establishing national distribution.[14]

By 2020, the mezcal producer crossed the industry standard threshold of 40,000 cases to be considered a craft distillery as defined by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), and was similarly officially certified by Mexico's National "Consejo Regulador del Mezcal" (CRM) ("Mezcal Regulatory Council").[15] In 2022, the company sold ~174,000 cases, representing a 37.4% market share by case volume and the highest market share for any mezcal brand in the United States, per research completed by Shanken's Impact Databank.[16][17]

In 2023, Bacardi publicly announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Ilegal.[18][19]