About Authentic Artisanal African Spirits Europe

Leonista, which means ‘Lion energy or Lion Person’, is South Africa's first, certified-organic, 100% Karoo agave spirit made in the traditional Mexican way. Our production process follows an age-old recipe used in Mexico to make Agave spirits like Mezcal and has recently received organic certification. It requires smoke and fire, hence Leonista has a delicious smoky flavour similar to that of a Mezcal. Our founder, Sarah Kennan, went to Mexico and learnt the process from the maestro distillers there. Since it is not made in Mexico it cannot be called Mezcal or Tequila (by legal definition) but it is essentially a local Agave Spirit (or Mezcal by historical definition) made using sustainable, organic, South African, Karoo agave that has been growing there for hundreds of years, and has become naturalised to the region. Leonista is produced from the ‘Agave Americana’ variant, known for its floral, even vegetal flavour, but it often has spicy bitter chocolate notes and results in a unique flavour profile for Leonista 100% Karoo agave spirits. The harnessing of fire & smoke whilst cooking/roasting, and the complexities of the natural yeasts during the crushing and fermentation stages of the production process lead to a unique and smoky, flavour profile. In addition, our resting process gives our reposado variants a more, if slightly sweeter, character, that contains wooden undertones and a broader variety of flavours. Leonista100% Karoo Agave Awaken The Lion WithinRead their story