Inzalo Agave Spirits, based near Ladismith in South Africa's Klein Karoo, is commercially planting wild Red Agave to supply a spirit category it says is neither tequila nor mezcal.
2oceansvibe News reported on October 9, 2026 that the producer has roughly 12 hectares of agave already in the ground and is targeting more than 100 hectares by 2030, a scale the outlet described as a long term domestic supply chain for the spirit. The company's founders, Sebastian O'Keefe and Diego Avila, have spent recent months collecting international spirits awards for the debut release, according to separate 2oceansvibe coverage and Cape Town's Time Out.
What Red Agave is and where it grows
The plant behind Inzalo is not the blue Weber agave used in Mexican tequila production. According to 2oceansvibe, agave was brought to South Africa by English and Spanish colonists roughly three centuries ago, planted in part to keep cattle off railway lines and later spread inland as drought resistant livestock feed. Left to adapt to the Klein Karoo's intense sun, high soil salinity and what was once an ancient seabed, the plant developed traits not seen in its Mexican relatives, including the red tipped leaves that give Inzalo its name, the outlet reported. O'Keefe told Biznews that he and Avila spent more than two years crisscrossing South Africa testing different agave species before settling on the Klein Karoo plant, a process Avila separately described to Time Out as testing four species before finding the right profile.
How Inzalo makes its spirit
Production details reported across multiple outlets are consistent. Agave hearts are cut by hand and cooked using steam rather than an open fire, a choice 2oceansvibe said is meant to avoid smoke so the plant's own character carries through. Biznews reported that the cooking takes place in converted dairy tanks, and the IOL Saturday Star account confirmed the same detail. Juice is extracted with a wine basket press rather than industrial milling, then fermented with wild yeast that occurs naturally around the agave plants, according to 2oceansvibe. The water used is drawn from a mountain spring, and the outlet reported that nothing is added during production, no sugar, colour or flavouring. The lineup so far includes Batch One, an unaged white spirit, and Barrel One, an aged expression, as described to Biznews by O'Keefe. Tequila and mezcal are both protected designations of origin tied to specific regions of Mexico under Mexican and international law, which is why Inzalo does not use either term for a spirit made outside that country.
Who built Inzalo and what it has won
O'Keefe returned to South Africa after 25 years living overseas with the idea for the project, according to his interview with Biznews. Avila, described by IOL as a trained biologist, has said the work connects to his own heritage as a Latin American scientist working with a plant historically associated with Mexico. Time Out reported that the brand is produced by Hope Distillery in partnership with Lucy Beard and Leigh Lisk. Within months of its debut, Batch One collected four international results: a Double Gold at the International Spirits Challenge, a Gold at the International Wine and Spirit Competition, a Gold at the Agavos Awards and a Silver at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, according to 2oceansvibe's report on the awards. Time Out separately confirmed the Agavos gold result and quoted competition judges describing the spirit's aroma and finish. Inzalo is not alone in the emerging category: a Europe facing retailer called AAA Spirits lists Inzalo alongside other Klein Karoo brands including Leonista, Sango and La Tierra as part of a wider Karoo agave movement now being marketed abroad.
What is documented and what is not
The hectare figures, the award results and the production steps described above come from the company's own statements to reporters and from competition results published by the organisations named. No outlet reviewed has reported an independent, third party audit of Inzalo's finished composition, and none has been located for this account. South Africa does not operate a geographic indication system for agave spirits comparable to Mexico's regulatory council for tequila, so claims about the plant's age, origin and the three century timeline rest on the founders' account and on botanical description rather than a government register.
Where this goes next
What stands out in the reporting so far is the planting commitment, 12 hectares now against a stated target past 100 by 2030, since that is the kind of number that is checkable in a way award medals and tasting notes are not. Whether Inzalo or any of its Karoo peers builds the volume to matter commercially outside South Africa will likely hinge on that agricultural timeline holding, not on further competition results.