Douglas French is the Maestro Mezcalero and founder of Scorpion Mezcal. As a Master Distiller, he has rare, hands-on knowledge of every detail of spirits production, from harvest through distillation, from aging to bottling. French’s extensive knowledge of spirits began in 1995 when he spent a year overseeing every aspect of mezcal production and distillation as the quality control manager for Encantado, a very early mezcal producer founded by Carl Doumani, the owner of Stag’s Leap Vineyards. French soon went off on his own, experimenting with espadín and later wild agaves, and has since produced four successful spirits brands over the past 30 years. To age his mezcals and other spirits, he stocks over 300 French oak barrels sourced directly from red wine producers in Burgundy and Bordeaux, France. Each bottle of Scorpion and Escorpion Mezcal is evidence of French’s uncompromising pursuit of excellence.