Some big news in the mezcal world this week. First off, a quickie: Del Maguey officially turns 20 years old on March 14. It was on that day in 1995 that American artist Ron Cooper officially kicked off what has turned into a veritable craze in the drinks world by importing the first of his beautiful Oaxacan mezcals into the US.

“On March 14, 2015 Del Maguey will be exactly twenty years old,” the company announced on its Instagram page. “We would like all of you to join us in the #stigi shared around the world. At 11 PM on Saturday, March 14, 2015, please join us in raising a copita of #DelMaguey #SingleVillage #Mezcal in honor of DM founder #RonCooper, our amazing paleñqueros in #Oaxaca and the Del Maguey family throughout the world. #stigiveinte #FelizAniversario.” So there you go… a celebration in which everyone can partake.

Secondly, the wonderful Mezcal Tosba is about to open the doors of its palenque in San Cristóbal Lachirioag to a select number of guests from April 23-25 as part of Clayton Szczech’s Experience Mezcal expeditions. As you may know, Tales of the Cocktail is hosting a special Oaxacan excursion from April 21-23, and this Mezcal Tosba bootcamp/tour comes right on the heels of it. This is a wildly rare (pardon the mezcal pun) opportunity to visit the Tosba palenque and actually get your hands dirty while undertaking the entire pechuga-making process: from agave harvest to packing the earthen oven to mashing, fermenting, and distilling (though not all in that order, so as to optimize your time there). Hell, you may even be the lucky guy or girl who gets to catch the hen.

Guests will take the 4.5-hour drive from Oaxaca City well into the Zapotec highlands of the northern Sierra de Juarez to where the Tosba farm and distillery sit. Presumably, along with undertaking all the aforementioned processes, there will be a fair amount of eating and drinking while camping out on the grounds for these few days. The bus gets you back to Oaxaca City on the 25th, which is just in time to take part in Experience Mezcal’s next tour that runs from April 26-29: a guided trip through Santiago Matatlán (the world capital of mezcal), the clay-pot-distilling village of Santa Catarina Minas, and the city of Oaxaca’s finest mezcalerias. Book those tickets now!