Deep in the rugged Sierra Norte mountains of Northern Oaxaca, Dakabend Rum is produced near the village of San Cristbal Lachiroag using sugarcane and piloncillo (like a sticky brick of raw brown sugar), sourced from mountainside plantings. While the region has a history of some agave distillation, the environment is tropical, and the most common crops are coffee and cane. Cousins Edgar and Elisandro Gonzales, of Tosba Mezcal, made Dakabend to create an outlet for local distillers of rum or aguardiente, including Edgars father, to release their unique, Sierra Norte take on this sugarcane spirit.