ILEGAL MEZCAL APPOINTS FOUR WOMEN TO EXECUTIVE BOARD

Ilegal has announced that they have hired and promoted women as the COO, CMO, VP of trade marketing and trade marketing manager, all working hard to maintain the brand’s position as one of the leading small-batch artisanal mezcals on the market. Members Michelle Ivey, Kaylan Rexer, Trish Mannion and Kelsey Grandi, respectively, now make up over half of the executive leadership board.

Ilegal is one of the leading, small batch artisanal mezcals on the US market. It is made from 100 percent espadin agave and comes in three representations: Joven, Reposado Anejo. Ilegal was created in 2004 out of founder John Rexer’s bar, Café No Sé in Antigua. While its roots are in Guatemala, Ilegal is produced in Oaxaca, Mexico with headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

Ilegal Mezcal Brand Director Kaylan Rexer Says This Unexpected Ingredient Should Be Your Secret Cooking Weapon

As the brand director behind the politically active and socially conscious Mezcal brand, Ilegal Mezcal, Kaylan Rexer is responsible for starting movements. From creating the “Donald Eres Un Pendejo” campaign in protest of U.S. president Donald Trump to throwing benefit concerts for Planned Parenthood, Rexer has proven that she's a force to be reckoned with not only in the alcohol business, but also in her community. So, it makes sense that her favorite food would also have a reputation for supplying a kick. The one food Rexer could never live without? Chilis (and Mezcal, of course).

KAYLAN REXER IS REDEFINING DRINKING RESPONSIBLY

V spoke with the brand director of Ilegal Mezcal about the liquor company's inception, sustainability, and their relationship with politics. Among the emerging masses of trailblazing power women defying odds in their respective male-dominated industries is Kaylan Rexer, bad ass brand director of Ilegal Mezcal. Ilegal is a liquor company that vends not only the secret, smoky spirit that is mezcal, but also a refreshing new mindset on consumer industries. They are fostering a new conversation between alcohol and politics, one that is finally clear of objectifying ad campaigns and controversial lawsuits. Rexer, as mastermind behind Ilegal’s voice is ironically soft spoken in her words, but loud and clear in her actions.

EXCLUSIVE: SEMAINE’S NEW TRUMP FILM IS THE ULTIMATE RESISTANCE PIECE

It’s a highly artistic resistance piece, something that has become a sort of moniker for Ilegal. “We’ve been heavily involved in the arts since the brand’s formation. We’re headquartered in a former West Village theater, which almost begged us to further establish Ilegal’s music series and art shows, many of which have a political bent. Particularly at this moment, Ilegal and the team want to do all we can to support artists confronting the Trump administration’s dangerous policies,” explains brand director Kaylan Rexer.

Meet Kaylan Rexer, Brand Director of Ilegal Mezcal

Kaylan grew up as part of a big family, with young, hippie, politically-charged parents, who opened an organic farm in the suburbs of New York. She first traveled to Guatemala when she was 16 to visit her uncle, Ilegal Mezcal founder and owner of Café No Sé, John Rexer, and played live music for the first time. When Ilegal Mezcal was about to launch, she left her job at an editing house to help her uncle’s business. She now runs marketing at Ilegal Mezcal and gets to have her hands in design, music, and politics on a daily basis.

The Mezcal Making Rabble Rousers, Influencers Kaylan Rexer and Gilbert Marquez

Kaylan Rexer and Gilbert Marquez of Ilegal Mezcal aren’t afraid to stir the pot. Political activism has always been close to brand ambassador Marquez’s heart. As a teen, he played in a political Spanish punk band called Venganza, which toured around California and Mexico and donated profits to immigration reform or after school youth programs. Now, he heads Ilegal’s political demonstrations and concert series benefiting organizations like Planned Parenthood. Brand director Rexer oversees marketing and acts as creative director for the company’s political campaigns (perhaps most notably, they created posters with the phrase “Donald Eres Un Pendejo,” condemning first the candidate and then the president). And then, of course, there’s the mezcal itself. Made in Oaxaca, Mexico by a small family owned distillery, it’s a perfect addition to the socially-conscious liquor cabinet. Rexer and Marquez answered a few questions for us.

Photography, Soundscapes, VR, and Mezcal—You’ve Never Seen an Art Show Quite Like This Before

While we at Fashion Unfiltered know how deeply profound fashion truly is, we get it. And walking through the exhibition space, Ilegal Mezcal’s new West Village home, the images, which are each accompanied by different soundscapes created by Gabriel Andruzzi of the band The Rapture, are affecting. That’s not all, though. At the back of the exhibit, curated by Rose Bar’s creative director, Matthew Green, and Ilegal Mezcal’s brand team lead by Kaylan Rexer, there are virtual reality goggles to experience the work in a whole new way—a virtual gallery, set in a stunning, glass-walled space surrounded by swaying palm trees and steep, verdant hills with the work set about it. There is an undeniable urge to wander around the virtual space and explore, but as tempting as that maybe, don’t. You will inevitably bump into some unsuspecting brick wall. If you stay put though, the experience is safe and entirely pleasurable. Did I mention the Mezcal?