Monte Alban, founded in 1995, is a tequila and mezcal brand owned by the US liquor group Sazerac. Monte Alban Mezcal has been around for a long time on the U.S. market and is widely available and carried by numerous distributors and liquor stores. Many consumers have had the experience of "tasting the Mezcal worm" with Monte Alban's signature Reposado, which includes a worm at the bottom of each bottle. This contributed to the widespread false belief that all mezcals contain a worm inside the bottle. In addition to mezcal, Monte Alban also sells tequila. The name "Monte Alban" is derived from an influential Zapotec center in Mesoamerica, now known as Oaxaca, Mexico, which existed for nearly a thousand years. It was here that Spanish conquistadors first discovered the local fermented agave drink called “pulque”, which is the ancestor of today’s mezal and tequila.