This is a continually updated post on Mezcal Joints of the World.  The list is global, but it starts with NYC since I live here.   As it fills out, perhaps some more organization will follow (perhaps not).  If you are a bar or restaurant and want to be on this list, please email me at [email protected].  Also, if you are on this list and want to include a short or more complete description, email me that as well.  In a short period of time, this list has grown rapidly based on submissions from consumers or owners of these establishments.  Don’t be shy!

New York

• Anejo Tequileria. 668 10th Avenue at 47th.  Deep mezcal list with great food to match.
• Agave. 140 7th Avenue South, between Charles and 10th.  More tequila focused but really excellent mezcal selection as well.
• Mayahuel.  SADLY THEY HAVE CLOSED.
• Experimental Cocktail Club. 191 Chrystie St, between Rivington and Stanton.  On the list because they make magic with the handful of mezcals they have.  Also, they could not be nicer.
• Casa Mezcal. 86 Orchard St. between Broome and Grand.  The name says it all.
• Zengo / La Biblioteca.  622 3rd Ave at 40th St.  La Biblioteca is the downstairs tequila library.  Love that.
• Ofrenda.  113 7th Avenue South just north of Christopher.
• Dos Caminos.  Multiple locations in NYC.  A bit of a chain but very good all the way around.  Meatpacking location is my favorite.
• Papatzul.  55 Grand St.  They have a well curated mezcal collection and great food to boot.  Plus, it’s a stone’s throw from my apartment so that works too!
• La Loba Cantina.  709 Church Ave, Brooklyn (near Prospect Park).  Opened by deeply passionate mezcal nerds (likely to be my best friends!), they have over 50 carefully curated mezcals and offer an authentic Oaxacan culinary experiece as well!
• Gran Electrica.  5 Front St, Brooklyn.  Cool joint with a great vibe and cocktail list.  Plus, they love tacos and so do it.  Excellent food!

Long Island, New York

• Verde Kitchen & Cocktails.  70 E. Main Street Bay Shore, NY 11706.  These guys are taking their agave distillates seriously!  I know because I met them in Oaxaca.  They have a medium sized mezcal portfolio but are growing it all the time.  Worth a trip to Bay Shore you New Yorkers!

Buffalo, New York

• Lloyd Taco Factory.  1503 Hertel Ave.  This west coast themed Taqueria and Mezcaleria claims one of the finest mezcal collections on the east coast.  I think a trip to Buffalo is in order!

Atlanta

• Bone Garden Cantina.  1425 Ellsworth Industrial Blvd NW.  They have an impressive mezcal selection and the owners have been to Oaxaca (big brownie points on th Mezcal PhD scale!).  They also have my book (REALLY big brownie points!).

San Francisco

• La Urbana.  SADLY THEY HAVE CLOSED.
• West of Pecos.  550 Valencia St.  Small but carefully cultivated mezcal selection.
• Padrecito.  901 Cole St. (at Carl).  They have a huge and growing mezcal selection they tell me.  I look forward to seeing it for myself!
• Mezcalito.  2323 Polk St.  They have over 40 mezcals at this cool mezcal and cocktail bar.  A place I want to visit!
• Mosto.  741 Valencia St.  They have over 150 bottles of mezcal, which is a pretty strong commitment – love it!  This joint gets rave reviews from my SF amigos so check it out!

Seattle

• Liberty Bar. 517 15th Ave E.  Owner Andrew Friedman goes deep on mezcal and tequila.
• Barrio Mexican Kitchen and Bar.  1420 12th Ave.  Bar Manager Casey Robinson is incredibly passionate about mezcal and mixology.
• La Carta de Oaxaca, 5431 Ballard Ave NW.  Mezcaleria Oaxaca, 2123 Queen Anne Avenue North, and a new location opening soon in Capital Hill.  All three are under the same ownership.  Great reviews and many mezcals.

Los Angeles

• El Carmen.  8138 W 3rd St.  More tequilas but a coming mezcal list with top flight mixology and excellent bites.
• Las Perlas. 107 E 6th St.  Renowned food and agave spirits mecca.
• neat. 11780 W. Pico Blvd. Super cool cocktail bar with a heavy emphasis on mezcal. They even have something called “honors mezcal” on the menu. Your honor, may I approach the bench?

Houston

• The Pastry War.  310 Main St.  Bobby Heugel’s outstanding mezcal joint.  I would love to check it out!
• Hugo’s.  1600 Westheimer.  Nominated by avid contributor Edward Fewell for their excellent food and pretty good (not amazing) mezcal selection.  He tells me they have about a dozen premium mezcals which is pretty good – so they are in!

Chicago

• Salsa 17.   17 W Campbell St, Arlington Heights.  They have a relatively moderate mezcal selection today, but are passionately committed to growing it and educating their patrons on our favorite spirit!
• Bien Trucha.  410 W. State St. (Geneva, IL).  These guys are getting serious about their mezcal with intense staff trainings and trips to Oaxaca.  Great reviews on Yelp!  Look forward to going….
• A Todo Madre.  499 N. Main St (Glen Ellyn, IL).  A sister restaurant of the above Bien Tucha (and similarly excellent reviews), they support mezcal and I support them!  Looks like a great place.
• Masa Azul. 2901 W Diversey Ave. Looks like a cool joint and my friend Lou Bank (with a mezcal collection that rivals mine!) vouches for their mezcaly-ness. Great ratings on Yelp too!

Dallas

• Las Almas Rotas. 3615 Parry Ave. I have not been here but the word is that this is THE mezcal joint in Dallas. I look forward to visiting!

Sacramento

• Mayahuel – Restaurant and Tequila Museum. 1200 K. St. “… has a mezcaleria inside it with a large selection of mezcales…Oscar Escobar, the bar manager there, knows a ton about mezcal and imparts his knowledge.”  Submitted by Raza from Wahaka Mezcal.

Denver

• Machete Tequila and Tacos.  2817 E 3rd Ave.  From the owner Wally: “We do carry over 100 tequilas on any given day, but are starting to bulk up on our mezcals.  We will carry 7-10 families of mezcals in 2014.”
• Leña.  24 Broadway.  They have a modest mezcal list today but are committed to rapid expansion!  It looks like a cool joint and besides, they said the magic words to get on this list:  “we bought your book!”  I look forward to checking it out soon!
• Adelita’s Cocina y Cantina. 1294 S. Broadway.  I like where these guys are headed.  From the GM:  “I am striving to be not only the best Mezcal/agave spirit bar in Colorado, but the best in the Western region of the states.”  More power to you and I hope you get there!

Boulder

• B Town Wine & Spirits.  5360 Arapahoe Ave # C.  These guys rock!  This is the only liquor store on the Mezcal Joints list.  Why?  Because they love and respect mezcal like nobody’s business – plus they have a great selection. Go check them out!

Breckenridge

• Ritas. 301 S. Main St. I have not had the privilege of going there, but by all accounts from my mezcal-y amigos these guys have a great mezcal selection! And their Yelp reviews look good too, so sounds like you cannot miss here!

Vail

• El Segundo. 223 Gore Creek Drive. Vail is not exactly a mezcal hotbed, but if you are in search of a nice and growing selection, this is a great choice. Ashley is carefully curating and enhancing the mezcal and cocktail program, and the food is great too. A definite stop if you are in Vail!
• Bad Kitty Lounge. 227 Bridge St. Tucked away near the covered bridge, this is an East Village NYC-style cocktail bar. Great drinks and a small but high-end mezcal selection. Fun spot!

Kansas City

• Port Fonda.  4141 Pennsylvania Ave.  They started out in a custom airstream trailer, now they are a full blown restaurant, “with a strong agave distillate bar focus”.  Looks cool.

Nashville

• Butchertown Hall.  1416 Fourth Avenue North.  An agave and beer hall.  From the looks of their website they are more beer than agave, but they do have a pretty nice mezcal selection and I am guessing it is the best in Nashville!  Good enough for me.

St Louis

• Mission Taco Joint.  6235 Delmar Blvd and 908 Lafayette Ave.  They tell me they love their agave distillates and I look forward to checking it out in person sometime!

Connecticut

• Baro.  1229 Post Road, Fairfield.  Mezon. 56 Mill Plain Road, Danbury.  Both restaurants are under the same ownership, and they have a somewhat small but growing mezcal selection.

Providence, RI

• El Rancho Grande.  311 Plainfield St.  Rumor has it that they take their hospitality, food, service, and mezcal seriously!

Raleigh, NC

• Gallo Pelón Mezcaleria.  106½ South Wilmington St.  They claim to be the first mezcaleria in NC – who am I to argue!  Just opened March 2015.  Looks like a cool joint….

Indianapolis, IN

• La Margarita.  The Murphy Arts Center, 1043 Virginia Ave.  An impressive list of tequilas and mezcals, plus fans of fine literature (they bought my book!).

Jacksonville, FL

• TacoLu Baja Mexicana. 1712 Beach Blvd Jacksonville Beach.  They love their mezcal at TacoLu.  I have not been but it sure looks like a fun and festive place plus they have great reviews on Yelp!

Somersville, MA

• Cantina la Mexicana, 247 Washington Street. They have grown from a small taqueria to a full-fledged bar with an extensive mezcal program! Founded in 1995, they have stood the test of time. Worth a visit for sure!

Tacoma, WA

• Hilltop Kitchen.  913 MLK Jr. Way.  Stylish place with over 100 unique mezcals.  I’d say that qualifies!  I hope I get to visit some day….

Washington D.C.

• Espita Mezcaleria.  1250 9th St NW Washington, DC.  New joint which opened in D.C. in Feb 2016.  The interior is painted by well known Mexican artists plus they have “mezcaleria” in their name!  Sounds very promising.
• El Mezcalero.  Opening in January of 2107.  Sounds good and a bit of a more accessible price point than Espita.

Omaha, NE

• Spirit World.  6680 Center St.  A liquor store and a bar under the same roof?  Why can’t that happen where I live?  I am guessing there is not too much mezcal to be found in Omaha, but if you are looking, this is the joint!

Cave Creek, AZ

• Tonto Bar and Grill, 5736 E. Rancho Mañana Blvd (apparently between Scottsdale and Phoenix).  While the owner thinks he may have the largest mezcal selection in AZ, I am less sure.  But he is the only one in the state who has asked to be on the list.  Also, his mezcal selection is pretty good and more importantly, he bought my book!  Saludos!

Mexico

• In Situ.  Oaxaca.  Probably the most well known of all mezcalerias.
• Los Danzantes Mexican Restaurant.  Oaxaca

Canada

• Mezcal Taco and Tequila.  150 James Street South, Hamilton, Ontario.  Just opening in the spring of 2015.  Looks promising!

Guatemala

• Café No Se.  Antigua.  Headquarters for John Rexer’s original smuggling operation for Ilegal Mezcal.  Reportedly the first Mezcaleria to exist outside of Mexico!

Australia

• Mr Moustache. 69-71 Hall St, Bondi, Sydney, NSW 2026.  While I have not been, they tell me they have over 100 bottles of mezcal – representing over 30 brands – a worthy collection by any measure!
• Mamasita.  Level 1/11 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000.  They have a great mezcal selection with over 60 bottles, and they have a “mezcalier” program which assures one highly knowledgeable staff person is on duty every night to answer all agave-related questions!
• El Grotto.  Scarborough, Perth.  They take their agave spirits seriously here – focused on quality over quantity.  They also take pride in avoiding industrial mezcals and tequilas.  Much respect.

U.K.

• 184 Hackney Road (formerly Mezcaleria Quiquiriqui).  184 Hackney Road (of course), London.  From the owner: “Hidden under a kebab shop in Hackney, East London, we have one of the largest mezcal selections in Europe.”  I’m from NYC, and any bar hidden underneath a kabob shop sounds like a winner to me!  Hope to check it out someday!
• Crazy Pedro’s Part-Time Pizza Parlour- Full Time Party Bar (now that is a mouthful). 55-57 Bridge Street, Manchester.  Look’s like a nutty place.  Over 60 mezcals so can’t argue with that!  Hope to see it myself someday….

Norway

• Perla Mezcaleria.  Helgesensgate 66a o558 Oslo.  Let’s hear it for the Great White North!  This fine little mezcaleria has 30-40 different mezcals and they are the only mezcaleria in Norway – a country of over 5mm people!

Denmark

• The Barking Dog.  Sankt Hans Gade 19, Copenhagen 2200 Nørrebro.  They are seriously focused on agave spirits with a great mezcal list.  Plus, Carl has been to Mexico to further his agave education – much respect.  Looks like a cool place….

Paris

• Little Red Door.  60 Rue Charlot, Paris, France.  Widely acclaimed cocktail bar with a nice selection of mezcals and mezcal cocktails.
• CandelariaTaco Place, 52 rue de Saintonge, Paris, Île-de-France.

Amsterdam

• Salmuera.  Rozengracht 106H, 1016.  I have not been here, but it sure sounds tempting with a great food menu and almost 50 mezcals.  Great reviews on social media as well!