El Silencio

Mezcal Brands Found in the U.S.

Mezcal PhD / October 1, 2016

Updated October 2016

Bottle Shot Sadly, it has been a few years since I did a deep dive and thorough update to this list. Yes, I have added a brand here and there, but I have not scoured the web in a few years to see what is really out there. And man have times changed!

When I last took a hard look, there were about 70 mezcal brands to be found in the U.S. Now I count 120+! Wow. Further, a few years ago there were around 50 brands that were traveling in the upper end of the market, and that has now risen to almost 90 brands in what I consider to be in the premium sector.

I used to have them all, and I can no longer say that. In my recent research, I found many brands I had never even heard of at premium prices and occasionally at premium packaging. A lot of these are definitely under the radar, which means they are not active on social media or apparently in the active promotion of their brand. I know because I follow this stuff. Also, when new brands are coming to the market they often issue press releases, and many contact me and are generous enough to send me a bottle – I am grateful every time! But many of the new brands below have done nothing to announce their presence in the U.S. market, so that is why I say under the radar. And if that is what they want to do, no problem! But I am curious about a good number of them and will be making some new purchases for sure.

You will find a lot of these brands if you read MY BOOK (shameless self-promotion perhaps, but hey, the blog is free so this is my form of selling ad space!). I talk about all these brands in greater depth, plus I take a detailed look at how the many varieties of agave impact the flavor of a mezcal – much like grapes are to wine, agave is to mezcal. The book is Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal! and it is on Amazon. Notice the cool cover shot to the right. Buy a copy – I promise you won’t be disappointed! Now back to our regularly scheduled program…

So here is my currently assembled list of the brands that can be found in the U.S. The list is organized from top to bottom by the brands I am most familiar with, which means among other things, I can find them and drink them regularly, I read about them, and/or they are actively promoting their brands through social media, etc. As the list progresses, many of these I have never tried and never seen other than on a website. So they are mainly pretty obscure but some of them look quite interesting with a price point to match.

Toward the bottom of the list, there is a bunch of crap (that usually stirs up some controversy) – a bunch of industrial mezcals and some random stuff, many of which I have tried, hence that is what I call this part of the list crap. If you are looking for something good, stay higher on the list and do some research. When you see a mezcal for under $30, it is rarely good (though there are exceptions). Comments like that usually draw out some criticism that I am being elitist or worse, but it is simply a reality. It is VERY EXPENSIVE to produce a good, artisanal mezcal. Just a fact.

But if you think something toward the back of the pack is good, first you should drink it, and then let me know. I am always happy to learn and reassess. With that, here is what I have….

(more…)

Mezcal – What You Should Be Drinking Now! (Premium Edition)

Mezcal PhD / September 11, 2015

Over a year ago I published the Mezcal Starter Kit, which was intended to be a resource for people who are just beginning their heroic journey into the world of mezcal. So I focused on bottles that started at about $30 and did not list anything beyond $70 a bottle. As that post has been digested (perhaps ingested) over the past year, I frequently get emails from people asking “What’s next?” (more mezcal for sure!). These readers have tried a few of these starter bottles and now are looking for something more exotic and potentially more expensive.

Readers want to know about silvestres (wild agave varietals), aged mezcals, pechugas, and other premium selections. “Are they good?” “Should I buy them?” “Do I have to go to Oaxaca to get them?” “Did someone really invent a goldfish walker?”

So this post is a look at some amazing mezcals, that are available in the U.S., without regard to price. Yes, many of these are in excess of $100 or more a bottle. I have often said that with mezcal, you generally get what you pay for. So if they are on this list, and they are pricey, I doubt you will be disappointed. Also, many people will readily buy a $100 bottle of wine and it will be gone in a few hours. But if you purchase one of these brilliant mezcals, you might be enjoying it for the next few months or longer. If you drink it like wine, you probably need professional help!

However, you don’t always have to shell out $100 to get a great mezcal. There are many many in the $50-$100 range that are fantastic – I included many of those as well (and by the way, not that $50-$100 for a bottle of booze is a bargain – but remember this is the Premium Edition!).

Why are some of these mezcals so expensive? First, in general, mezcal is not an inexpensive spirit because it is hand-crafted, small batch, and labor intensive. There are no large column stills, industrial-sized ovens, or factory workers. An exceptional artisanal mezcal is produced at a small distillery, or palenque, and is essentially produced in a fashion that has been unchanged over several centuries.

**Wild Agave marmorata, varietal tepeztate**

Second, many of these mezcals are made from rare, wild agaves that are extremely limited in supply, difficult to find and harvest, and can take twenty plus years to mature. I snapped a shot of this wild tepeztate shown here in the cliffs outside Santiago Matatlan – a tepeztate can take thirty plus years to mature!

Third, when you move to aged mezcals, there are additional costs for the barrels, storage, and loss due to evaporation – the angel’s share, as you may know.

So yes, mezcals can be expensive. But again, if you can afford it, you will not be disappointed!

So where do I begin? So many great mezcals – what order should I put these in? Can I possibly rank them by my favorites? Not a chance – all amazing. By bottle height? (“How do you measure yourself against other golfers?”)? Price? That is not the goal of this exercise. So what order have I listed these in? Good ole boring alphabetical order. Not very creative but effective nevertheless. At any rate, you cannot go wrong with any of these…..here we go…..

Now there are many things left unsaid, or bottles not listed, because they cannot be currently found in the U.S. or for other reasons. For example, I love Real Minero but you cannot get that fine ensemble anywhere right now. They sell many varietals in Mexico, but they are not to be found north of the border. And there are many like that. Also, for certain brands like El Jolgorio, Del Maguey, Pierde Almas, or Vago for example, I readily could have included all or most of their whole line – yes they are that good. But I did not want to overload the list with a few brands.

What else? Well, I can’t find much of Siete Misterios in the U.S. anymore (other than their Doba-Yej and Tobala), though they tell me on Twitter that they are shipping their Barrill to the U.S. soon. Also, I am looking forward to the rumored arrival of special offerings from Mezcaloteca, Rey Campero, and Mezcal Koch, but they are not here yet.

At any rate, this is more than enough to get you going if you are searching for your next great mezcal. Nothing on this list will disappoint you. Are some better than others? Well, it is really a matter or palate and opinion – not better or worse when you are playing at this level. For example, I did not put an Agave cupreata on this list because they are not my favorite, though I know many mezcal lovers who disagree. So you have to find what you like and even then it is likely to vary on the day you are drinking it, the food you are drinking it with, and the company you are keeping at the time. It all matters. And it is fun to keep trying the broad range of mezcals to be had. I am sure you are doing just that!

And as you have probably figured out, I do most of my mezcal buying online so I have listed where you can find these bottles. These are the places that I have found to have the best selection – though it is usually best to shop around between them to find the best price.

Finally, if you are a brand owner, representative, importer, fellow blogger (my amigos at Mezcalistas?) or other and think I have missed something important here, please let me know. I have omniscient-like powers of revision! In the interim, drink mezcal!!

Mezcal Holidays Gifts!

Mezcal PhD / November 27, 2014

Do you have loved ones who are mezcal-crazed? Or maybe you are the mezcal-crazed one (we are therefore destined to be friends) and you want to introduce and share your passion with the up-and-comers or uneducated? Well, there is no better way to celebrate the holidays than to give or receive some cool mezcal swag!

So I have scoured the mezcal universe to find a few tidings of agave joy that may make this holiday season a mezcal-y one to remember! Without further ado, here are a few ideas:

Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal! A Complete Guide from Agave to Zapotec

Why not start with something a little self-serving…my book! Yes, this is the book I wrote, published in the summer of 2014. While I would give it glowing reviews, don’t listen to me. Check out the reviews on Amazon – 18 reviews and all 5 stars! Exciting stuff for me. The book takes you through the history of mezcal, the ancient production process still utilized today, the types of agave used to make mezcal, the range of taste profiles driven by the agave varietals, a walk-through of all the brands found in the U.S., a crazy good cocktail section and much more! So if you are looking for a modestly priced (about $30 on Amazon) mezcal gift, this is a good place to start.

Del Maguey Copita

These are traditional small clay cups for drinking mezcal. The wide rim and shallow depth allow the aromas of a mezcal to flow freely and not concentrate the alcohol on the nose as many narrow mouthed glasses do. Previously, these things have been impossible to find in the U.S. But finally, Del Maguey started importing and selling them through Cocktail Kingdom, and you can now buy them. You can get 12 of them for $17.95! Bargain.

Mezcalistas T-Shirts

My friends at Mezcalistas have a fantastic blog. As I tell them, they frequently make me jealous with their brilliant prose and in-depth analysis of the Mezcalista T-shirt mezcal world. Plus, they are really nice people that you would be happy to drink mezcal with anytime! So in addition to fine writing, they also sell some cool, funky, mezcal-y T-shirts thru Etsy for $20. A modest investment for sure and a great gift! Here is a shot of one of the three prints.

Malfatti Sipping Glasses

In Italian, malfatti means “mis-shapen”. In this case, they are wonderfully imperfect. They are elegant, impossibly light, and calling them gorgeous is an understatement. They are “malfatti” because they are individually hand-blown and each one is slightly different from the next. I have bought too many to count over the years as gifts for Christmas, birthdays, weddings, and for simply no reason at all. At $28 a glass, they are a special gift for someone and worth every penny. They are about 3 inches high and probably hold about 5 ounces of liquid. So they are perfect for a nice 2oz pour of your favorite mezcal. And the mouth of the glass is wide enough that the alcohol does not overpower you on the nose. They are quite strong too as they are made from borosilicate glass which you can read about HERE. All this is done by the amazing people at Ten Willow Studio.

Sal de Gusano

As many of you know, a traditional way to drink mezcal is with orange slices and sal de gusano, or “worm salt”. You dip a slice of orange into the sal de gusano in between sips of mezcal to cleanse the palate. It is delicious, refreshing, and spicy all at the same time. The salt is made from salt, chili spices and crushed agave larvae. I know it sounds bad, but trust me, it’s great! It basically tastes like spicy salt. Until recently, it was difficult to come by in the U.S., but now you can buy it HERE from Gran Mitla for about $14. I am not sure I should be promoting the folks at Gran Mitla since in the past they promised to send me samples, which they never did! But I am all about good karma, and hey, there are worse things than not receiving salt in the mail!

Mezcal Premium Sampler – Package 1

It is incredibly difficult to pick just 3 bottles from all of the great brands and varietals that are available. But I know people are looking for some guidance, so much so that I did a whole post on this subject which you can view HERE. But if you are looking to buy a few bottles as an awesome gift, and don’t want to break the bank, here are 3 premium mezcals that are quite different from each other, yet are all made from agave espadin, and are great for sipping or cocktails. We have Wahaka Espadin ($34), Ilegal Joven ($47) and Marca Negra Espadin ($52). As I said, it is virtually impossible to choose just 3, but all 3 are well worth their weight in mezcal. All 3 are available from DrinkUpNY. Total damage for all is $133. In choosing these I also tried to stay with one website to limit shipping costs for you – so that was another constraint in picking these bottles.

Mezcal Premium Sampler – Package 2

Vago OK, prices are not that much higher here but I am bringing in different offerings. Again, very difficult choices here but I tried to stay in the mid-range of price (less than $75 a bottle) while still choosing amazing mezcals. We have Mezcal Vago Ensemble de Barro ($70), El Silencio Joven ($50), and Ocho Cientos Sotol ($43). The Vago and Silencio are yummy ensembles and the Ocho is a great sotol which tastes very much like a great mezcal. Total damage here is $163 and they can be purchased at K&L Wines.

Mezcal Premium Sampler – Package 3

PA Conejo Arroqueno260 Let’s get crazy. Let’s get nuts. Here are a few super-premium bottles. While they have the prices to show it, they also have the quality as well. In fact, they are all unbelievable! We have Del Maguey Arroqueno ($100), which won my arroqueno throw down, El Jolgorio Mexicano ($120), and the amazing Pierde Almas Conejo ($190). The stunning total cost here is $410 and they are all available at Hi-Time Wine Cellars.

These 3 sample packs are tricky because there are many excellent mezcals as I said. You can feel free to mix and match of course but each is available at the websites mentioned. You have to select them individually at these websites since they have not figured out how cool it would be to have the “Mezcal PhD Premium Package” as an offering. As the shipping costs can get high, it is always better to buy multiple bottles at the same time.

Ilegal Anejo Special Bottling

illegal-mezcal-1 This is a special bottling by Ilegal – only 180 bottles – that they created for Esquire magazine. It is a blend of 80% mezcal anejo that’s been aged in American oak for one year and 20% mezcal anejo aged in French oak for two years. I had the pleasure of trying this amazing anejo a few weeks ago and it was off the charts, as it should be for $140 – worth every penny. I have already bought several for Christmas gifts (and a few for myself perhaps…). Get it while you can.

Mezcal’s Club

Here is another cool idea. Get your special person a subscription to the Mezcal’s Club, which Mezcals Club sends out quarterly care packs of lovely mezcals, all of which they say you cannot buy in the U.S. While their low price point for a regular membership clocks in at a hefty $395, you are getting 3 carefully selected bottles and you don’t have to go to Mexico to get them! According to the folks at Mezcal Club, the mezcal value is around $200 and the shipping is around $150. Their current membership drive expires December 1, but if you miss this slot, they will be reoffering new memberships this summer – so you can always give the gift of a forward membership if you miss this one.

Experience Mezcal Tours

ExperienceMezcalLogoWeb This is another uber idea for that very special person on your list – an exclusive mezcal tour in Oaxaca. The man behind these tours is Clayton Szczech, an American living in Mexico who is as thoughtful and passionate about mezcal as it gets. The tour includes unique and private palenque (distillery) tours, tastings, and amazing food among other things. Think of this as a complete mezcal immersion! Clayton has been organizing these tours for years, and having met him on several occassions, I have no doubt that this is a first class operation and an amazing experiece. You can read more about it on his site but the spring 2015 dates are March 16-19 and April 26-29. Pricing is on his website but it is around $1,000 a person. I am sure it is worth every penny, and I wish I could join you!

Other Ideas? Let Me Know?

These are just a handful of ideas. I would love it if I knew of other special things that other brands are doing for the holidays – special products, special bottlings, or whatever! Send me an email at [email protected] and I will add it to this post. Or if you are simply a mezcal aficionado and have other ideas that fit in, send it my way! In the meantime, have a great holiday season and drink mezcal!

Mezcal Starter Kit: Brands, Price Comparisons and More

Mezcal PhD / May 12, 2014

I get a lot of emails asking me where to start when it comes to buying a bottle of mezcal. Some are from people looking to dip their toes into the mezcal waters, and others are from people who already know they love mezcal but are looking for that price/value tradeoff. Also, many want to know where they can buy mezcal since it is not available at their local liquor store.

With that in mind I thought it would be useful to put together a list of brands, prices, and online liquor stores for your convenience. My book, Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal! has a complete list of every brand available in the U.S. Now this list by no means contains every brand you can find (I have another post on that too), and I stopped it at $75 because we are clearly getting past the entry level at that price. I focused on the brands that are the most commonly seen PREMIUM mezcals, so admittedly it is a bit subjective (but that’s what I do). For the price comparison, I chose six online sellers that I think have a combination of wide selection and good pricing, and they also happen to be where I buy a lot of mezcal.

I generally took the entry point for each brand, which is usually the joven. In a few cases, brands have a cocktail oriented version which is even more attractively priced and I included those as well. But if a brand has a reposado or other expressions for under $75, I did not include those. Maybe next time. Again, the focus is the brand’s entry point.

Here are my Mezcal Starter Kit Recommendations:

Brand	Andrews Wine Cellar	Binny’s	Old Town Liquor	Hi-Time Wines	K&L Wines	DrinkUpNY	Average Price
El Buho Mezcal	29.99	34.99				29.99	31.66
Wahaka Espadin		33.99	33.99	35.99	34.99	39.99	35.79
Del Maguey Vida		34.99		38.99	38.99	33.99	36.74
Fidencio Clasico Joven	33.99	44.99	39.99	35.99	34.99	34.99	37.49
Pierde Almas La Puritita	37.99	44.99		39.99			40.99
Don Amado Plata	39.99	44.99	38.99	40.99			41.24
Alipus San Andreas			43.00		39.99		41.50
Sombra Mezcal			49.99			36.99	43.49
Ilegal Mezcal Joven	42.99		44.99	41.99		46.99	44.24
Scorpion Silver		39.99	49.99				44.99
Mezcal Vago Espadin	45.99				49.99		47.99
Mezcales de Leyenda Oaxaca			48.99	45.99	49.99	51.99	49.24
Montelobos Mezcal		49.99		49.99			49.99
Delirio de Oaxaca Joven			54.99	47.99			51.49
Marca Negra Espadin					56.99	51.99	54.49
Los Amantes Joven		49.99	59.99	55.99	54.99		55.24
Los Nahuales Joven			58.99	58.99	59.99		59.32
Pierde Almas Espadin	65.99	69.99			59.99	68.99	66.24
Del Maguey Chichicapa	62.99		79.99		69.99	62.99	68.99
El Silencio Joven				70.99	69.99		70.49

I enjoyed putting this together because I learned a few things as well. A few observations:

There really are not a very large number of widely dispersed good mezcals. There are only twenty names on this list – so only twenty premium mezcals can be found at at least two places online. By comparison, if you did this with tequila, I am sure you would get well into the 100s of brands. That said, there are probably another 10-20 brands that are quite good but I could only find them at one place online.
You generally get what you pay for with mezcal. The brands at the top of the list with the lowest prices are geared toward cocktail consumption. Most of them I would sip in a pinch no problem, but if I really want a sipping mezcal I am moving into the $40+ price range.
I am not deeply familiar with every brand here. I have most of these bottles, and have tried them all, but a few I have tasted only sparingly.
There are some brands in the $30-$50 range which you will not find here even though they are readily available – names like Wild Shot and Zignum come readily to mind. They are not here because I don’t recommend them.
You also will not find cheaper brands like Monte Alban and Oro de Oaxaca here because I would not drink those either. If you are not willing to spend at least $30, you are not going to get a very good mezcal. If you have a different opinion, let me know!

A few brand specific comments:

Of the first five names on the list, I would give Wahaka Espadin the best marks for versatility because it works great in cocktails, but I also find it to be the best sipper of the five.
For another $10 or so Don Amado has a “Rustico”, which is an espadin joven and far better than their plata. I would spend the extra $10.
Alipus has four different versions – I think San Andreas is the best, and they are generally all priced the same. Last fall they came out with their Santa Ana Del Rio, and I was not very fond of it on one tasting.
Scorpion is a fine spirit but it lacks the smokiness that I love in mezcal as it is produced in above ground ovens. Still artisanally made, but a different taste profile if you like a smoky mezcal.
Ilegal is an excellent introductory mezcal as the smoke, while strongly present to the uninitiated mezcal drinker, is less pronounced than most other brands so it is more approachable.
Vago made a splash as a new brand in 2013 by bringing in excellent quality mezcals. They also have an “Elote” which has a roasted corn infusion for a few dollars more than the espadin. I cannot quite get the sweetness of the corn on my palate but it is a great mezcal.
Delirio is relatively unknown to me as I have only tried it once and it made an uninspiring impression. Admittedly, it needs more investigation. They are a west coast brand and I have never seen them in NYC.
Los Amantes is triple distilled so a very soft mezcal. This can be appealing to mezcal newbies.
Pierde Almas Espadin, while expensive, is worth every penny.
El Silencio, another 2013 newcomer, is pricey but also very good – it is an ensemble of three agaves (it does not say which on the bottle but I seem to recall espadin, tobasiche, and mexicano).

Of these online sellers, I use them all regularly depending on what I am buying. Andrews is great if you are buying many bottles because shipping is free with orders over $250.

So that’s it for now. I have been a bit quiet on the blog in recent months as I have been pouring my energy into a book. This is perhaps the first official mention of it (though I promise you will be bombarded in the future!). The book is “Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal! The Complete Guide from Agave to Zapotec”. I wrote it because I believe mezcal needs this book. It will be out in the next few months, and I am pretty sure it will not be a waste of your hard earned dollars. Until then, drink mezcal!