Mezcal is more than a spirit. It is a way of life, inseparable from the culture in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The soft, smoky aromas of roasting agave pervade the air of the tiny little villages where mezcal is produced.

Oaxaca, Mexico’s most biodiverse state, is mountainous and remote. It may take the better part of a morning drive just to get a few kilometers to the small villages where mezcal is made from locally grown maguey plants, a variety of agave. Some of today’s mezcal distillers can trace their distilling heritage back nine or ten generations. Also called palenqueros (a colloquial term for these craft distillers), they make their spirits using local, organic, sustainable and painstakingly laborious methods.

Mezcal brands like Del Maguey and De Leyanda are known for their single-village approach, which means that everything from sourcing the plants, roasting the maguey hearts to distilling the spirit all take place in one village. It’s taken the passion and business acumen of just a handful of forward-thinkers to introduce mezcal to the United States from these remote Mexican villages.

On a recent trip, a friend and I were lucky enough to be invited to spend an entire day in the tiny little village of San Juan del Rio, where an organic brand of mezcal called Mezcales de Leyenda is produced. Resting quietly in a valley along the river that provides all of the water required for the distillation process, this village of 8,000 people boasts 15 palenques (shacks where roasting and distillation take place) that each produce up to 10,000 liters of mezcal per year.

We watched the palenqueros haul in their harvests of the massive magueys (sometimes up to 200 pounds). Once harvested, the piñas, of hearts of the maguey plant, will roast for 3-4 days underground in a stone pit covered with dirt. The palnqueros raise burros for turning the massive stone wheels, or tahonas, that shred the agave. They also chop their own wood that fires their copper pot stills — these were likely introduced by the Spanish, though some recent evidence suggests that distillation could have been taking place even before the Spaniards arrived.

These mezcal brands are working diligently to ensure the survival of this traditional way of life in Oaxaca, even as the popularity of mezcal grows around the world — not a small a challenge. Keep a close eye on this hooch and support these family-owned operations.

Many mezcals of the past were best reserved as industrial cleansing agents and gluttons for punishment, but there is now an incredible array of premium mezcals to drink that will be memorable for the right reasons. Our recommendation: Del Maguey Minero.

Both tequila and mezcal are made from the agave plant, but tequila (by law) must be made with 100% blue agave from the Tequila region of Mexico. Mezcal can be made from a variety of agave species, permitting distillers like Del Maguey greater versatility in plant selection, flavor, and distilling techniques (including clay pot stills). This produces a variety of mezcals that represent the unique “terrior” (soil) of the many single-village producers.

Del Maguey, and other premium mezcals including Ilegal Mezcal ($63-80) and El Zacatecano ($42-60) possess flavors ranging from a smoky rich, almost, fatty oiliness, to a floral, honeyed, and delicate vegetal spirit that are not found in either lower quality tequilas or mezcals.

Many people associate mezcal with the unappetizing worm residing in the bottom of the bottle, or erroneously believe it to contain mescaline due to the similarity of its name. In truth, there are no psychedelic substances in mezcal, nor does Del Maguey Minero put worms in their bottles. The only mind-altering chemical that you will imbibe is good old-fashioned alcohol.

However, the experience will leave you with more than your average tequila buzz. The smoky flavors of Del Maguey Minero will transport you to the earthen oven pits in the backwoods of Oaxaca, Mexico where this spirit is made.

Ron Cooper of Del Maguey Limited Company Single Village Mezcal is the ambassador of this journey and a savior of the spirit. Ron is a man on a mission to redefine the category and expand the opportunities to experience mezcals of a quality beyond the worm-soaked-swill some drinkers have previously experienced.

Generally, high quality mezcal is sipped neat out of small clay cups called copitas, though nice shot glasses will suffice. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can try some of the Fresh Cocktails from the growing cult following of mixologists that have found creative uses for the spirit.

Some cocktail recipes call for mezcal as a flavor modifier, like in the Juan Collins, the Mexican variation of the Tom Collins from Tommy Klus. Other recipes use mezcal as the centerpiece spirit, such as the Kiwi Margarita from Dale Degroff.

Toast with the traditional Oaxacan saying, “para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien también” (for everything bad, mezcal, and for everything good, too).

Juan Collins
2 ounces Blanco Tequila
1 ounce Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 ounce Simple Syrup*
2 teaspoons Mezcal
2 ounce Mexican Coca-cola

Place 1-2 small strawberries into a cocktail mixing glass. Muddle until fruit is thoroughly crushed. Add tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, and mezcal; fill with ice. Shake vigorously.

Add 2 ounces of Mexican Coca-cola into directly into shaker. Strain all ingredients into collins glass over ice. Garnish with lime wedge.

*Add 1 part sugar to 1 part water and mix until sugar dissolves.

Kiwi Margarita
2 ounces Mezcal
3/4 ounce Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 Kiwi (scoop out of the skin)
1/2 ounce Orange Liqueur (Degroff recommends Cointreau)
1/2 ounce Agave Nectar
1 Lime Wheel

Place kiwi and syrup into a cocktail mixing glass. Muddle until fruit is thoroughly crushed. Add mezcal, lime juice and Cointreau; fill with ice. Shake vigorously and fine strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with lime wheel.