Mexico

We love Mal Bien for its transparency, farmer / producer focused offerings, and consistency. The farmers they work with are always excellent and far overdeliver on their price points.

This particular Mezcal is extra special and made by Felix Ramirez. He works with a few varietals of agave (espadín, tepextate, cuishe, tobalá, and castilla), but often all his offerings are in minuscule quantities. Why? Because he only works with plants that he grows himself—an incredibly rare decision. On fridays, he drives north to the Ocotlán market, where he sells his mezcal and uses the money to purchase packaged goods that his wife and daughter sell out of their neighborhood store.

This bottling is made with Arroqueno agave, a huge plant that is the genetic parent of the more common espadin. The flavor profile makes sense, it’s just that Arroqueno is a super charged version: it’s fruity but features deep roasted agave flavors and has a fantastic viscous texture. Felix works very traditionally using a tahona mill, copper Alambic still, and open vats for fermentation. 

An all-estate espadin from the Ramos family that is a great value with generations of heritage behind it.

This is an absolutely stellar Mezcal that as the name Neta implies is the real deal. Strawberries, flower, and smoke lead in the aromas, but with a little oxygen these will harmonize into a symphony of complex flavors. A stellar Mezcal.

A very small batch mezcal from San Balthazar Guelavila, a small town in the district of Tlacolula, right next door to other well-known distilling communities. Don Gregorio “Goyo” Martinez’s Espadín grows at around 5,500 feet on very fertile soil, primarily of limestone. The agave is cooked in earthen oven, milled by stone tahona, and fermented in wooden tanks before being distilled twice in traditional copper pot stills. The mezcal is sweet with ripe tropical fruit, caramelized agave, Chinese five spice, and wet stone.

A non-agave Mexican spirit that shares a lot of spirit with Mezcal and Tequila. La Higuera has a kiss of smoke alongside beautiful fresh fruit flavors. Worthy of attention.

Yola Jimenez was one of the pioneers behind the modern mezcal craze (and one of the few women leading the charge). Blended espadin and madrecuixe agave lend ripe fruit, pepper, and citrus to this young mezcal.