It’s hard to walk into a bar or restaurant these days and not see mezcal on the menu. You may call it the new tequila or tequila’s smoky cousin, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. “If you’re gonna use that comparison, I would say mezcal’s the grandparent, not the cousin,” said Julia Cuthbertson, co-founder of the mezcal importer Las Chingonas Imports.
Mezcal is nothing new—perhaps just to some people in the U.S. It’s been produced since the 16th century and possibly dates back to even earlier indigenous communities. It’s made using various types of agave, with production methods being passed down in families for generations. This lends the spirit a wide variety of flavor profiles, many of which aren’t smoky at all. Tequila, on the other hand, is just one type of mezcal that’s made only from Blue Weber agave.
For decades, bars shelves in the U.S. have been lined with bottles of tequila, many of which we associate with celebrity names. But it wasn’t until recent years that mezcal became popular here—and started attracting more high-profile investors.
According to a 2022 report by Data Bridge Market Research, the global mezcal market in 2021 was valued at $387.10 million; it’s expected to reach $2.4 billion by 2029.
The Mezcal Boom
A growing interest in Mexico and tourism, along with conscious consumerism and cocktail culture, all led to a boom in mezcal, according to Cuthbertson.
“People are now much more interested in knowing the story behind the product or even consuming products that have stories…that aren’t just industrialized,” she said. “Our mission is to work with Mexican-owned brands that really honor history, tradition, and the place where the agave spirit is made,” she said. Mezcal is an ancestral spirit, she explained, and each family has their history with it.
Since agave type and production has an effect on flavor, the spirit is often used by bartenders looking to elevate cocktails.
“Mezcal is delicious, and if you mix mezcal in any cocktail, it just gets a different flavor, it’s more deep, more intense,” said Alex Valencia, beverage director and co-founder of La Contenta in New York City. Valencia focuses on Mexican ingredients and spirits—not just mezcal and tequila, but also pulque and tepache.
A majority of mezcal is produced in Oaxaca, home to the annual International Festival of Mezcal, which is now crowded with tourists and big-name brands marketing their mezcal.
“It’s an absolute madness of marketing. You see all these big brands taking over the whole idea behind it, and what happens to small producers?” said third-generation mezcalero Adolfo Lopez. “No one knows them.”
But it wasn’t always this way. Lopez remembers Oaxaca before it was home to fine-dining restaurants catering to out-of-towners.
“When I was growing up, mezcal was not a cool drink. It wasn’t fancy; it was something cheap,” said Lopez. “People used to make mezcals for families, for going to parties, for going to funerals, to weddings.” Many families have been selling mezcal locally in shops called expendios for a long time. That’s what the Lopez family did before creating the brand Lopez Real.
Of course, there are both benefits and downsides to all the growth and global interest. “Now, there are a lot of families that maybe back then didn’t have the means or the opportunities to sell their own product," said Lopez. "But there’s another problem too, because now you’re selling your product to other brands, and other brands are just the ones who are benefiting from this, from their production, from their legacy."
“Without any doubt, the growth of mezcal in recent years has aroused the interest of locals and strangers, Mexican or foreign celebrities who want to get in on the boom of agave distillates,” said Lorena Carreño, CEO of award-winning Mezcal Carreño. But, for her, celebrity brands can’t compete with the power of a family brand. “Celebrities see mezcal as a financial issue only. Mezcal is our passion and our family heritage.”
When it comes to celebrity brands, or big brands producing a high volume of spirits, Cuthbertson’s main question is whether the brand has a plan for sustainability. This includes the availability of agaves, water, combustibles, soil quality, and whether resources will be left for other families in the community.
“When any brand has the budget for marketing, like most celebrity brands do, they usually end up taking up more space on shelves, whether it’s in a store, or bar, or restaurant,” said Cuthbertson. “They have the resources to get their product out there.”
What To Look For In A Bottle
When deciding on which mezcal to buy, Lopez and Cuthbertson recommend looking to see how much information is provided on the bottle, like the producer’s name, where it was made, the species of agave, and the production process.
“If there’s no transparency or traceability, then that’s something to think about,” Cuthbertson said.
“There are lots of brands out there that do a good job at that,” she said. “It’s a matter of having access to these brands because I think the small ones that are made traditionally or ancestrally don’t always have the resources or the dollars to do the marketing to get their products out there. So it does take some work on the consumer end.”
But, sometimes it’s the bigger brands that people have access to, especially in smaller markets. “If it’s the only thing you have access to, that can be your entree into the category,” said Cuthbertson. “If drinking it in a cocktail or drinking more commercial brands is part of your path, your journey to the smaller batch, family-owned ancestral artisanal mezcals, they also serve a purpose in the market.”
8 Artisanal Mezcal And Tequila Brands To Buy
Lopez Real
The Lopez family produces three mezcals, each using a different type of agave: espadín, tobalá, and cuishe. Behind the bar at Valencia’s La Contenta, the well mezcal is Real Lopez Espadín. “I know they have a really good philosophy,” said Valencia.
La Gritona
Owned by Melly Barajas, La Gritona is operated by a team of women and produced in Valle De Guadalupe, Jalisco. The tequila is distilled in whiskey barrels for eight months before being bottled in recycled Mexican glass.
BUY LA GRITONA REPOSADO TEQUILA
Rayo Seco
Rayo Seco was started in 2015 by husband-and-wife duo Edgar Salazar and Carolina Mora Kononova. The cupreata varietal is produced in Chichihualco, Guerrero, by the co-founder’s uncle Margarito Lopez, using the same family recipe from the 19th century. The sacatoro varietal is distilled by Israel Petronilo in northern Guerrero.
La Remilgosa
La Remilgosa, the sister brand of Rayo Seco, can be loosely translated to mean “the picky one.” Their mezcals use less common agave and sotol varietals to produce high-proof spirits with unique flavor profiles.
Mezcal Carreño
CEO Lorena Carreño’s grandfather, Don Apolonio Carreño, began making mezcal in 1904, but for a while he turned to grinding sugar cane to sell to rum makers because it was more profitable than mezcal. “I believe that mezcal is being discovered by the world,” said Carreño. “It is a drink distilled in an ancestral and artisanal way, it is 100 percent organic, and its flavor says it all.”
BUY: MEZCAL CARREÑO ENSAMBLE 7
Real Minero
The history of Real Minero begins with Don Francisco Ángeles in the late 1800s. The company is now owned by his great-grandchildren who follow the same traditions for making mezcal.
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Rezpiral
Rezpiral works with traditional mezcal producers in Oaxaca to bottle small-batch spirits. Thirty percent of profits go directly to the producers.
Tequila Fortaleza
While Tequila Fortaleza launched in 2005, its history dates back to 1873. Don Guillermo revived the family’s old distillery in Tequila, Jalisco, and began producing tequila using the same methods his family used years ago.
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BUY: BUY TEQUILA FORTALEZA TEQUILA REPOSADO
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