Warm weather is synonymous with refreshing cocktails, and there’s a pretty good chance that they’re made with tequila or mezcal. From margaritas and palomas to our 2025 drink of the summer, the Naked and Famous, agave-based spirits from Mexico are the backbone of some of the world’s most beloved cocktails. The tequila and mezcal market in the United States earned a whopping $6.7 billion in revenue in 2024. It’s the second most profitable spirits category in the nation—but there’s a lot more to Mexico than just tequila and mezcal.
Mexico has been home to regionally distinct liquors long before it became the country we know today. Some traditional types of alcohol can be traced back to before colonization. Then there are, of course, innovative 21st-century spirits. To highlight the diversity beyond tequila and mezcal, we’ve consulted bartenders and industry experts to share their favorite Mexican products. Here are seven of the best under-the-radar spirits to come out of Mexico that you should add to your home bar.
Raicilla
Tequila and mezcal may dominate the agave spirits category, but there’s another one you shouldn’t ignore. Raicilla has been produced for centuries, mainly in the state of Jalisco, but was only granted protective Denomination of Origin (DO) status in 2019. Raicilla has historically been produced in hidden distilleries to skirt government regulations and taxes, contributing to its reputation as “Mexican moonshine.”
It differs from other agave-based spirits in that it’s made from a combination of several different agave plants. Producers use both cultivated and wild agave, which explains why raicilla can be described as “mezcal’s funky cousin,” according to Lauren Rojas, Head Bartender at Jac's on Bond. The ancestral methods also contribute to the overall flavor, but the taste of raicilla is primarily informed by the terroir from which the agave was grown.
“If mezcal is smoky and earthy, raicilla is more fruity, floral, and a little cheesy and nutty,” Rojas says. “It’s almost like ripe tropical fruit, herbs, and a hint of smoke.” However, depending on the agave used and region in which it was grown, the specific flavor can vary wildly from bottle to bottle.
It’s still fairly under-the-radar, but raicilla is becoming increasingly available in liquor stores across the country. It’s traditionally served neat, but Rojas loves using it in cocktails like a spicy margarita or a mezcal mule.
Sotol
If you already love drinking mezcal, there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy sotol. Instead of agave, sotol is made with the Dasylirion, or "desert spoon," plant. Jazmin Gac, Director of Business & Brand Development at Tacombi describes the Dasylirion as “a resilient little desert survivor that grows in volcanic rock and takes 10 to 15 years to mature.”
Traditionally, the piñas of the plant are roasted in underground pits before being transformed into sotol. This process can impart a smoky flavor similar to mezcal, but there are some distinct notes that are unique to the Dasylirion plant. “Sotol can taste similar to agave spirits, though some find it to have a more pronounced grass note,” says Anthony Caporale, Director of Spirits Education at the Institute of Culinary Education. Chef Julian Medina of Soledad and El Verano says the spirit tastes “smooth, floral and citrusy.”
You can typically find people in Mexico sipping sotol neat after a meal or paired with a beer. But it’s also a great addition to cocktails, specifically those with citrus and other fruits. Caporale likes using the spirit in place of rum in a classic daiquiri, while Medina and Gac pair sotol with tangerine and pineapple, respectively.
Bacanora
Another regional agave spirit is Bacanora, which hails from the northern state of Sonora. It has been traditionally produced at the base of the Sierra Madre mountain range for more than four centuries. Like raicilla, bacanora has a history of clandestine production during periods of government prohibition. Bacanora's DO designation stipulates that it must be made using one particular species of agave—Pacifica—which is biologically identical to the Espadín agave used to make mezcal. But because this species has adapted to grow in Sonoran terrain, it takes on a distinctly different flavor than its Oaxacan cousin.
Bacanora has historically been considered to be a type of mezcal. However, the official DO definition of mezcal limits the title to products made in only nine Mexican states—Sonora not being one of them. The production process of Bacanora is still very similar, but the agave is commonly roasted with mesquite wood as opposed to the oak used in other regions. Many describe bacanora as the middleman between tequila and mezcal with its earthy, mildly smoky flavor.
Destilado de Agave
The three previous spirits, along with tequila and mezcal, are all protected with DO status to uphold specific methods and produce consistent products. Beyond officially regulated spirits, there’s an entire world of agave-based liquors that don’t fit the mold. Any agave spirit that doesn’t abide by strict DO regulations can’t legally call itself tequila or mezcal; instead, they use the umbrella term destilado de agave, which translates to agave distillate.
Just because a drink can’t legally use a specific name doesn’t mean it’s of lesser quality. In fact, it allows for much more nuance because producers aren’t limited by industrial methods and strict regulations. “Beyond DO boundaries is where ancestral techniques thrive and regional identity remains untamed,” says Aude Fraisse, Bar Manager at Bar Crenn.
Destilado de Agave can be loosely compared to natural wine in that it’s made the old-fashioned way; instead of using neutral-tasting commercialized yeast, the distillates are fermented spontaneously with more flavorful yeast from the environment. It’s also rarely filtered, so the full scope of the terroir is captured in every sip.
“Each bottle tells a different story. Depending on the region and agave used, the profiles range from earthy and vegetal to fruity, lactic, or deeply minerally,” Fraisse says. “Some taste like the forest floor after a rainstorm; others, like sun-baked tropical fruit or fresh cheese. They are wild, expressive, and profoundly rooted in the land.” Because of its uniqueness and craftsmanship, Destilado de Agave is ideally consumed on its own to fully appreciate its depth. It’s harder to find in the U.S., but Fraisse loves the products sold by Pal’Alma.
Aguardiente De Caña
Aguardiente de caña is an umbrella term for a distilled spirit made with freshly pressed sugarcane juice. You may be familiar with cachaça, which is a protected and regulated type of aguardiente de caña from Brazil, but you can find other varieties in Mexico as well. “It’s a sugarcane spirit with a funky, earthy flavor, kind of like a cousin to cachaça or rhum agricole with notes of fresh cane, banana, and a little pepper,” says Sady Mojaddidi, Beverage Director of Xperience Restaurant Group.
While Mexico is largely known as the nation of agave, it’s also one of the world’s largest producers of sugarcane. Aguardiente de caña can go by different names across different regions—some DO protected—and is often supplemented with fruit or other flavorings. “People usually drink it neat where it’s made, but I like using it in a Caipirinha,” Mojaddidi says. “It adds a lot of character and makes the drink more interesting.“
Gin
Gin may have originated in Europe, but you can find unique renditions of the spirit across the world. In Mexico, producers lean on regionally specific botanicals to create a gin informed by the flavors of Latin America. Alongside the usual suspects like juniper, you can find other ingredients like palo santo, Mexican sage, and prickly pear. But, as with all gin producers, the flavors will vary by distillery.
“Mexican gin can range from crisp and citrusy to floral, fruity, or herbal—it really depends on the botanicals used,” says Ray Zhou, Bar Director at Chinato. “It’s often more expressive and regionally inspired than traditional gins.” Zhou uses Mexican gin from the brand Condesa as the base of a cocktail alongside watermelon, mezcal, and pink peppercorn.
Chile Liqueur
Of all of the Mexican spirits that Molly Horn, Chief Mixologist and Spirits Educator at Total Wine And More, has tried in her career, her favorite is Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur. This brand follows a nearly 100-year-old recipe from Puebla and uses dried ancho chiles as the primary flavoring. Horn says it has “a really nice smoky, subtly spicy character without being too sweet.” While it can be used as a digestif, she prefers to use it in cocktails to add a layer of depth to a drink. “It adds a really lovely, sweet-smoky-spicy-savory complexity to something like an Añejo Tequila Old Fashioned (in place of agave nectar) or even a Reposado Tequila Mexican Mule,” Horn says.
Coffee Liqueur
Some of the best coffee in the world comes from Mexico, so it’s no surprise that it works well as an ingredient for alcohol. Paul Sauter, Bar Director at The Aviary, loves Kamora Coffee Liqueur. “The coffee beans are straight from Veracruz and Chiapas, where the environment is almost perfect for growing beans, so Kamora has a real coffee profile,” he says. “Think dark roast with a touch of nuttiness, low acidity, and just enough sweetness to round it out.”
Kamora can be utilized like any other coffee liqueur as an ingredient in dessert cocktails and espresso martinis. “I like to use it to add a grounded, roasty note to cocktails that might otherwise lean too sweet or too spirit-forward,” Sauter adds. “It’s also great on its own over ice or stirred into cold brew.”
