Picture of a field of espadin agave (Agave angustifolia) taken at the mezcal factory Tres Colibries ... [+]
To understand the difference between mezcal and tequila, Nelson Nieves co-founder of Bosscal Mezcal advises people to think of relationships.
“Tequila’s like your spouse and mezcal is like your lover, a little bit more fun, and a little bit more dangerous,” he told me during a recent interview over Zoom.
On a slightly more technical level, tequila is a type of mezcal that can only be made from blue Weber Agave in five Mexican states, and just like your spouse tequila can be plenty fun. Adherents of mezcal or tequila might debate which one is better, but I don’t think we have to choose. I’ve had an increasingly intense love affair with both of late, and I’m not alone. In recent years, tequila and mezcal surpassed whiskey as the second best-selling spirit in the U.S. trailing only vodka. Tequila and mezcal were also the second fastest-growing spirits category, trailing only ready-to-drink cocktails.
I’ve been doing my part to fuel this growth. Here are some of my recent favorite tequilas and mezcals.
Banhez Mezcal Artesanal Joven
Cocktail to try it in: Naked and Famous.
Owned and operated by the U.P.A.D.E.C Co-operative in Ejutla, Oaxaca, which consists of family farmers, Banhez Mezcal Artesanal is a bartender’s favorite for mixing. Made with 90 percent Espadín and 10% Barril agaves, the mezcal is mild enough to appeal to new mezcal drinkers but also has complex floral and fruit notes that make it appeal to connoisseurs. This mezcal is fermented in open-air wooden vats and utilizes wild yeasts.
Cimarron Tequilla Blanco
Cocktail to try it in: The Greenbelt
Jalisco agave grower turned distiller, Enrique Fonseca was inspired to create his tequilas by Scottish distillers who blended scotches made with alembic and column stills to create a product that had the intense character of the former with the higher alcohol content and lightness of the latter. Cimarron is made with natural fermentation and wine yeasts and was designed to be dry with mixing in mind, so bartenders can control the level of sweetness in each drink. Even so, it can hold its own when drunk neat. Though not as agave-forward as some tequilas it has a wonderful oak fruit notes and is always a favorite when I have informal blind taste tests at my house.
Bosscal Mezcal
Cocktail to try it in: Mezgarita
Naturally fermented with wild yeasts from wild foraged agave plants in Durango, this mezcal is not a smoke bomb. Instead, it has delightful citrus-forward flavors against a smoke backbone that lets you know you are drinking mezcal but doesn’t hit you over the head with that fact. As such, it’s a fun substitution for many cocktails that ordinarily call for tequila. The spirit is also organic certified and for every agave plant harvested, the company plants a new one.
LALO Tequila Blanco
Cocktail to try it in: Carajillo
A premium brand from a legendary tequila family, LALO is named in honor of Eduardo “Lalo” González, the son of Don Julio González, and father of LALO’s founder, who is also named Lalo. Made from hand-harvested mature agave plater, yeast and water without preservatives or added flavors, LALO has a crisp, clean, flavor with a bold agave backbone. LALO was originally started as a small private batch project, has grown into a widely available and widely sought-after tequila.
