These Are the 5 Mezcals You Should Bring Home from Mexico City
Confession: I am a souvenir addict. Whenever I travel anywhere, especially abroad, I become a buying machine. Little animal figurines, beaded bracelets, endless tote bags, hats of all kinds (even though I never actually wear hats)—all of them go into my already-full suitcase until it’s packed so tight that the zipper breaks open and underwear explodes onto the baggage carousel like some kind of very sad firework.
It seems worth it, until I get home. Suddenly all these treasures that seemed so magical back when they were among their brethren—tucked into the stands of brightly colored markets, air thick with the scent of grilled meats—have become, well, what they are: cheap souvenirs. I half-heartedly plan to give them as gifts but forget. They end up on a high shelf collecting dust until one of my cats bats them off and all I’m left with is buyer’s remorse.
But you know what kind of souvenirs I never feel remorseful about? Edible ones. Even better? Drinkable ones. And thus, my latest realization: Whether you plan to give it as a gift, hoard it for yourself, or pretend to buy it as a gift but actually hoard it for yourself, the best and least regrettable souvenir you can buy is a bottle (or two, or five) of local booze. And when you’re in Mexico City, that booze has gotta be mezcal.
Which mezcals should you buy? To answer this question, I consulted Ricardo Muñoz Zurita: chef, culinary historian, and unofficial “anthropologist of Mexican cuisine” (be sure to check out one of his three Mexico City restaurants, Azul y Oro, for the best tortilla soup you'll ever taste). Zurita had his first sip of mezcal three decades ago, back when Oaxaca was the only place you could find it. But over the past 12 years, he’s developed a fierce passion for the stuff, traveling all over Mexico to find the best bottles.
When I met Zurita in Mexico City, he invited me to his house for—what else?—a mezcal tasting. We sat in his light-soaked living room sipping samples from his enormous collection and chewing on orange slices dipped in worm salt. Zurita spoke encyclopedically about sourcing and techniques and tasting notes, and even gave me a printed booklet of his favorites with star ratings organized by agave type.
So when it came time for me to pick out the bottles to take home, I whipped out my notes and stuck to his advice—which, just because I’m that kind of person, I’ll be sharing here with you. Sure, you can find many of them stateside if you live in a major city (and you can use this guide for that too!), but they’re a helluva lot less expensive if you buy them closer to the source. Read on for your official Zurita-approved CDMX souvenir checklist.
Photo by Chelsie Craig1/5Real Minero Largo
Legend says mezcal began when a lightning bolt struck an agave plant, instantly cooking its core and splitting it open. Out poured a magic elixir the ancient Zapotecs of Oaxaca believed could help them commune with the gods. Then the Spanish arrived, bringing with them the process of distillation, and mezcal as we know it was born. Most modern-day mezcals are distilled in copper pots, but the original makers used clay. Real Minero is one of the few brands still using clay to distill its mezcal, and Zurita says this gives the spirit an intensely earthy, sandy flavor that sets it apart from the rest. Of course, it also means they produce far less mezcal because of how the clay pots soak up the liquid during distillation.
Photo by Chelsie Craig2/5Convite Jabalí
All mezcal comes from agave, but there are more than 30 different types of the spiky green plants growing throughout Mexico. The most common is espadin, which can be cultivated on farms. All the rest (besides blue agave which is used to make tequila) only grow wild. Jabalí is one of the most rare type of agave, in part because the plant must be at least 25 years old in order to properly harvest it. It's found only in a small area of mountains around Oaxaca, and the piña at its heart (from which mezcal is made) grows a kilo bigger every year. That means once the jabalí is ready to be roasted and smashed and fermented and distilled into mezcal, it weighs as much as a very-not-small child, and from each kilo, a liter of mezcal can be made. This family-owned brand, Convite, finds only about a dozen ripe jabalís a year, which they turn into a mezcal that’s triple-distilled to create a robust, herbaceous flavor with notes of mint and plum. “Nobody owns the land they grow on, but the family knows where the plants are and just wait and wait until they’re ready to harvest,” Zurita says.
Photo by Chelsie Craig3/5El Jolgorio Madrecuixe
The vast majority of mezcal brands are still family-owned and -operated, but according to Zurita, few demonstrate the level of care and dedication that El Jolgorio does. For generations the Cortes family has been making mezcal out of their own home. “For this family, mezcal is not a business,” Zurita says. “It’s their life.” Everything from the foraging of the agave to the roasting of the piña is done the same way it has been for generations. Zurita recommends any bottle the Cortes family makes but particularly loves the Madrecuixe (pronounced ma-dre-kweesh), which is made from a rare type of agave that grows tall like a palm tree and tastes vegetal and floral. “The secret of mezcal is that the older the plant is, the better mezcal you get,” he says. “You can taste everything the plant has experienced, from the hot sunny days to the cold winters—all of it reflects into the beverage during the distillation process.”
Photo by Chelsie Craig4/5Mezcal de Leyenda Guerrero
While he prefers mezcal from small family-owned distilleries, Zurita says Mezcal de Leyenda is a rare example of a larger company doing things right. By sourcing their agave from the best family estates around the country, they’re able to practice both environmental and social responsibility—and provide a crucial model for the modern mezcal industry’s inevitable growth. “When we talk about mezcal, it always starts with the quality of the agave plant,” says Zurita. This particular bottle—with fruity, briny notes and light smoke—comes exclusively from Cupreata agave grown in Guerrero, the state just west of Oaxaca. “Oaxaca has long been the focus when it comes to mezcal,” says Zurita, “but Guerrero shares a similar landscape and is just as good—it’s just yet to be discovered.”
Photo by Chelsie Craig5/57 Leguas Anejo Tequila
Okay, mezcal is great and all, but what about tequila? Technically, tequila is a type of mezcal since it comes from the agave plant (specifically the blue agave plant), but its long-term popularity both inside and outside Mexico has led to a serious dip in quality that favor. Common, industrialized brands require only 51 percent blue agave to call themselves tequila (the rest often being cheap cane sugar and icky, hangover-causing additives). That said, notes Zurita, there are still plenty of great tequilas out there, as long as you avoid anything that’s not 100 percent pure blue agave. “This brand, 7 Leguas, still does things the old-fashioned way, but with modern technology,” Zurita says. “The price, the quality, the tradition, the smooth and silky balance—it’s kind of a secret among people who know about tequila.”