Where to drink and what to order, according to drinks expert Alice Lascelles.
I recently returned from a wild week in Mexico exploring the mezcal and tequila scene – a trip which ran the gamut from spit-and-sawdust mezcal palenques in the Oaxaca mountains to the high glamour of Mexico City Art Week launch parties. It’s a while since I was last there and I was dazzled by what I ate, drank, heard, and saw.
As you know, the country’s biggest spirited export, by far, is tequila – but Mexico produces a wealth of other agave spirits too including mezcal, raicilla, bacanaora, and the mezcal-like sotol. So much choice can be overwhelming, but a good bar, run by people who know their stuff, can really help. Here are three destinations I loved that I think should be at the top of any agave-curious traveler’s list.
See also: The Surprising Return of High-Proof Spirits
Best place for tequila in Mexico City
Despacho Margarita
This new addition to Mexico City’s chic Roma Norte district is by the same duo as Licoreria Limantour – a nearby cocktail bar that regularly makes the world’s ‘best of’ lists. Their mission was to reclaim the Margarita – and they offer several variations on the theme including a spicy twist with serrano pepper, and a frozen version with mezcal, tamarind and sweet-and-sour chamoy pickle. The place is small and lively, with a neighbourhood vibe – the wooden counter groans with bowls of limes, while in the corner a giant clay comal heats up for tortillas. The shelves are lined with agave spirits of every style from well-loved names like Ocho and Tapatio to luxury sippers like Casa Dragones. More niche discoveries include La Venenosa Raicilla and pechugas from Bozal including an unusual twist — distilled jamon iberico — plus Mexican gins, vodkas, sotols, and the corn-based Nixta and spicy Ancho Reyes liqueurs. It’s already popular – when I visited at 3pm on a Wednesday the party was well underway. And it’s just round the corner from the beautiful Rosetta restaurant where I had one of the best lunches of my life.
Best place for tequila in Oaxaca City
In Situ Mezcaleria
The colorful state of Oaxaca is the heartland of mezcal. And you won’t find a better introduction to the spirit than a tasting at In Situ, a dusky-pink mezcaleria in the City’s charming historic centre. The choice of mezcals here is enormous – they claim it’s the biggest in Mexico – and every one is a small-batch, single-estate release bottled exclusively for the bar. Compare different varieties of agave, and mezcals distilled in copper and clay, or try a pechuga (an artisan variety of mezcal often distilled with added fruits and meat) distilled with a rabbit breast, banana, pineapple and marigolds, specially for the Day of the Dead. The feel here is friendly and informal – you can either sit up at the bar with a mezcal and a beer, or settle in for a guided tasting in one of two white-washed, shabby-chic side rooms. There’s also a little boutique selling accessories by local artisans, as well as mezcal by the bottle and a selection of barware.
See also: The Most Exciting Whisky Right Now Isn’t Scottish – It’s English
Best place for tequila in Guadalajara
El Gallo Altanero
If you’re enroute to tequila country, then you’ll almost certainly pass through Guadalajara, a city that’s a-wash with places to drink the national spirit. The hippest of them all is El Gallo Altanero, an open-air agaveria that’s become the epicentre of the city’s indie agave scene. Its balcony bar overlooks a courtyard hung with paper lanterns, and candles flickering on all sides, giving the place – and the good-looking, boho crowd – a rather cinematic glow. The choice of artisan agave spirits is tremendous and there are some clever cocktails too – try the Martini Vampirito, a Martini twist made with blanco tequila, dry vermouth, Green Chartreuse and a splash of sangrita. The soundtrack is vintage vinyl, and there are some excellent Mexican bar snacks. El Gallo’s Panama-hatted owner Freddy Andreasson is a big raicilla fan, and the bar’s stygian cellar is full of green glass demi-johns charged with his rare finds. Who knows, he might even take you down there to try them if you’re really, really nice.
And if you want some agave reading…
I can highly recommend Tequila, Mezcal and More by Anna Bruce – a beautifully-designed little handbook that brilliantly brings this vast spirits category to life. British-born, Bruce now lives in Oaxaca, where she runs mezcal palenque tours.
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