The Best Del Maguey Mezcals

Del Maguey VIDA de Muertos is a permanent addition to the Del Maguey portfolio. It's made in San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca by Cruz Nolasco family using espadín agave and double distillation. The family uses a special center cut of the distillate typically used for the autumnal holiday Día de los Muertos. It is bottled at 90 proof and is available as of July 2021.

Introduced in 2010, Del Maguey VIDA Mezcal is an artisanal single-village organic mezcal made from espadín agaves. These agaves are harvested from the village of San Luis del Rio in Oaxaca. Roasting of the agaves lasts for 3-8 days followed by an 8-10 day wild fermentation. The mezcal is twice distilled in wood-fired copper stills. Bottled at 84 proof.

VIDA Puebla is a new addition to the Del Maguey portfolio. While the classic VIDA bottling is made in San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca, this mezcal is made at a new palenque located in Axocopan, Puebla. VIDA Puebla was made in collaboration with co-founder Steve Olson who wanted to bring to market a sustainably produced, easy drinking mezcal with a competitive price point. The mezcal is bottled at 80 proof and is available in select US markets including CA, FL, IL, NY, OH, & TX beginning March 2023. A nationwide release is expected to begin July 2023. (SRP $37.99)

This is a mezcal of 100% espadín agave with miel de agave (unfermented roasted agave syrup) added at a 9:1 ratio. It is made by the same palenqueros that bring you Del Maguey's San Luis del Rio mezcal and this is the product that is used. It is bottled at 80 proof.

Del Maguey Santo Domingo Albarradas is a single-village mezcal from the Mixe (pronounced Mee-Hay) region south of Oaxaca. This is a high-elevation (8,500') mezcal produced from espadín agave, fermented and twice-distilled via traditional methods. It is bottled at 48% ABV.

This 100% tobalá agave mezcal produced in the state of Oaxaca. The tobalá maguey is found growing wild in the highest altitude canyons in the rocky soil beneath oak trees. It is smaller and broader leafed than the other agave used for mezcal and takes about eight tobalá piñas (agave hearts) to equal one piña from the more commonly propagated and cultivated magueys. Produced in the traditional manner by open-vat fermentation, adding the fibers along with the fermented juice (agaumiel) to the copper pot-still. This mezcal is unaged and bottled at 94 proof.

This is a 100% espadín agave mezcal produced in Oaxaca in the village of San Luis del Rio. The palenquero, Paciano Cruz Nolasco, oversees the production along with his son Marcus and they utilize traditional production with open-vat fermentation, adding the fibers along with the fermented juice (agaumiel) to the copper pot-still. This mezcal is unaged and bottled at 94 proof.

Florencio Carlos Sarmiento and his sons handcraft this mezcal in the village of Santa Catarina Minas. And when we say handcraft, we mean it. After the agave roasts in the ground, they are removed and crushed by hand using a large wooden mallets. After natural, wild fermentation, it is distilled in a clay pot still. This 100% espadín agave is bottled, unaged at 98 proof.

Driving through the villages, in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico you'll come across several "palenques" or distilleries each telling a tale. The stories coming out of their stills are of a particular place: the soil, the elevation, the growing seasons, the species of agave as well as the skill and sensibilities of the mezcalero (distiller). The Del Maguey “Chichicapa" comes from the valley floor of the village of Chichicapa, made entirely from agave espadín and hand-crafted by Faustino Garcia Vasquez.

Pechuga mezcal is an age-old tradition among mezcal producers throughout Mexico. It is produced in tiny amounts for friends and family on very special occasions with the exact recipes closely-guarded family secrets. For Del Maguey, their Pechuga production starts with the finished Del Maguey Minero Mezcal which gets returned to the pot-still with a mix of wild mountain apples, plums, plantains, pineapples, almonds, white rice. A raw, skinless chicken breast is used to hang above the still for the distillate to travel through. Always bottled at strength without dilution.