The Best Mezcal $50 (Or Under) Can Buy!

One of the few mezcals that are both organic and biodynamic. Fidencio Clásico is made using 100% espadín agave from Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca. The agaves are roasted for three days in a traditional method using a stone-lined earthen pit. Fermented using ambient yeast and twice-distilled using an old cognac-style still.

Sombra was created as a passion project of famed sommelier and wine negociant Richard Betts of Betts & Scholls. Created as a stance against the “Vodka-ization” of Agave spirits, this is meant to jump out in a cocktail. It is 100% espadín that are first grown in the villages of San Juan del Rio and San Juan before being uprooted and planted on the slopes of the Sierras in Oaxaca. After roasting for 2 days in a stone pit with an oak fire source, the agaves are crushed in a tahona (stone wheel) and then allowed to ferment naturally for 8 days.

A mezcal distilled in a very old-school method: small clay stills. This ancient method is usually not considered beyond small home distilleries because of how fragile the clay pots are (they often need to be replaced as they break) and how expensive this method is to produce spirits. Another thing to note is the clay stills are made from the soil of their estate. This is bottled at 94 proof, much higher than their traditional Plata expression which is 80 proof.

Montelobos (mountain of wolves) is an unaged mezcal produced from organic espadín agave. The agaves are sourced from Loma Larga in Santiago Matatlán Oaxaca. After roasting for 5-7 days in a volcanic stone pit, the agaves are crushed with a tahona and allowed to naturally ferment. Montelobos was created by Dr. Iván Saldaña and is produced by 5th generation mezcalero, Don Abel Lopez.

A spirit with “heart”. Alipús is a co-op made up of mezcal producers throughout Oaxaca. With the help of Los Danzantes they have banded together to produce a series of single-village mezcals, each displaying the particular terroir and traditions of each mezcalero and village. San Balthazar carries the distinction of being fermented using wild yeast in pine vats by Mezcalero Don Cosme Hernandez. It is a “high elevation” mezcal made from agave espadín grown at an elevation of 5,700ft in very rocky soil. .

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.

The brand, which translates to "you will love," was founded by Jorge Rodríguez-Cano and Santiago Suárez Cordova. It's a collaboration between 5 mezcaleros in the village of San Juan del Río in Oaxaca. It's made from 100% Espadín grown in the surrounding hills near the distillery that is roasted for 5 days in conical ovens over Holm Oak logs. It's made the traditional way with horse-drawn mills for grinding, open pine containers for fermenting and copper pot distilling. Both the agave and the logs used to roast it are used sustainably, with a number of replanting for every one taken.

Alipús is a product line of traditionally made village mezcals created by the group behind the Los Danzantes (aka Los Nahuales) line of mezcals. Each expression highlights a different village and distiller. San Andrés is fermented using wild yeasts in cypress vats before it is double distilled in a copper pot still. Don Valente Angel Garcia Juárez distills this espadín mezcal in the village of San Andrés in Xitlapehua, Oaxaca.

The Alipús line is named for the villages in which they are distilled. This one is produced by Don Eduardo Hernandez and is made with espadín harvested from mountainous, chalky soil at 5200 feet above sea level. The agaves are roasted traditionally in a pit oven and the agaves are crushed using a tahona (large millstone) pulled by a horse. The fermentation process uses wild yeasts in their open pine vats and this is double distilled in copper stills.

This is the second release from El Silencio following up their Joven ensemble bottling. It is meant as more of an introductory bottling and is priced accordingly. Made from 100% espadín, this is distilled in San Baltazar Guelavila, Oaxaca and made by Master Mescalier Pedro Hernandez. It is produced traditionally with agaves roasted in a mesquite-lined pit and the agaves are crushed by a horse-drawn tahona. Natural fermentation is allowed and the mezcal is double-distilled in copper pot stills.