Top Rated Affordable Mezcals

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.

Cat Mezcal is a mezcal "from the heart of Oaxaca". It's made from 100% agave (species unspecified). The joven style is bottled unaged off the still.

Espadín is a work horse. It matures in a relatively short time 5-8 years, it produces a lot of sugar, and it is easily cultivated. It is so easily marked by the hands of the mezcalero that it can take on a multitude of characteristics and levels of quality. Made traditionally in Oaxaca by Pedro Hernández, this mezcal is double-distilled in a copper still and is bottled at 94 proof.

Alipús is made from contracted mezcal particularly distilled to express the geographical differences that terroir, fermentation, water source, and distillation play in the decisive flavor of single village distillates. They use almost exclusively the agave species espadín.

El Buho (Spanish for "The Owl") is a mezcal from 100% espadín and produced in Santiago Mátatlan, Oaxaca. After a week-long roast in a stone pit, the agaves are crushed with a horse-pulled tahona. It is unaged and hand bottled at 86 proof.

La Puritita Verda is a young mezcal (less than a year) that’s bottled at a lower proof than other Pierde Almas releases, with an eye towards mixing in cocktails. This entry-level mezcal is made from espadín agave at the family-run distillery in the remote village of San Baltazar Chichicapam. La Puritita Verda is made with the same organic methods that are used to produce the rest of the Pierde Almas line.

Mezcal de las Hormigas is an offshoot of Espíritu Lauro that is made with the same dedication to natural processes. It's produced with no added sugars and is fermented without the use of yeast. This mezcal is composed of 100% espadín grown around the distillery and its neighbor, aged 6-7 years old before harvest, and it is only once distilled. Fun fact: the donkeys who pull the mill to mash the agave are father and son, and apparently argue incessantly!

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.

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.