The 7 Greatest Mezcal Bars within the U.S.

There’s no query that agave spirits are sizzling proper now. With the meteoric rise of mezcal amongst American drinkers, the variety of high-quality eating places and bars that showcase historically produced Mexican spirits has equally grown.

So what makes a terrific mezcal bar? There’s much more to it than simply having the most important checklist of agave spirits or killer cocktails.

Mezcal, and different conventional spirits of Mexico like sotol, bacanora, and raicilla, have a protracted and wealthy historical past. They’re all distilled from crops that take years to mature. The very best mezcals are made utilizing strategies handed down by way of many generations of knowledgeable mezcaleros.

“It is extremely necessary for bars to respect the heritage that’s conventional mezcal,” says Max Reis, beverage director at Mírate in Los Angeles. “Right here within the States, we’re the number-one customers of agave spirits on this planet. Which implies we create the demand for the market.” 

Training is essential to run a considerate and accountable mezcal program. 

“The crew members have to be educated that mezcal isn’t just an alcoholic beverage, it additionally has been representing Indigenous communities for a lot of centuries,” says Ivan Vasquez, proprietor of Oaxacan restaurant and mezcal bar, Madre!. “[Mezcal] has survived prohibitions, isolation, discrimination, punishment, and lack of recognition by society.”

With the explosion of agave-focused bars, not all strategy the spirit with such reverence.  

“In fact, in a perfect world, all institutions would have [thoughtful] traits, however that is simply not the case,” says Chris Simmons, international model ambassador for Mezcal Vago. “My hope is that advocacy, and people captivated with supporting authentic producers, will encourage as many institutions as attainable to do the appropriate factor and honor mezcal’s necessary historical past. This may be performed by way of training and consciousness.”

A handful of mezcal trade specialists, from bartenders and restauranteurs to model ambassadors and drinks writers, beneficial their favourite mezcal-focused bar packages that emphasize authenticity, training, and ethics.

Mírate — Los Angeles

Since opening in 2022, Mírate has shortly ascended to the highest of the mezcal world. The bar program, led by Max Reis, combines artistic and scrumptious cocktails with a tremendous number of Mexican spirits that embody gins and its personal single-barrel Mexican rums. The bar usually hosts mezcaleros to conduct academic tasting occasions the place bartenders and fanatics can be taught instantly from the specialists who craft the spirits.

“Max Reis is a luminary within the beverage world, with a serious focus and devoted ardour for moral agave,” says Alicia Perry, beverage director at Quixote, an Oaxacan-inspired idea and mezcalería inside The Lafayette Resort in San Diego. “He’s identified to obtain and develop a formidable and influential mezcal assortment and program.” 

Mírate was lately acknowledged as one of many 50 finest bars in North America. Most significantly, Mirate is a testomony that it’s attainable to run a enjoyable, progressive bar program and nonetheless have a deep reverence for historically produced spirits and the artisans that craft them.

Bar Clavel — Baltimore

If training and transparency are key to a superb mezcal program, then Bar Clavel is among the many finest. 

“By no means have I had so many individuals inform me that Bar Clavel’s mezcal visitor training is rivaled by none, my bar included,” says Reis. “Carrying ethics on their sleeve, Clavel is main the mezcal motion in an space the place it’s the first of its form.”

“Lane Harlan is a passionate and educated proprietor,” says Pink Parker, managing member with El Buho Mezcal. “She educates her employees constantly, each within the bar and on journeys to Oaxaca or different agave-focused occasions. The individuals behind service are all effectively educated in each agave and spirits of Mexico. The agave choice, together with non-agave like sotol, has considerate intention behind each bottle and usually comes with a private story.”

Clavel’s dedication to training extends to transparency with each bottle. The employees is well-versed in manufacturing methods, taste profiles, product consistency, producer integrity, and most each element behind every bottle they serve.

“Understanding the dedication and fervour wanted to maintain this degree of service ongoing makes it tremendous spectacular to me,” says Parker. “It’s virtually as spectacular as the unique feat of opening up a profitable mezcalería in Baltimore in 2015.”  

Las Almas Rotas — Dallas

Las Almas Rotas is a laid-back restaurant and bar that quietly boasts a stellar menu of Mexican spirits and a top-tier academic program.

“The spirits choice at Las Almas Rotas is so intentional, highlighting conventional producers making ancestral and artisanal mezcals,” says Kevin Grey, a Dallas-based meals, beverage, and journey author. “There’s additionally a stable lineup of raicilla, bacanora, sotol, and uncertified Mexican spirits that don’t fall beneath an easy-to-categorize umbrella.”

The bar is a coaching floor and data heart for the trade. Mezcaleros are commonly hosted to share their data with native bartenders and fanatics. 

“The bartenders can pour esoteric flights and speak agave varietals all day, however they’re simply as joyful to sling Margaritas, beers, and tacos. So the vibe is all the time enjoyable and by no means pretentious,” says Grey.

“[I respect them] for championing conventional mezcal and taking the chance within the trade to go heavy on mezcal and never doubting it,” says Vasquez.

Madre! — Los Angeles

Los Angeles loves agave-based spirits. Few in L.A.’s meals and eating panorama have contributed extra to the native agave scene than Ivan Vasquez and Madre!, his group of Oaxacan eating places that boast excellent mezcal packages. “They’re Oaxacan-owned and stuffed with genuine cultural delight,” says Reis. 

“Ivan Vasquez has amassed one of many largest and among the most enjoyable mezcals I’ve ever tasted. He is without doubt one of the most influential voices within the mezcal group,” says Jesus Muñoz, supervisor and agave knowledgeable at Jaguar Moon, an upcoming tequila and mezcal cocktail bar in close by Ventura, California.

Vasquez lately hosted Mezcal Por Siempre in Los Angeles, a first-of-its-kind mezcal competition that showcased many mezcaleros and mezcaleras from Mexico which were unable to import their spirits to the U.S.

Ni Tuyo — Denver

Denver might not come to thoughts when pondering of nice agave bars, however Ni Tuyo is working laborious to vary that fame. 

“I like this genuine Mexican restaurant run by proprietor Nathan Ayala-Schmidt,” says Simmons. “This little oasis within the mountains is a testomony to heartfelt hospitality, with a rigorously curated checklist of agave spirits that reads like a Who’s Who of the agave world.”

The crew at Ni Tuyo excels with its hospitality. On high of a formidable checklist of mezcal, sotol, and bacanora, there’s a spotlight to increase data locally. Efforts embody a tasting membership and ample alternatives for next-level experiences. 

The Cupboard — New York Metropolis

An inventory of one of the best mezcal bars within the U.S. wants to incorporate The Cupboard. Based by bar luminary Greg Boehm, this small Manhattan bar boasts arguably the nation’s largest and most thoughtfully curated assortment of agave distillates.

“I like The Cupboard for its encyclopedic again bar. With one of many bigger agave-centric lists I’ve seen, their again bar is just outdone by the fervour and data of the employees,” says Simmons. 

The Cupboard is a must-visit for these adventurous and inquisitive towards mezcal. “By no means have I seen so many agave spirits I am unfamiliar with,” says Reis. “Noah Arenstein, who curates this system with Greg, is a tremendous information by way of their intensive assortment.”

Odin — Oakland, CA

Representing California’s Bay Space is Odin, a hip mezcalería and restaurant. Led by mezcal knowledgeable Hugo González, its agave-forward bar program options sotol and mezcal-based cocktails together with unique mezcal alternatives from Maestros del Mezcal.

“It’s a tremendous little mezcalería tucked away within the coronary heart of Oakland. Their private-batch effectively program is all the time successful for me, and the again bar boasts area of interest and ethically sourced spirits,” says Reis.

Odin additionally runs a mezcal membership, Agaves Raros. It gives fanatics with reductions and complimentary tastings. It additionally permits them to acquire uncommon bottles of agave spirits, all nice alternatives for the rising Bay Space mezcal scene.