What's the Best Mezcal? Taste Test Results

To find the best mezcal, first you've got to understand what mezcal actually is. As your insufferable friend has probably already told you, all tequila is a type of mezcal, but not all mezcals are tequila. Mezcal is a blanket term that refers to spirits made from the agave plant. While tequila is made exclusively with blue agave, mezcal can be made with any number of agave species, although most of it is made using the espadín variety.

Agave ferments have roots in Mesoamerican culture, but mezcal specifically was invented during Mexico’s colonial era with the introduction of Filipino-style stills. Mezcal is typically separated into several different distinctions. Often, they’re labeled based on the type of agave used to make the spirit—espadín (the most common), tobalá, and cuishe to name a few. When more than one variety of agave is used, the mezcal is labeled as ensemble. Like tequilas, they may also be aged into reposados and añejos, or designated as ancestral or artisanal, which refer to the methods used to make the spirit.

• How we picked the products
• How we evaluated each mezcal
• The best mezcal for sipping: Del Maguey Vida Clásico Mezcal
• The best mezcal for cocktails: Ilegal Mezcal
• Other mezcals we tested

How we picked the products

We love small, artisanally produced mezcals, but they often aren’t distributed nationally, nor are they available behind most bars. That’s why we chose to focus our testing on large, popular, well-known brands that you’ll be more likely to find in liquor stores or at your local bar.

Although mezcal is made in an array of styles, and from many different types of agave, we narrowed our scope so that we could taste like with like. Our taste test focused exclusively on joven mezcals made from espadín agave which were widely available.

How we evaluated each mezcal

Although mezcal comes in many styles each with its own bouquet of flavors, most people know the spirit for its steady, smoky notes which are a result of its production process. Tasters said that smokiness should be direct and pure, not artificial or grating. Ideally those notes are balanced by the vegetal, grassy notes of agave, which might blossom into any number of aromas or flavors—citric, floral, herbal, or earthy. Mezcal shouldn’t taste astringent, our tasters said, nor should it leave a hot, burning sensation in our mouths and throats.

To test our mezcal, we poured a portion of each into unmarked glasses from which each taster took a sample. They poured it into a tulip-shaped glencairn glass which allowed them to better detect each mezcal’s aroma, and took a couple sips to note the flavor of each.

The best mezcal for sipping: Del Maguey Vida Clásico Mezcal

Del Maguey’s Vida Clásico was among the first mezcals to gain widespread popularity in the United States. Our tasters loved its herbal, grassy agave-forward flavor.

Why it won us over: Tasters said that Del Maguey’s joven mezcal expressed a light smokiness that didn’t overpower the other notes. And that was a good thing—this mezcal has a lot to offer. There were grassy agave notes, but tasters also mentioned piney, forest flavors, and hints of aromatic cinnamon. This beautiful bouquet of aromatics, smoke, and other notes was enough for our tasters to deem Del Maguey the sipper’s mezcal.

We’d love it in: a lowball glass with some excellent ice, or in something like ranch water, where it won’t be complicated by too many other ingredients.

The best mezcal for cocktails: Ilegal Mezcal

With a light smoky taste, our tasters said Ilegal mezcal would play well with other flavors at work in a cocktail.

Why it won us over: With a nice round body and a gentle smokiness, Ilegal stood out from the pack. While other mezcals we tasted revealed huge hits of smoke, or grating acrid notes, Ilegal’s waft of campfire was tempered by its other elements. Some on our tasting panel mentioned a note of hay, others said leather, still others mentioned a light floral sweetness. These flavors unraveled on the palate when we sipped the straight spirit, but tasters said they’d be highlighted in a cocktail as well.

We’d love it in: a bright paloma or an herbal rosemary mezcal fizz.

We also tried:

• 400 Conejos Mezcal: Some said 400 Conejos would work in a cocktail like a margarita, but others deemed it too astringent.
• Casamigos Mezcal: Our tasters said Casamigos’ mezcal was simply too mild in flavor.
• Madre Mezcal: Many tasters were intrigued by Madre’s intense smoke, but in the end, some tasters deemed it too polarizing for either cocktails or sipping.
• Manojo Mezcal: Another solid performer, Manojo was ultimately too creamy in its mouthfeel.
• Mezcal Unión: Although it had a long, lingering finish, our tasters said there was an artificiality to the smokiness here.
• Montelobos Mezcal: With a sharp astringency, our tasters preferred other mezcals to this one.
• Yola Mezcal: Though there were some pleasant fruity notes, tasters found Yola to be unbalanced in its smokiness, and didn’t detect much true agave flavor.