The mezcal brand Palomas Mensajeras first landed on our radar in September 2019 at the Mezcal Reviews 3rd anniversary party. That night, we were honored by the attendance of legendary Mexican spirits importer William Scanlan of Heavy Metl Imports. He arrived with a few agave gems not-yet-available in the US. Holding up a bottle, he pointed at our veladoras. “Y’all should try this before it’s gone,” is probably what he said (it was a long time ago). It was a bottle of Palomas Mensajeras Ensamble made with Agaves cupreata, inaequedins, and rhodacantha. This was something new and special. The bra ..read more

After the Mexican Revolution, a new constitution was drafted in 1917, which included the empowerment of the government to expropriate privately held resources, including land. Sweeping land reform followed and continued to evolve for the years following. By 1934, Lázaro Cárdenas became president and he introduced policies that allowed for rural farmers to petition the government to exercise eminent domain against wealthy land owners in their area. The result of this petition would be the seizure of a small portion of the land from the wealthy land owners, and the establishment of communal land ..read more

While the sugar cane plant originated in southeast Asia, the people of Mexico have been using it for a variety of different purposes since the plant arrived via Spanish colonists in the 1500s. It was those same Spanish colonists who prohibited the production of “homemade spirits” through the late 18th century in order to protect sales of Spanish brandy. During this Spanish prohibition, rural producers all over the country continued to produce their sugarcane aguardiente or chinguirito as it was often called. “It was more common for it to be made clandestinely by women in their kitchens with si ..read more

We first heard of Emilio through the Mezcalero brand. Throughout the 2010s, the Mezcalero brand was known for bringing new producers, agaves, and distillation methods to the US market. It’s something they still do today, and they were the first brand to bring Emilio’s mezcal to the US in 2015, as single batch named Mezcalero No. 12. I distinctly recall that our friend Philipp (now of Heavy Metl Imports), who at the time was working at the Austin Wine Merchant, stashed a few bottles of Emilio’s Mezcalero No. 12 in a case of wine for us. There were dozens of wine cases stacked up against the fro ..read more

“Have you ever tried raicilla?” they asked, late into a mezcal-soaked Friday night. It was August 2016 in Austin, Texas. A few hours earlier, Jonny and I decided to do some serious mezcal research after ending the work week. The plan was to visit some of the top mezcal destinations in Austin. We began our night at Mezcaleria Tobalá above Whistler’s in East Austin. Sean, an agave guru ahead of his time, guided us through multiple interesting releases including a Wahaka VdM release distilled in a radiator. Back then, 5 different bottles of Wahaka VdM sat on the shelf. Now they are nearly extinct ..read more

The Volcán de Colima most recently erupted in early 2019, spewing fire and volcanic ash up to 13k feet above the crater. Our friend Pancho was camping on its steep slope when the eruption first started. “I heard this deep sub-surface crack,” he told us. “Like a bone breaking far beneath the ground we were standing on.” Also known as El Volcán de Fuego de Colima, it’s one of the most active volcanoes in all of North America, and has erupted repeatedly over the past several decades. The volcano is monitored closely by Mexican authorities and nearby communities are often evacuated during eruption ..read more

The Annual* Mezcal Reviews Anniversary tasting party is one of the premiere events in Austin, Texas. Each year, thousands of mezcal fans await the special date.. hoping for an invite. Those lucky few enjoy a night of mezcal flights, food, and high ABV conversation. Okay, that might be a bit exaggerated, but there has always been a ton of mezcal. Back in 2016, the inaugural tasting marked the launch of Mezcal Reviews. We tasted five flights which included barrel-aged mezcal and agave syrup mezcal! “You know nothing, Jon Snow” The barely double-digit crowd fit into a condo’s kitchen. A stick ..read more

After two years without an annual Mezcal Reviews research trip (¡pinche covid!), we finally traveled back to Mexico in May 2022. Our previous trips brought us to Oaxaca – by far the biggest mezcal producing state. After multiple Oaxaca trips, we knew it was time to expand our horizons. Mexico is a huge country with many types of agave spirits and Jalisco seemed like the logical next destination. Tequila time? Not exactly. Jalisco is not part of the Mezcal Denomination of Origin (DO) which includes nine states (as of this writing). But if you sip as many agave spirits as we do, you know that ce ..read more

This is a guest blog post from our mezcalerbro Chris Palenque visits are some of my fondest memories from trips to Oaxaca. A palenque is a mezcal distillery where the agave is roasted, crushed, fermented, distilled, and bottled. I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed intimate visits with some of the most gracious mezcaleros and mezcaleras. You might be preparing for your first, or tenth palenque visit, or you plan to go someday down the road. This blog will tell you everything you need to know about what to expect when visiting a palenque. There are hundreds of palenques within a few hours dri ..read more

We don’t drink much tequila. Most tequila on the US market is mass-produced and over-industrialized, which is a major a turnoff. While almost all tequila distilleries have seemingly lost their way with the use of diffusers and other chemical additives, there’s still a very small handful of producers that are making tequila the traditional way. Siembra Spirits and Cascahuin We were first introduced to the brand Cascahuin Tequila through David Suro. For those of you who don’t recognize that name, David has been an icon in the agave spirits community since the 1980’s when he opened the now famed ..read more