Mezcal Alipús San Andrés Ensamble. Are you familiar with “ensamble” mezcal? This ensamble has been one of my favorite mezcals; the flavors are so deliciously balanced between fruity, smoky, and herbaceous.

Ensamble (also sometimes called “del campo” or “mezcla”) mezcals are made with a combination of different agave subspecies instead of a single variety such as Espadín, Tobalá, Cuishe, etc. This style is not a modern trend but actually reflects traditional mezcal production practices in a world where mezcal is a way of life and community commodity, not a profit-seeking asset. In Mexican villages, mezcal is made for the local community; there are no brands, no labeling, and even no bottles (total BYOB – bring your own whatever-container, often just a plastic reused bottle, to fill up with mezcal)

There are a couple hundred different sub-varieties of agaves, and as a mezcalero harvests these wild plants to make the village mezcal, they may pick up several different species, whatever is conveniently found nearby. There is little incentive or practical reason to go harvest singular varieties for a batch, so whatever happens to be around goes into the batch – a beautiful ensamble that can taste wonderfully complex. “Blends” sometimes have a less favorable reputation in the world of spirits, but next time you try an ensamble mezcal, realize that it showcases a production tradition deeply rooted in the history of the spirit!