Del Maguey Vida. Mezcal is tequila’s less well-known, but cooler, more hipster sibling (well technically, mezcal is the term for any agave-based spirit, *including* tequila, but let’s just focus on the more common interpretation of mezcal as a type of smoky agave spirit).

Mezcal is also the Mexican liquor that has been popularized/marketed with The Worm (yes, the worm is actually part of the mezcal marketing ploy, not tequila’s). Similar to tequila, mezcal is made from the agave plant, though using a different method and thus producing a very different spirit. Unlike tequila, which is made by oven-cooking the agave plant “hearts” (called piñas and look like a pineapple after its leaves are cut off) before fermentation/distillation, mezcal is made by roasting the piñas underground, resulting in a heavily smoky flavor sort of reminiscent of a peaty scotch.

The reason why 100% agave tequilas and especially mezcals usually run for pretty high prices is due to the labor intensive manual process of cultivating, harvesting, and preparing the agaves (which alone take 7-15 years to mature!) for production. Luckily, Del Maguey makes this delicious version at a superb price for those just looking to venture into this adventurous spirit! One day I’ll own some even higher shelf mezcals but for now I’m happily enjoying this bottle of Vida.

Click here for some mezcal cocktail recipes!