45% ABV - Mezcal - Oaxaca, Mexico

Everybody likes a deal, right? That jacket you've been wanting is 50% off?! Buy it now! But some things shouldn't be cheap. Like surgery. Or child care. Definitely sushi. Well folks, add agave spirits to that list.

Unlike grains and grapes that we use to make whiskey/gin/vodka/brandy, agaves are not an annual crop. They take anywhere from 4 to 30 years or more to come to full maturity! And many of them are made in remote regions that lack infrastructure and modern conveniences, leading to inefficiencies in production and higher transportation costs. So we can't expect them to be as affordable as a vodka or gin made in a major city from cheap and plentiful grain. Mezcal and Tequila SHOULD be expensive. And if it isn't, you have to wonder if someone is getting taken advantage of in the process and it might be you.

Which brings us to San Bartolo. This is our current favorite affordable mezcal on the market. It's our mezcal of choice for cocktails at the bar next door. It's rich and roasty with a whisper of smoke. Minerals and tropical fruit. Approachable without being simple. Made by Enrique Diaz Cruz, a 5th generation Mezcalero, in the village of Santa Maria Quiegolani in the Yautepec Valley of Oaxaca. Pit roasted, tahona ground, naturally fermented in pine vats, and double distilled in copper alembic stills.