Mezcal is just smoky tequila" is one of the most repeated — and most wrong — things said about agave spirits. Tequila is actually a type of mezcal, legally speaking, made under its own stricter rules from a single agave variety. Mezcal is the broader, older category: dozens of agave species, hundreds of small producers, and a spectrum of flavor that runs from bright and citrusy to earthy, mineral, and fruity — smoke is just one part of the story, not the whole thing.
Here's what mezcal actually is, how it's made, and which bottles are worth your money.
Mezcal vs. Tequila: What's Actually Different
Tequila can only be made from one agave — Blue Weber — grown in a handful of designated regions, almost always cooked in steam ovens or pressure autoclaves. Mezcal can legally be made from dozens of agave species across nine Mexican states, most heavily concentrated in Oaxaca, and the traditional cooking method is completely different: agave hearts (piñas) are roasted for two to three days in underground pit ovens lined with volcanic stone, covered in agave fiber and earth. That underground roast is where mezcal's signature smoke comes from — tequila's steam-cooking method doesn't produce it at all.
Because so many agave varieties qualify, and because most mezcal is still made in small batches by an individual maestro mezcalero rather than a large distillery, no two producers taste the same, even when working with identical agave. That's the entire appeal for people who fall hard for this category — it rewards the same kind of obsessive terroir-chasing that wine and single-malt scotch people already understand.
The Three Legal Categories
Mexico's official mezcal standard, NOM-070, splits the category into three tiers based entirely on production method, not quality:
Mezcal (sometimes called industrial) permits autoclaves, column stills, and diffusers — the most efficient, large-scale production. It's not automatically bad, but it's the version furthest from tradition.
Mezcal Artesanal requires pit-roasting or above-ground masonry ovens, natural fermentation in wood, stone, or clay vessels, and distillation in copper or clay pot stills with no mechanical stripping. This is where the vast majority of what serious drinkers consider "real" mezcal sits — around 90%+ of the category.
Mezcal Ancestral is the strictest tier: agave must be roasted exclusively in underground pit ovens, crushed by hand or with a stone tahona wheel, fermented in natural vessels only, and distilled entirely in wood-fired clay pots — no copper allowed. It's slow, small-batch by definition, and the closest thing to how mezcal was made centuries ago.
Reading the label for these terms tells you more about what's actually in the bottle than any tasting note can.
Agave Varieties Worth Knowing
Espadín is the workhorse — roughly 90% of all mezcal is made from it. It's cultivated (not wild), takes about eight to ten years to mature, and delivers the category's most reliable flavor: roasted agave sweetness, citrus, and moderate smoke. It's the right place to start.
Tobalá, sometimes called the "King of Mezcal," grows wild in shaded, rocky highland terrain above 6,000 feet and can't be farmed in rows — every plant has to be foraged. The result is a smaller, more expensive pour with floral, fruity, almost delicate character that surprises people expecting something harsher.
Tepeztate takes up to 35 years to mature in the wild and produces a fraction of the yield of espadín, which is why it commands real prices. What you get for the wait is intensely aromatic mezcal — ripe tropical fruit and deep earth in the same glass.
Bottles Worth Trying
Chips Liquor carries El Jolgorio →, one of the more serious single-producer mezcal projects available in the U.S. — the kind of small-batch, single-agave releases most retailers never see. Availability shifts fast on the rarer expressions like Tepeztate and Tobalá, so check the current mezcal collection → for what's actually in stock before you go hunting for a specific one.
For an accessible, well-made espadín to start with, Madre Mezcal Espadin → is a clean, traditionally-produced entry point that won't overwhelm someone new to the category. If you want to see how blending agaves changes the profile, Bosscal Mezcal Joven → combines espadín and tobalá for a smoother, greener, less smoke-forward pour — green apple and citrus up front rather than campfire. And Yola 1971 Mezcal → is worth knowing for its story as much as its flavor: a women-run operation built on a recipe passed down since 1971, still made using the traditional 300-year-old method.
How to Drink It
Neat, in a small copal glass or wide tumbler, with a slice of orange and a pinch of sal de gusano (worm salt) on the side if you can find it — that's still the most authentic way to actually taste what a mezcal is doing.
For cocktails, the drink that changed everything is the Oaxaca Old Fashioned, created by Phil Ward at Death & Co in 2007 and credited with opening American bartending to agave spirits as seriously as whiskey. It's simple enough to make at home:
1½ oz reposado tequila
½ oz mezcal
1 tsp agave nectar
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir with ice and strain over one large cube in a rocks glass. Flame an orange twist over the top if you want the full effect, or just express it and drop it in. The tequila carries the body; the mezcal — just a half ounce — is there entirely for smoke and depth.
If you'd rather keep it simple, swap a splash of mezcal in for part of the tequila in a standard margarita. Bartenders have been doing exactly that for years, and it's the easiest way to learn what mezcal adds to a drink without committing a whole cocktail to it.
Where to Start
Espadín first, always — it's the reference point every other agave variety gets compared against. Once you understand what a clean, well-made espadín tastes like, the wilder, rarer stuff starts making a lot more sense.