Cocktails with Mezcal
Mezcal is a Mexican agave spirit, distilled from roasted, fermented agave hearts under a protected denomination of origin — and the smoke from that roasting is its signature.
ABV40–55%
Taste profile
Roasted, earthy and distinctly smoky, with a strong agave aroma, a medium body and low bitterness.
How it's used
As a base, mezcal anchors a drink with roasted-agave smoke — it makes a smoky Margarita and shares the base of an Oaxaca Old Fashioned with tequila. It's also a smoky swap for gin or whisky in classics like a Negroni or Penicillin. Just a rinse of the glass, or a barspoon, adds smoke as an accent. Espadín is the friendly, everyday one to start with.
Substitutes for Mezcal
As a base its smoke defines the drink, so it's hard to replace. If mezcal is only a small accent in the recipe, another agave spirit — or a tequila — can stand in, though you'll lose the smoke.
Often confused with
Tequila
Tequila is a legally distinct agave spirit made only from blue agave within a narrower Mexican appellation, whereas mezcal may be made from over 30 agave species across a different set of denomination-of-origin states. Both fall under the same US TTB 'agave spirits' category.
