PUNCH: The Best High-End Spirits for Cocktails

This year, we polled more than 25 bartenders across the country for their favorite high-end spirits to use in cocktails. While several of last year’s top-shelf picks are still highly favored, some exciting newcomers have emerged, along with a few trends: spirits that blur the line between categories (like Scotch aged in ex-rum barrels) seem to be on the rise, in addition to well-made flavored spirits (like a mezcal distilled with mango).

After sifting through the responses, we compiled the most popular choices in each category, plus some standout, impassioned recommendations. Here’s what surveyed bartenders had to say.

White Rum / Cane Spirit

Most popular: Clairins from The Spirit of Haiti

Recent years have seen a great white rum expansion, in which interesting, boldly flavored options have become more variable and more available stateside than ever before. Clairins from The Spirit of Haiti were most commonly mentioned here, particularly the Vaval, a floral and herbaceous bottling, and the Le Rocher, which Adler says is “similar to agricole-style rums, but with an increased funkiness and grassiness. The distillery also uses a percentage of dunder, the residual backwash in each batch, which makes it heavier on the palate with a light smokiness.” Also, these bottlings are still fairly affordable. “Like a lot of rums, some might not call these ‘top-shelf,’” notes David E. Yee, bar manager at Cobra in Columbus, Ohio, but that’s “because they’re radically underpriced.”

Aged Rum

Most popular: Hampden Estate

Tulloch sums it up: “Hampden Estate is high-octane, intense and makes a damn good Daiquiri.” While many surveyed bartenders recommend serving this spirit neat to fully appreciate it, Hampden Estate also shines in cocktails where it plays the starring role, like a rum Old-Fashioned. “I love a good high-ester Jamaican rum and this one ranks high on my list,” says Flowers. “Give me overripe banana, tropical fruit, terroir goodness!”

Overproof Rum

Most popular: Rivers Royale Grenadian Rum

Dennison and Flowers recommend this rum, especially in Daiquiris. “Rum, lime and sugar may sound simple, but with Rivers Royale Grenadian Rum, it is complex,” says Flowers. “It has the grassy, briny flavor of sugarcane juice rum that I love, but it also has herbaceous, tropical fruit notes that play exceptionally well in cocktails.” 

Bloomberg: The 15 Best New Bottles I Tried in 2024, From $26 to $26,000

Season’s greetings, spirits sippers! It’s Brad Japhe, the resident expert on the subject, reporting for duty. As is customary this time of year, I’m presenting my annual list of the absolute best bottles I encountered over the past 12 months. The stable of contenders was crowded in 2024: Of some 322 new expressions sampled, I counted no less than three dozen deserving of effusive praise. Sadly, some of those offerings are just so painfully pricey and/or excruciatingly allocated that I couldn’t, in good conscience, include them here.

Instead, my choices embody a wide variety of liquid across all categories and price points. Make no mistake, you will see bottles fetching four- or even five-figure sums—entries are organized in order of increasing cost—but it’s all relatively available for purchase. You won’t need an estate planner to broker acquisition.

But before we get to the big reveal, let’s recap the year’s major headlines. Beyond spotlighting the shape of the industry in 2024, these news items hint at where we’re headed in the months ahead.

For one thing, people aren’t paying as much for rare whiskey. A recent report from the financial advisory firm Noble & Co. indicated that the value of auctioned scotch cratered by 40% in 2024. But that hasn’t slowed the trend of formerly shuttered “ghost” distilleries rising from the grave across the Scottish landscape, as I reported this summer.

Tariffs proposed by the incoming administration mean your favorite tequila could effectively become 25% more expensive in the year ahead. And a separate trade war with the UK could persuade domestic scotch consumers to experiment with single malts from emerging markets such as India or New Zealand.

Or, perhaps they’ll start exploring American single malt, since the category is finally going to be recognized by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, after more than eight years of lobbying efforts.

But enough speculating about what’s coming. Here are my best bottles of 2024.

Alambique Serrano Rum Blend #5 — $70.Source: Vendor

Alambique Serrano Rum Blend #5

There’s more than just mezcal coming out of the highlands of Oaxaca. This artisanal brand from the steep hillsides of Santa María Tlalixtac specializes in world-class rum. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find sugarcane distillate anywhere drenched in as much complexity as this 65.9%-ABV spiced-banana bomb. It’s a 50-50 blend of column spirit, aged for 27 months in ex-bourbon casks, with pot still spirit aged for 19 months in new French oak. Cut it with a splash of water to extend a tobacco and toasted almond-toned finish. Or knock it back neat, if you dare. ($70)

Hampden Great House 2024 Jamaican Rum — $130.Source: Vendor

Jamaica’s holy house of funk never disappoints when it comes to full-bodied expressions, brimming with over-ripened fruit. Although the exact recipe of this annual limited release shifts each year, it invariably involves a blend of rums that epitomize the brand’s signature style. This time around it finds form in a 57%-ABV sipper that wows with an initial wave of marmalade and cranberry relish, revealing more tropical fruit undertones as it warms in the dram. ($130)

Gear Patrol: The Buffalo Trace of Rum Is Still Cheap and Easy to Find. For Now

A bourbon lover’s guide to the best spirit you’re not drinking yet.

Early adopters have long prophesied rum’s rise. Surely, it would only be a matter of time until bourbon drinkers would be drawn in by the two drinks’ similarities.

They were right in one sense but wrong in another. Bourbon whiskey shares much with rum but whiskey fanatics will only convert if given a pressing reason to. And ironically, it’s bourbon’s own swelling popularity that’s provided one.

There are other, perhaps even better, reasons the modern bourbon-whiskey drinker might be tempted by the rum world’s easy-going nature. However, the simplest argument comes down to numbers: if you could buy Pappy van Winkle for $130 right now, would you?

Bourbon whiskey’s popularity has reached the point where many coveted bottles — including Pappy, not to mention most of the Buffalo Trace lineup — are effectively unobtainable.

By contrast, rum offers more: varieties, flavors, eccentricities and, critically, availability. Step back and compare the breadth of flavor profiles in the rum world to that of bourbon — or even whiskey, bourbon’s parent category — and rum is the clear winner.

This is mostly due to one of rum’s unique traits: decentralization. Where bourbon, Scotch and spirits like tequila and cognac are, to different degrees, bound by regulation, geography and strict definitions, rum is a loose cannon.

Make it with molasses, you’ve got rum. Make it with fresh sugarcane, and you still have rum. Age it (or don’t), blend it with spices (or not), filter out the color (or add it) … it’s all rum.

With that in mind, here are the best rums for an ex-bourbon drinker to start with — from the true Pappy of rum to the Bacardi you should be drinking.

The Buffalo Trace of Rum

The Real McCoy Barbados Rum 12 Year

• Origin: Barbados

• ABV: 40%

• Price: $61+

Reliably excellent, well-made and expertly matured, The Real McCoy 12-year-old rum is named after a famous Prohibition-era rum smuggler whose product became known as “the real McCoy” due to the number of fakes at the time.

Today, it’s sourced from the Barbados-based Foursquare Distillery, the rum producer closest to capturing the enormous pull of Buffalo Trace Distillery in the bourbon world.

The Pappy of Rum

Great House Distillery Edition Single Jamaican Rum

• Origin: Jamaica

• ABV: 57% (2024)

• Price: $135+

Hampden Estate has been making rum on a near-continuous basis since 1779, and its Great House blend (released every year since 2019) has quickly earned a reputation for intense, rich flavor and a healthy dose of rum funk.

For longtime rum drinkers, it represents rum’s mighty potential. For former bourbon lovers, it offers a glimpse into a category not yet destroyed by hype magnets.

The “Made in USA” Rum

Privateer Rum Distiller’s Drawer

• Origin: USA

• ABV: Varies

• Price: $70+

This top-notch rum comes from an odd place: America. By most accounts, Privateer is the best in the country — and it’s not made anywhere near the tropics, either.

Based in Massachusetts, Privateer’s Distiller’s Drawer series offers rum from barrels hand-selected by its master distiller, and they’re some of the most whiskey-like bottles in the category. Expect oak, vanilla, burnt sugar and more classic bourbon notes.

The White Dog of Rum

Clairin Casimir

• Origin: Haiti

• ABV: Varies

• Price: ~$50

If you want to go straight to the bottom of the rabbit hole, Clairin is a good way to do it. It’s usually unaged, so it has more in common with white whiskey than bourbon proper. It’s also made with wild sugarcane and dunder, which is a bit like the sour mash of the rum world (but used far less frequently than its whiskey counterpart).

All this lends Clairin a deep funkiness that blends with the base spirit to invoke whiskey, mezcal, natural wine and rum all at once.

Vinepair: The 30 Best Rums for 2024

As much as any other spirit, it’s safe to say there’s a style of rum for everyone. Nations across the globe have made it for centuries, with regions and producers offering different interpretations via distinct base ingredients — fresh cane juice, cane syrup, and molasses — as well as varied fermentation and distillation techniques.

Expressions arrive unaged and uncut; matured but with color later stripped away; or following decades in casks old and new. Some bottles are specifically produced for cocktails; others, owing to the price tags that accompany them, demand to be sipped, whether neat, on the rocks, or proofed down to the drinker’s preference. Then there are flavored or spiced releases, which accounted for over 50 percent of the rum sold in the U.S. in 2023.

With all due respect to the fictitious sailors that typically adorn such bottles, we did not consider flavored selections for our annual roundup of the best rums to drink right now. But we did dive deep into the diverse range of examples listed prior, tasting more than 120 bottles from over 20 nations across the globe.

Those samples were sent to VinePair (free of charge) by producers, importers, distributors, and PR firms. We tasted each one non-blind because we recognize that price plays one of the most important roles when you’re shopping at the liquor store or online, and should therefore be considered when evaluating a product.

The final list does not represent the 30 highest-scoring rums from the tasting, and instead aims to showcase the best offerings at every price point and across every interpretation of the category. We’re confident that the final selection offers a solid option for every occasion, budget, and palate. After all, there’s a style of rum for everyone.

The Best Rums Under $50

Transcontinental Rum Line High Seas

As the saying goes, “what one rum can’t do, three rums can.” Sure, you can craft your own blends, but why bother when the fine folks behind Transcontinental Rum have done it for you with this excellent mix of Panamanian, Jamaican, and Martinique distillates? Expressive and brimming with character, its savory, vegetal, slightly sweet profile offers a solid foundation for world-class cocktails.

The Best Rums Under $100

The Spirit of Haiti Clairin Vaval

Bottled at a precise 53.5 percent ABV, this Clairin is produced by Distillerie Arawaks, owned and operated by Fritz Vaval, whose family has been in the farm distillery business for close to 80 years. Fermented using ambient yeasts and distilled on a proprietary still, the nose of this spirit juxtaposes papaya and mango with salty umami aromas. The palate commits to more fruity and vegetal notes, with an enjoyably abrasive finish that speaks to the hands-on, traditional practices that led to its creation.

Privateer True American Bottled In Bond Rum

Magical things are happening in the rum realm up in Massachusetts, specifically at the premises of Ipswich-based Privateer Rum. Fusing American traditions with Caribbean-style spirits, this molasses-based bottled-in-bond release might seem initially shy on the nose, but that’s only a reflection of its refined, nuanced character. Where aromas of molasses, mocha, and caramel arrive softly, they explode on the palate, landing with a rich, borderline syrupy mouthfeel. Ideal for bourbon drinkers, this is a bona fide sipper.

Papalin 7 Years Old

A blend of two Jamaican pot still rums, this release features spirits distilled and aged at Worthy Park and Hampden Estate. The nose reveals classic Jamaican funk alongside hints of underripe stone fruit and grassy notes. The palate shifts to savory, umami character, with a Band-Aid note emerging on the finish that evokes a touch of peated Scotch. A complex rum that makes for a great sipping experience with or without ice, at 46 percent ABV, most drinkers won’t find the switch in temperature and dilution necessary, but it certainly isn’t unwelcome on a warm summer’s day.

Beenleigh Artisan Distillers 2013 Single Blended Rum

Beenleigh, Australia’s oldest operating distillery, was founded in 1884 in the sugar cane-rich northeastern state of Queensland. Those 140 or so years of experience have translated to a fruity and energetic spirit here, with oak and vanilla aromas raising the curtain, followed by more pronounced notes of tropical fruit and melon. At 10 years old, the palate is similarly lively, with ginger syrup and pomegranate molasses leading the charge. This is an elegant but easygoing sipper.

Hampden Estate HLCF Classic

A flagship expression from one of Jamaica’s most renowned producers, HLCF is shorthand for “Hampden Light Continental Flavoured.” Production features ambient yeasts, extended fermentation periods, 100 percent pot still distillation, and four years aging in tropical climates, which the brand notes is “equivalent” to 11 years in Europe. What does that translate to? Plenty of funk on the nose with added aromas of papaya, tart/savory tropical fruits, and molasses. A classically Jamaican profile on the palate, this rum certainly sips above its modest age statement.

The Best Rums Over $100

Isautier Traditional Rum 16 Year

Another stellar inclusion from the small island of Réunion, this rum was put into barrel in May 2006 and bottled in September 2022. Its producer, seven-generation family-run Maison Isautier, unusually makes both cane-juice- and molasses-based rums. This release falls into the latter camp, arriving at 57 percent ABV — not that you’d guess that from the nose or palate, though. Instead, aromas of dried stone fruits, vanilla, and used oak shine through, while the flavor profile leans mineral-rich, with accents of roasted coffee, dried licorice, and Dmerara syrup.

La Maison & Velier Flag Series 24 Year Old Guyana Rum 1998

La Maison & Velier’s “Flag Series” aims to showcase remarkable bottles from regions where extended aging periods are an option. Guyana rum aged for almost a quarter-century definitely fits that bill, and in this case, the lengthy maturation was only possible because the initially bourbon-barrel-aged spirit was transferred at 2 years old from its tropical home to Europe, where it was then transferred to Port casks. The profile of the final spirit is understandably dense and concentrated and we found that it benefitted from a few minutes to fully open up. At which point, a stunning array of tropical fruit (particularly pineapple husk), oaky sweetness (vanilla), and red berry compote emerge. The palate follows with cacao, salted caramel, and zesty citrus notes, as if to remind us that this fine sipping rum is still remarkably full of life and energy.

Vinepair: The 15 Best Mezcals for 2024

Mezcal enthusiasts, of which there is a growing, occasionally dogmatic rank in the U.S., can reasonably argue that theirs is the ultimate spirit. Mezcal’s mid-aughts adoption in cocktail culture helped breathe new life into familiar cocktails via simple riffs, and gifted drinkers with more than a handful of beloved modern classics.

While those drinks rely on larger brands placed for that very use (like Del Maguey in the Naked & Famous), the category is overwhelmingly made up of small to tiny-scale producers. These artisans employ hands-on, traditional techniques, harnessing the diversity of seemingly endless species of agave to provide stunningly complex sipping spirits.

With much to geek out on, VinePair’s guide to the different types of mezcal, and the different varieties used in production, offers a comprehensive primer. But we’re here to explore brands, expressions, and the best bottles available right now on the U.S. market.

To compile this list, we tasted more than 60 samples submitted to VinePair (gratis) by producers, importers, distributors, and PR firms working on their behalf. Each was tasted non-blind, allowing us to factor price into our conclusion, and ultimately determine whether the bottle was worthy of inclusion on this list — the aim of which is not just to highlight the crème de la crème, but the best offerings across a wide range of price points.

NETA Tequilana Capón

NETA, Tequilana Capón – Wilfrido García Sánchez

Prior to the pandemic, the Tequilana agave (Blue Weber) grown by producer Wilfrido García Sánchez’s uncle Lalo made its way to Jalisco, where it was used to make unidentified tequilas. When those commercial relationships broke down because of shutdowns, Wilfrido and brother Ramón started crafting their uncle’s agave into fine, small-batch sipping spirits. One such example, this is a beautifully expressive release that begins citrusy, fruity, and mineral-rich, with an almost ghee-like quality lingering beneath. The palate is similarly bright and intense, with a finish that lasts an age.

Average price: $190
Rating: 96

Cinco Sentidos Cuishe

Cinco Sentidos, Cuishe – TÍO TELLO & EDUARDO “LALO” PEREZ CORTÉS

Technically sold as an uncertified agave spirit, this mezcal is produced from wild-harvested Cuishe that’s roasted with mesquite firewood and hand-chopped and mashed prior to fermentation. Its profile is lithe and clean, serving bountiful helpings of pineapple, jalapeño, and mineral notes. Smoke is an afterthought, and one that adds just a touch of savory character to the palate and finish, elevating the sipping experience to the next level.

Average price: $125
Rating: 94

the Philadelphia Inquirer: We tried almost 40 bottles of locally available tequila and mezcal—here are the 16 best

Mezcals and tequilas are the most complex, biodiverse and terroir-driven spirits on the planet. Our tasting panel named 16 favorite agave spirits at a range of price points.

I’m usually all about gifting whiskey come December. But I decided it was time for a change after a memorable reporting trip to Mexico this year following restaurateur and tequila producer David Suro on an epic agave spirits journey across Jalisco and Michoacán. Visiting with revered mezcaleros and tequila artisans was eye-opening and educational. It also reaffirmed my belief that agave spirits are the most complex, biodiverse, and terroir-driven spirits on the planet.

So grab your copitas, mis amigos! It’s time to take my annual holiday booze list south of the border.

With nearly 40 bottles to consider on the tasting table at my house recently, my jicara gourd cup was overflowing. The mere task of assembling these candidates was daunting. The agave spirits market has exploded with international interest but also become fraught with over-industrialization, celebrity label nonsense, and concerns about sustainability.

So I asked Suro, whose restaurant Tequilas is still under reconstruction from a February fire (a reopening is planned for spring), to help winnow them down. I focused on additive-free bottles made largely with traditional methods, all available in the Philadelphia area. Only a handful of tequilas made the final cut. (Suro’s own excellent Siembra Azul brand, which I recommend, was excluded.)

This final list of 16 recommendations is focused on mezcals and their counterparts, distillados de agave, which are essentially mezcals made outside Mexico’s officially designated areas of mezcal’s Denominación de Origin. Tequila is, in fact, one kind of mezcal, but its production methods are typically different and legally can be made from only one variety, Agave tequilana azul Weber, or “blue agave.”Mezcals can be produced from as many as 58 different kinds of agave — every batch is distinct, a reflection of terroir, craftsmanship, and local culture.

As a result, quality mezcals can be relatively more expensive, said Dan Suro, 27, David’s son, partner, and beverage manager at Tequilas, who helped lead our tasting.

“Mezcals were not meant for capitalism. They were were meant to be shared among communities,” he said. “Some batches are just 60 or 70 liters, and take over a month to make from plants that can be 20 years old and are under too much economic pressure right now (due to demand). Yeah, we should be paying $150 or more per bottle to support them.”

“There’s often a big difference,” Dan Suro says, “between premium-priced agave spirits and premium agave spirits.” We focused squarely on the latter, and this list showcases a range of prices. Some bottles are limited, by nature. But all are currently available either through Pennsylvania Fine Wine and Spirits (several by special order only), or in noted South Jersey retailers such as Benash Liquors in Cherry Hill, the region’s prime destination for coveted agave spirits, or Clayton Liquors in Gloucester County, whose growing collection can be sampled at the in-store “Tequila Temple” bar. Philadelphians, meanwhile, can preview many of these gems at agave-forward restaurants like El Mezcal Cantina, Cantina La Martina, La Llorona, Grace & Proper, Vernick Fish, Martha Bar, Condesa, Sor Ynez, and Superfolie. Of course, Tequilas will likely set the standard once again when it reopens in 2024.

Small Batch Mezcales

Neta Espadín Capón

Any perceived bias about the limitations of espadín, the most ubiquitous agave used in mezcal, should be punctured by this gorgeous spirit from Miahuatlán in Oaxaca. Ripe orchard fruits of pear and peach burst through the nose, with well integrated smoke that unfurl.

5 Sentidos Espadín-Cuixe-Madreculxe

An ensamble blend of three agaves (espadín, cuixe, madreculxe)is roasted together underground over mesquite and oak, crushed by hand mallets, and distilled in copper. This 70-liter batch was aged 15 years in glass, which allowed this rambunctious, high-proof spirit to harmonize impressively into rounded flavors that come in waves on the palate with a profile Dan Suro called prototypical Mihuatlán: dried green apples, pepper, and umami lingering on a gentle smoke. 5 Sentidos Espadín-Cuixe-Madreculxe, 101 proof, 750ml.

Vinepair: The 7 Best Mezcals to Gift This Holiday (2023)

Mezcal has been riding shotgun with tequila on its soaring stateside rise, and new expressions are debuting on the U.S. market left and right. But unlike tequila, which can only be produced in Jalisco using Blue Weber agave, mezcal can be distilled in nine different Mexican municipalities with roughly 40 different strains of the agave plant, making it a diverse and terroir-driven spirit. And although mezcal is rarely aged, it’s a spirit built on patience: It requires an involved, multi-day cooking process during which agave hearts are crushed and roasted in underground pits prior to fermentation. Even the agave itself can take up to 25 years to mature, making the mezcal it produces a treat that should be savored in good company.

To help you decide which one to purchase for the agave enthusiast in your life, we’ve put together this list of the best mezcals to gift this holiday season. Check out our list below for recommendations ranging from affordable, entry-level Espadín mezcals all the way to small-batch expressions from the nooks and crannies of the Oaxacan mountains.

Best Mezcal for Geeks

Ixcateco Papalome

If you already have a few Espadín mezcals on your back bar, take this chance to explore the rare Papalomé (meaning “butterfly” in Nahuatl) variety. It’s a wild-harvested agave and often compared to Tobalá, which is smaller and more compact than most varieties. This particular expression is made with traditional, rustic production methods, including fermentation in rawhide and distillation in clay pots that lend themselves to a funky, intriguing palate. Wafts of leather and earthy minerality are prominent on the nose, followed by a sweet-and-savory palate starring fire-roasted corn.

Best Limited-Edition Mezcal

NETA Tequilana Ramón and Wilfrido García Sánchez

We’re unabashed fans of NETA here at VinePair, and you’ll see why if you get your hands on this home-run release. This one is made from Tequilana (a.k.a. Blue Weber agave), the agave used in tequila production. Produced in Oaxaca by the talented mezcaleros and brothers Ramón and Wilfrido García Sánchez, this rare expression dishes up a plume of tropical fruit, minerality, celery, and peppers. On the palate, the fruit character shines even brighter with a hint of diesel-like funk on the finish. Only a little over 400 bottles of this spirit were produced, but it’s worth the hunt, and should definitely be savored over time. Drink this one on its own or with a side of birria tacos, and you’re in for a treat.

Los Angeles Times: A mecca for mezcal: These are the best agave bars in L.A.

“You’ve got to put a bottle of mezcal on the ofrenda,” says Ivan Vasquez, owner of Madre Oaxacan Restaurant & Mezcaleria, with four locations across L.A. County and the largest small-batch mezcal collection in the U.S. “For me, and back in the villages, a bottle of mezcal has to be there.

“On Día de los Muertos, you drink a copita with your loved ones,” Vasquez instructs. “It’s the only spirit that keeps our loved ones alive. When I drink mezcal on Día de los Muertos, I’m reunited with my grandpa. Thanks to him, I was introduced to mezcal.”

While tequila has had a couple centuries to gain an international following, the rise of mezcal and regional spirits like sotol and bacanora is more recent. It was only in the ‘90s that mezcal gained Denomination of Origin (DO) status, which restricts legal and commercial use of the word, and paved the way for it to be sold across the globe.

The spirit, which imparts earthy tasting notes, exploded in popularity over the pandemic, partially because of the heritage involved — mezcal producers, or mezcaleros and mezcaleras, often utilize methods that have been honed across generations and are unique to their family or village. The final product, Vasquez says, delivers a flavor that can be more layered and complex than wine.

Also known as maguey, the spiky agave plant has been revered by Indigenous Mexicans for millenniums, providing food, practical items such as rope and sandals and fermented beverages like pulque. When Spanish colonizers arrived with the still, agave wine was distilled into spirits like tequila, made exclusively from agave tequilana, and mezcal, which can be made from over 40 other agave types.

“Los Angeles is like the mecca right now for agave distillates,” said Rocío Flores, a mezcalera who grew up splitting time between L.A. and Jalisco and now hosts agave tastings and educational experiences, including the program at Guerrilla Tacos. “It’s probably the one place in the world where you can find the most diverse, the most amazing mezcals that you can’t even find in Mexico in one place all together.”

The global appreciation for Mexico’s ancestral spirits has influenced the tequila industry too. For his part, Vasquez only works with small producers and serves tequila blanco exclusively — no reposados or añejos. When customers ask for corporate brands like Casamigos, he and his staff use it as an opportunity to educate.

“I tell them, ‘Let me bring you several options that are higher proof at a lower price’ and I ask them to enjoy it neat,” he says. “They’re just amazed when they try it.”

L.A. was already a great place to drink agave distillates, but these days the options are overflowing. Included on the list below are agave-focused bars that prioritize stocking small-batch producers and offer flights that encourage imbibers to sip in the traditional style. Some, like Vasquez, even sell rare bottles out of their bars. Whether you’re toasting in celebration or stocking up to savor with your ancestors on Día de los Muertos, these are the best agave bars in Los Angeles.

Imbibe: In Mexico, Families Balance Generations of Mezcal Tradition With Modernization

 TÍO TELLO

Eleuterio Perez Ramos, or “Tío Tello’’ as he’s known among the small community of El Nanche in Oaxaca’s Miahuatlán region, scrambles to cover his freshly roasted agaves. A rare, spring hailstorm has settled over his newly built palenque (mezcal distillery). Tío Tello roasts agave only a few times a year, and almost always in the dry season. Small batches can mean higher risk when you’re making, at most, 2,000 liters of mezcal a year. Any loss is deeply felt, and waterlogged agaves pose specific challenges requiring years of experience to overcome.

Tío Tello’s a little over 70 and sometimes walks with a cane, but he moves quickly when the safety of his agave is at stake. He gathers a mix of bamboo mats and plastic sheets, to protect them from the hail. These agaves took between 10 and 20 years to mature—they could be ruined in an instant.

His youngest son, Eduardo “Lalo” Perez Cortés, works in tandem, doing more of the heavy lifting, moving the agaves to safer shelter while directing two neighbors who are here to pitch in. At 32, Lalo’s the youngest of Tío Tello’s eight sons, deeply tanned and baby-faced, with a bright smile and a compact, strong frame. Some mezcaleros tend to have a quiet, wiry strength from constant manual labor—chopping and mashing agaves by hand is among the hardest work around.

EDUARDO “LALO” PEREZ CORTÉS

Tío Tello and Lalo work with an easy yet practiced rhythm. Lalo’s worked under his father’s tutelage since he was a toddler. Lalo studied accounting in school, but returned to El Nanche to work with his father, and now lives with his wife and two children within sight of their new palenque. It was finished in late 2022, but Tío Tello has been working this rugged piece of land for more than 30 years.

Miahuatlán is a little over two hours’ drive southwest of Oaxaca City, at the edge of the central Oaxacan valley along the Sierra Madre del Sur. Past low, rolling hills and endless variations of brown scrub punctuated by neatly planted fields of agave, down the road from the massive federal prison outside the town of Mengoli de Morelos, sits El Nanche.

Mezcal lovers will tell you that this unforgiving corner of the valley is where the best mezcal in Oaxaca, potentially even in all of Mexico, is made. Spirits produced in pristine environments are frequently romanticized, but the harshness of Miahuatlán seems to provoke a certain intensity of the spirit. High-toned, mineral-forward, and with a marked salinity, these mezcals are unmistakably of Miahuatlán. It could be the terroir, the astonishing biodiversity of agaves, or the technical precision of the region’s producers, but another answer seems simpler: There’s immense value in the generational knowledge passed down in close-knit, extended families of mezcaleros.

OAXACA’S MIAHUATLÁN REGION.

Mezcal’s soaring global popularity has complicated an already complex generational handoff within Oaxaca’s rural communities. These families need to cope with the past while preparing for their future. Yet there’s only so much planning a family can do to secure their legacy. Ultimately, the next generation has many questions to resolve. Do they maintain the family “recipe”? With many of these families so rooted in tradition, even minor changes are magnified. Do they modernize and chase what could be elusive money through multinational liquor conglomerates? These days, opportunities exist in even the most remote parts of Mexico.

Tío Tello recalls that when he was 11 or 12, he started helping his own father by doing small errands. “I brought lunch and dinner at first, but then I would stay and keep him company,” he says. “Since that time, I’ve dedicated myself to the work of mezcal.” Lalo learned along the same path. By the time Lalo could walk, he was watching his father and grandfather make mezcal. The manual labor is essentially the same across generations: processing agaves by hand, scooping the bagasse—roasted and fermented agave fibers—from the wooden tanks into the still.

As a young man, Tío Tello and his family mostly worked with arroqueño agaves, sort of a super-charged espadín, along with bicuixe, a narrow karwinskii subspecies that looks like a giant matchstick once trimmed. The initial wave of modernization started in the 1970s with the introduction of new agave varietals from other parts of Mexico. Arroqueños take more than twice as long to mature as the sweeter and faster-growing espadín. Much of the old agaves were made into mezcal and then not replanted. The rustic field blends of Tío Tello’s youth, using whatever ripe agaves could be harvested at a particular moment, faded away as espadín began to dominate.

“The fermentation will talk to you. I sniff the tank every hour and have to make sure I don’t miss the perfect moment,” says Tío Tello. “It asks for water or tells you when it’s ready for the still. You have to listen.” Unsurprisingly, Lalo’s style is similar to his father’s, but he’s made some small adjustments, especially in how he blends his “cuts,” the crucial separations between the heads, hearts, and tails of the distillation. Together they continuously refine their blending techniques over each new batch of mezcal.

The new palenque promises a smooth handoff and a future for Lalo and his children, but “new” here is still relative. Three worn, wooden fermentation vats sit in the shade under a curved, corrugated metal roof. There’s no electricity or instrumentation, just a few open bulbs for late-night checking of the stills. The hail continues, but under the safety of the roof, Tío Tello’s neighbors continue processing the agaves by hand in a practiced dance—one shaving off chips of roasted agave with a machete, while the other smashes the pieces to bits with an old wooden mallet.

At the end of the day, Tío Tello has taught his son to embrace the rhythms of the palenque. The most important things he hopes to impart to his son, he says, are “preparation, organization, and punctuality.” These sometimes feel like totems of a bygone bucolic era, but this is the only way Lalo knows. “We’re making good, rico [tasty] mezcal that people like,” says Lalo. “We don’t need to change anything.

Logoche is a small community of a little over 100 people not far from El Nanche in Miahuatlán. The village is rightfully famous for its concentration of mezcal production, with many producers belonging to the Grupo Productor Logoche cooperative. There’s an openness to mezcal production here—possibly the result of everyone working together on a few palenques until very recently—and many producers are experimenting with technology alongside traditional practices.

Paula Aquino Sanchez is a dominating presence at her family’s palenque. She and her husband, Hermogenes, have recently become well-known mezcal producers in the United States. Their mezcal, bottled as part of the Neta label, sells for up to $200 a bottle. Likewise, Sanchez commands an unusual level of respect in a country and region where traditional, rigid gender hierarchies are omnipresent. She often takes the lead on mezcal production, but is now in a position where she can pick and choose how she contributes. She’ll occasionally make a batch herself, like the cuixe she pours, laden with so much rich, cooked agave flavor it tastes of maple syrup. Still, she makes the smallest batches among her family because “I’m always in the kitchen,” she says.

Despite that, her presence is inseparable from the palenque. While her husband and youngest son, Jorge, weigh massive, freshly harvested espadín agaves at more than 250 kilos each, Sanchez tours around her family’s agave fields, pointing out medicinal herbs and other rare plants. Paula and Hermogenes have three sons and a daughter. They all work together at the palenque and she recalls how, “after school, I would say to my children, ‘Today is the day we learn distilling, or today we learn fermentation,’ and I would make them do that exact activity.”

AGAVE HEARTS.

Balancing a traditional matriarch’s duties on a farm in Mexico alongside making mezcal is a lifestyle few people (even those in her community) can understand. Sanchez’s path was nontraditional and born from necessity. She has few memories of her father, who also made mezcal and died when she was 6 years old. Alongside her older brother Eugenio, who has since also passed away, she was making mezcal at a very young age, primarily as a breadwinner for her impoverished family. Like Lalo, she initially helped by bringing food to the older men working on the palenque—her grandfather, uncles, and older brother—but she was doing the difficult, manual labor at a much younger age. There were only a handful of palenques in Logoche at the time, so everyone worked closely together, sharing knowledge and techniques.

While her grandfather was the strongest presence in teaching her the art of mezcal production, she considers her late brother her mentor. Like Tío Tello, they were taught by the CRM to double distill mezcal in the 2000s. Sanchez says she prefers the double-distilled mezcal because the old style “gave me headaches,” and is proud of the technical precision she honed in distilling alongside her late brother.“We notate everything now, and I can see that it yields more. We make fewer errors and are always improving.”

Here, they use a modified wood shredder to process agaves. A new, unused tahona sits in one corner of the palenque. While her father and grandfather worked with a tahona, they switched to save time and labor. Now, their youngest son, Jorge, is advocating for the tahona, and they plan to return to the practice soon.

The blending of the old and the new is apparent everywhere in Logoche, but especially through Sanchez. She’s shrewd—over the past decade, making mezcal has given her and her children opportunities that would have been unfathomable even a decade ago—but she still must work within the traditional Mexican patriarchy, balancing all of the work of home and family alongside the grueling labor of making mezcal.

Sanchez respects what she learned from her grandfather and brother, but her focus is forward. She’s proud of her family’s mezcal, but sees room for improvement and refinement. Even with all of the changes she’s witnessed, the traditional culture surrounding mezcal remains.

Vinepair: The 30 Best Rum Brands (2023)

Despite its eternal status as the “next big thing” in drinks, rum sales still lag behind multiple other spirits in the U.S., including whiskey, vodka, tequila, and Cognac. Still, there are signs that perceptions of rum are definitively shifting.

Of the almost $2.5 billion U.S. drinkers spent on rum in 2021 — the most recent data available — $229 million went toward “super premium” bottles, the most expensive price segment. Though still a fraction of total sales, this figure is more than 10 times greater than the amount spent on top- shelf rum 15 years ago, proving that folks aren’t only reaching for rum to mix Mojitos and Piña Coladas.

Impressive though that growth is, numbers and spreadsheets do little to capture the depth of the category. With rum brands operating in multiple continents, using two starkly different base ingredients — molasses and fresh cane juice — the main consideration when buying rum is not how much to spend but how you’re looking to enjoy the spirit. The category’s vast range of styles and ever-improving quality ensures that, whether it’s cocktail hour or time for a nightcap, there’s a bottle for every occasion and price point.

This list captures every aspect of that impressive landscape, from single-varietal agricole to transcontinentally aged and blended bottlings. Here are 30 of the best rums to buy right now.

Alambique Serrano Single Blend #1

Alambique Serrano Single Blend #1

Another stunning Oaxacan cane rum, this blend combines Cognac-cask-aged column still distillate with French-oak-aged pot still rum. The duo comes together in perfect harmony, serving up a captivating mix of fruit and umami notes on the nose. The palate then takes a pretty abrupt, but no-less enjoyable, turn, heading in a green, vegetal, earthy direction. This bottle provides further proof that Oaxaca is a serious player in the rum landscape.

Clear as a Bell

These elegant (but electric) digestifs are the perfect pick-me-up, nightcap, and grand finale—all in one glass

BY AMIEL STANEK PHOTOGRAPH BY ISA ZAPATA

Once the dessert forks have been surrendered and everyone swears they couldn’t possibly take even one more bite, a final pour of something special on Thanksgiving just feels right. While I can see the merits of trotting out a bottle of bark-bitter amaro or a mellow bourbon that’s seen a few years in oak, these days I take a different tack. When I want to round out a big meal in style, the choice is clear—a clear spirit, that is. I’m talking about things like eau-de-vie, grappa, mezcal, and clairin. Though these liquors are unique in terms of their geographic origin, composition, and production, they share a brazen character, making them ideal meal-enders. Instead of relying on extensive aging in wood to lend complexity, each spirit tastes unabashedly of the raw materials from which they were distilled and the places where they were made. Heirloom apples. Hand-harvested grapes. Pit-roasted agave. Wild-fermented sugarcane. These idiosyncratic products are as lively and expressive as the day they trickled out of the still; with no time spent in barrels to discipline their rougher edges, flavor has nowhere to hide. And at the end of a rich meal, one sharp sip immediately snaps you back to consciousness, like a cold plunge after a sweaty sauna session.

As is the case with all booze, spirits made with care by small, independent producers are going to be more compelling and often boast a price tag to match. But this is the most special of occasions, after all—when else are you going to break out the good stuff?

CYRIL ZANGS – DOUBLE ZÉRO EAU-DE-VIE DE CIDRE

This bright 100-proof apple brandy is a collaboration between culty Normandy cider maker Cyril Zangs and renowned distillery Calvados Roger Groult. It smells and tastes like a brisk fall stroll through an orchard: ripe fruit, a crisp breeze,

LAURENT CAZOTTES – GOUTTE DE REINE CLAUDE DORÉE

Laurent Cazottes’s eaux-de-vie are the stuff of legend, crafted from small parcels of his own lovingly tended trees and vines. To make this style, Cazottes painstakingly dries and hand-pits greengage plums before fermentation, which yields an extraordinarily concentrated elixir.

CLAIRIN VAVAL RUM

Traditional clairin, perhaps Haiti’s most revered spirit, is rum for mezcal nerds. Made from freshly pressed heritage sugarcane varietals and fermented with no added yeasts, each distillation is a unique expression of terroir. This one, from second-generation producer Fritz Vaval, is sunny and herbaceous, each sip gracefully ping-ponging between delicate flowers and salty funk.

Commanders and Cocktails!

Welcome to COMMANDERS AND COCKTAILS!

Some folks know that before I was able to work full time in comics, I worked in a variety of jobs in the wine and spirits field. And the final one of those was for my good friend Nicolas Palazzi’s PM Spirits. Just COMMANDER IN CRISIS, PM works its ass off to be unique, to create trends rather than follow them, and offer craftsmanship and creativity in a field that has, at times, been known to stagnate. I wouldn’t be where I am, writing this, without the support of friends and employers like Nicolas.

So, I thought it would be fun to turn the tables and feature him and his crew below, offering some in-universe cocktail recipes to honor the heroes of the Crisis Command. In the paraphrased words of a greater power, when I left PM I was but the learner. Now, I am the master (well, or closer to it)! And either way, I’m happy to return the support with a feature here, and invite creatives from other fields into the world of the Crisis Command.

STEVE ORLANDO

Commanders in Crisis, Vol. 2

PRIZEFIGHTER

2oz Navazos Palazzi Malt or Corn Whisky
0.75oz La Quintinye Rouge Vermouth
0.5oz cherry liqueur
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Barspoon Absinthe

Instructions:

Build in rocks glass over ice and stir briefly. Garnish with burnt blood orange peel.

SEER

2.5oz Neta Espadin Destilado de Agave
0.5oz La Quintinye Dry
Barspoon of olive brine
Pinch of salt

Instructions:

Build in mixing glass over ice and stir until cold. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with 3 green olives on a pick.

SAWBONES

2oz Père Labat Rhum Blanc 59%abv
4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Sparkling mineral water

Instructions:

Pour Rhum into highball glass over ice. Stir briefly to chill. Top with sparkling water and bitters. Stir once again to combine. Serve without garnish. or Neat pour of Jacky Navarre Cravache d’Or Cognac

ORIGINATOR

1oz Nouaison Gin by G’Vine
0.75oz lemon juice
0.5oz Laurent Cazottes Folle Noire
0.5oz simple syrup
2oz sparkling wine

Instructions:

Build all ingredients except sparkling wine in a shaker and shake lightly to combine. Add sparkling wine to the shaker and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a spring of fresh lavender.

FRONTIER

2oz Père Labat Rhum Blanc 40% or 59% abv - Choose your strength
0.5oz Laurent Cazottes 72 Tomatoes

Instructions:

Build in mixing glass over ice and stir until cold. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with freshly ground black pepper.

COCKTAIL CREDITS: David Yi-Hsian Dong and Nicolas Palazzi of PM Spirits.

Your Sustainable Drinking Starter Pack

Solving the sustainability problem that cocktails pose—or any consumption, for that matter—is no easy feat. But easing into it by introducing low-waste practices and thoughtful sourcing can go a long way. And, thanks to a growing crop of eco-minded spirit producers and drink-makers, there’s never been a better time to drink sustainably.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, there are plenty of ways to lessen the footprint of your own home bar. It can start with a zero-waste approach to using citrus, in which flavor can be extracted from the peels, hulls and pith that might otherwise be discarded, or by seeking out spirits to stock your bar that promote biodiversity, source local crops and support farming communities.

Bottles to Try

Neta: The agave spirits bottler and exporter works with small, family-owned farms to bring their products to market at a profitable price point. As such, producers are able to maintain traditional mezcal practices and crops while avoiding overharvesting or the loss of agave biodiversity for the sake of meeting demand.

What’s the Best New Mezcal That’s Earned a Spot on Your Bar?

With distinctive flavors that produce complex and nuanced cocktails, mezcal has secured its position as a bartender favorite. Made from more than 30 different agave species, the smoky sipper has flavors that run the gamut, including  from vegetal, floral, fruity, and spicy. Mezcal has become so popular as of late that finding a bar program without the spirit would prove to be a daunting task.

To help home bartenders add some Mexican spirit to their bar lineup, drinks experts are sharing their latest favorite mezcals. From artisanal seasonal releases, to an offering that dials down the smoke, to a celebratory mezcal that uses raw turkey breast, read on for the 11 new bottles that bartenders are springing for.

“Neta Mezcal Bicuixe 2018 by Cándido García Cruz: Neta Spirits always has excellent small-batch releases from some of my favorite Miahuatlan producers, but this one made my all-time bottle list and was a bright spot on my backbar during the last few months. I’ve enjoyed sharing this bottle with our guests and reminiscing about summers in Oaxaca.” —James Simpson, Beverage Director/Manager, Espita and Las Gemelas, Washington, D.C.

“Neta ‘Hotel June’ Mexicano Verde & Bicuixe or Legendario Domingo Guerrero Cupreata: While the L.D. Guerrero is not a new release, both of these are favorite sippers of mine. The Neta is a major body high, and the L.D. Guerrero is like drinking dark cocoa and fresh-cut jalapenos.” —Steve Livigni, F&B Partner and Beverage Director, Caravan Swim Club at Hotel June, Los Angeles

The 9 Best New Rums to Drink Right Now

Spirits worth sipping.

Distilled from cane juice rather than molasses, rhum agricole is a different beast from standard rum, with a distinctly grassy, vegetal flavor profile. Cane-based rum can be produced anywhere, but the best-known expressions come from the French Caribbean. Pere Labat is from Guadeloupe’s Distillerie Poisson, the oldest distillery on the island of Marie-Galante. The un-aged rum, distilled to the high-octane “local proof” at which the natives like to drink it, is powerfully vegetal on the nose but much less so on the palate, where it displays notes of vanilla and mint in addition to the classic agricole grassiness. It’s surprisingly easy to drink neat or on the rocks and makes for a great change of pace in a daiquiri.

The 11 Best Mezcal Brands You Need To Try

Tequila and mezcal. What's the difference, right?

Quite a bit. Both tequila and mezcal do come from the agave plant, and both are indigenous liquors to Mexico. But the comparison stops there.

NETA Espadin 

What's cool about NETA is that they work with small producers from Mihuatlan, Oaxaca, and the southern valley. For this particular Espadin (arguably the most "common" mezcal), they worked with master mezcalero Candido Garcia Cruz, who works with "quiotudo," meaning he cuts each plant before it flowers.

"This leads to better yields and develops a richness of flavor that is not found in less mature agave," said Jimenez. "It has a brassy, bright nose with a hint of fruit and flowers with a gentle touch of smoke."