(Photo credit: Joe Pilié – unsplash)
The agave plant is native to the hot and arid regions of America and comes as a surprise to most. Especially for the delicious elixirs the plant produces, it needs very little extra water to survive. In addition to making edible flowers, the juice from the agave plant is best known for making pulque, an alcoholic beverage that can be distilled to make mezcal (which tequila is a derivative of), as well as other lesser-known varieties (including: Sotol, Raicilla and Bacanora). Agave plants, known locally as magical, are up to ten feet tall before maturation and live for eight to 20 years. Here, experienced Jimadores remove the plant from the ground and cut it off until only the heart or piña remains. The juice is extracted from the piña and distilled to create a wide range of flavor notes and create beautiful agave brandies. These bars and hotels in the USA have shown through their collections that they are among the best in the world for their agave spirits collections.
(Photo credit: The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park)
Ámbar Restaurant (El Paso, TX)
Newly restored, The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park is a historic boutique hotel in the heart of the city center El Paso’s Las Plazas arts district. The iconic building has housed everyone from locals to politicians to Hollywood stars since 1930, and now has 130 premium suites and guest rooms, a rooftop bar, lounge, and more. After completion of the restoration in 2020, the new lobby bar will be located in Ámbar restaurant offers one of the largest selections of agave brandies in the nation with over 800 bottles. The hotel also houses the only bottle Lalique patron throughout Texas ($ 1,750 per shot) and sipping tequilas and mezcals, as well as komil, pulque, and other rare Mexican spirits.
(Photo credit: MGM Resorts International)
Mama Rabbit Bar (Las Vegas, NV)
With a nod of mezcals and tequilas, Mama Rabbit Bar at Park MGM is a true Oaxaca experience with modern Mexican cocktails, entertainment, a pop-surrealist art installation by Okuda San Miguel and much more. The brightly decorated 400 square meter venue, which takes its name from “Mayahuel”, the goddess of agave and fertility, is divided into three different areas – a double-sided bar, lounge and tavern. Mama Rabbit offers Las Vegas’ largest collection of agave spirits with over 500 labels of mezcal and tequila and serves mezcal in traditional veladoras from Oaxaca. Each frosting contains a unique combination to enhance its flavor, such as: B. an Oaxacan chocolate truffle. The bar also offers tasting flights. a gourmet salt rim program that it uses for its signature cocktails; and exclusive spirits, including rare finds such as the world’s first blanco tequila with a mezcal barrel, a centennial blend of 10 aged tequilas in a bottle that is up to 100 years old, and the first mezcal to be sold in the premium mendocino Brandy barrels are still aged in a pot.
(Photo credit: Jakob Layman)
Madre! Restaurant and Mezcaleria (West Hollywood, CA)
Mother! Restaurant and mezcaleria, a mezcal bar, and an elevated oaxacan concept that opened in West Hollywood in November 2020. This new dining concept is a significant departure from owner Ivan Vasquez’s previous two locations (with its flagship in Torrance and a smaller destination in Palms) embodying Oaxaca in all its forms. At Madre !, Vasquez continues to buy mezcal from small mezcaleros and sources all of its products direct from Oaxaca. The restaurant has a wide selection of over 400 rare mezcal bottles best available in any restaurant or bar in the United States. The exclusive batches for Madre! These include: Real Minero-Largo, Espadin, and Cuishe; Chacolo Lineño; La Locura Pechuga rainy season. Last but not least, the most expensive offering is the Real Minero Pechuga (Special Edition).
(Photo credit: La Contenta Restaurants)
La Contenta Restaurants (New York, NY)
With two locations in New York City, one in the Lower East Side and one in Greenwich Village, La Contenta restaurants Have an agave-centric beverage program that features one of the largest selections of tequila and mezcal in NYC. La Contenta’s restaurants are overseen by beverage director Alex Valencia, who is from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, the birthplace of tequila. The restaurants each offer over 350 bottles of high-end tequilas and mezcals. With a wide selection of local mezcals and agave varieties, La Contenta was also the first NYC restaurant to offer lesser-known spirits like Sotol, Raicilla, and Bacanora, served neat or in their artisanal cocktails, as well as pulque (the fermented juice) of the agave plant ) prominently on their menus.
(Photo credit: Mezcalería Tobalá)
Mezcalería Tobalá (Austin, TX)
On busy 6th Street in Austin Tobalá Mezcalería is Whisler’s Mezcal Speakeasy on the second floor. The intimate space offers hands-on experience with expert bartenders who share their passion and expertise, and is only open on the weekends from 7pm to 2am. Mezcalaria Tobala is designed after a traditional mezcal bar from Oaxaca and houses over 200 different types of mezcal, both espadin and wild and rare types. All of the mezcal offerings, some others being Sotol, Bacanora and Racillia, are served in traditional ships – copitas or veladoras – and they also have Sal de Gusano mezcal flights which are also offered for a complete experience.
(Image credit: Jaime Duggan)
Gracia (Seattle, WA)
Founded on deep admiration and awe of Mexican culture and cuisine, where GRACIA is the Spanish translation for the word grace. Funny preserves and honors the history and techniques of traditional Mexican cuisine. In addition to the fresh menu from chef / owner Chester Gerl, there is a list of spirits with 111 mezcals, 93 different tequilas and 20 different agave or sotol distillates, which have their own classification that separates them from mezcal and tequila. Your agave list (which can be found Here) contains wildly unique agave distillates – like Balancan Tuxca Artesanal, which ferments the pulp in bull skin and then distills the spirit into tree trunks – along with some really premium one- or two-ounce toppings. Their top mezcals, each at $ 100 / pour, include the Leyenda Montana, Del Maguey 1995 Staggs spring barrelwhile a cool $ 140 gets you one Blue anejo tequila class.
(Image credit: Virtual360NY)
Mad Dog & Beans (New York, NY)
Mad Dog & Beans is a casual, upscale Mexican cantina with two locations in the city, one in the financial district and one in midtown. It offers classic Mexican cuisine, margaritas, and a wide variety of tequilas. In addition to a massive 100-ounce margarita tower that requires four people to complete, they currently offer 145 different types of tequilas and mezcals from 60 different brands. The most expensive bottle on their menu is the Tequila Class Azul Añejo, followed by the Tequila Gran Patrón Piedra Extra Añejo. In terms of the mezcals on the menu, the Scorpion 7 Years (an obsolete variety with an actual scorpion!) Is the most unique price of $ 64 per shot.
(Photo credit: @prizefighterbar)
Prize Fighter (Emeryville, CA)
Near the Berkeley-Emeryville border Price fighters is a community cocktail bar that embodies the industrial flair of the neighborhood. Whether on the terrace in front of or inside, they offer a large cocktail menu as well as 122 mezcals and 26 tequilas. Included in the Mezcal count is the “Rare and Assigned” section, which lists all of the Del Maguey Vinos de Mezcal including specialty bottlings and other rare examples from Neta, Vago and Wahaka Mezcals.
(Photo credit: Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa)
The Pony Room (San Diego, CA)
At the Rancho Valencia Resort & SpaIn an enclave inspired by the Spanish colonial hacienda in Rancho Santa Fe, California, guests are offered fresh and seasonal culinary experiences. The theme of equestrian sport Pony room The bar and restaurant (which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner) offer an extensive tequila program under the direction of mixologist Ted Gibson. The bar and restaurant are on the ground floor and offer over 100 variations of tequila that are available for tasting and used in handcrafted cocktails – especially on the restaurant’s margarita specialty menu. The Pony Room has live music Wednesday through Sunday during dinner and is popular with locals and resort guests alike.
Mezcalista (Miami, FL)
The newly opened Moxy South Beach Bringing a combination of style, sass and heightened comfort to the region, the hotel will open Mezcalista this spring, an intimate lounge that focuses on mezcal and offers over 100 types of mezcal and tequila. The new hotspot was designed by Saladino Design Studios and is managed by the team behind Miami’s hugely popular Coyo Taco. It offers a selection of flights as well as mezcal-focused cocktails created by award-winning mixologist Christian Rubio, known for his skillful combination of Mexican herbs, fruits, and spirits.
(Photo credit: The Venetian Resort Las Vegas)
Electra Cocktail Club (Las Vegas, NV)
The hotel is located on the casino floor of the Palazzo in the Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Electra Cocktail Club is currently open from Friday to Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Electra’s back bar offers an inventive collision of energy and style, offering a diverse selection of spirits with an emphasis on rum, agricoles and mezcals. With a total of 35 different tequila and 71 different mezcal options, well-known barman Sam Ross uses these spirits to present cocktails that are both imaginative and playful, with a tropical tendency. The clean puts of the rare Clase Azul Día de Muertos 2020 Edition (only 2000 bottles were produced worldwide) with Puntagaves Bacanora or Raicilla or the characteristic Cocktail Age of Aquarius (mezcal, passion fruit, lime, honey and Campari) are particularly noteworthy.
