7 Best Sipping Mezcals

Mezcal is the best spirit in the world although it can be harsh at times.

Thesem are 7 Best Sipping Mezcals for those looking for a pleasant smooth pour to sip neat or straight.

Casamigos Mezcal

The nose is faint as you have to introduce your nose on the bottle to get any notes.

Once you dive in there is some agave, followed by citrus and a tiny whiff of smoke.

On the palate, Casamigos Mezcal feels smooth, with not much body and very little flavor. There is some agave, vanilla and citrus and no smoke.

This is a very easy to sip mezcal with a low amount of smoke. Casamigos exhibits balanced banana, mango and pomegranate notes making it quite pleasant.

The finish is short-lived, with no warmth, or anything off-putting making an etirely easy sipper.

Casamigos Mezcal makes a great sip that you can enjoy neat or rocks if you are yet to master agave spirits. Also a good choice for mixing.

Madre Mezcal

Mezcal Madre Espadin is produced by Jose Garcia using a traditional Zapotec recipe.

Handmade in the hills of San Dionisio, Oaxaca, the family has been harvesting agave on their fields in Oaxaca for centuries, creating high quality, true small-batch artisanal mezcal.

Madre is a perfect choice for newbies wanting to join the mezcal bandwagon.

This is a plain vanilla mezcal neither smoky nor harsh. In addition, it is also a great mixer suitable for any cocktail at an attractive price.

Fidencio Sin Humo (Without Smoke)

Fidencio is a perfect match for those that don’t like any smoke in their dram.

Mezcal is typically made cooking the agave plant in an underground pit using wood and coal as fuel. Fidencio cooks the agaves using a radiant oven while removing all traces of smoke.

Sin Humo offers notes of vanilla, caramelized pineapples, honey and spice.

Finish is super smooth and citrusy. Fidencio Sin Humo earned the Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Montelobos

Montelobos uses organic espadin agave to produce Mezcal, neither pesticides nor herbicides are used.

They also compost most of their waste and have improved the design of their distillery to minimize environmental impact.

Montelobos or “Wolf Mountain” partnered with the Wolf Conservation Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wolves.

It’s earthy and green on the nose with notes of honey, citrus, asparagus, and light smoke.

The flavor of the cooked agaves is present through with additional nutty, herbal, and smoke notes.

This is perhaps the best-value Mezcal you can buy today. Montelobos Espadin makes a great sipper to drink neat, rocks and a solid mixer.

Rey Campero Espadin

Rey Campero or King of the Countryside is one of Oaxaca’s most respected distillers with 7 decades in the agave distilling business.

Espadin is incredibly smooth yet more flavorful and smoky than Casamigos. Rey Campero offers rich mineral notes along fruity flavors of pineapple, grapefruit, vanilla, and lime.

Sip it neat, drink it straight or pour it in a margarita. Rey Campero is a versatile dram and one of the best sipping mezcals you can buy today.

Vago Espadin Joel Barriga

Joel Barriga is a third generation distiller, who currently produces with his son. He is a cousin of the legendary Aquilino Garcia, Mezcal Vago first and most recognized distiller.

Barriga offers a fruity mezcal with a strong mango flavor, spearmint and roasted agave. This espadin is incredibly smooth despite the high ABV above 50%.

This release is my sister in law’s favorite mezcal. Worth noting that she rarely drinks but truly enjoys this dram.

El Jolgorio Espadin

El Jolgorio is a premium brand delivering some of the top-rated mezcals in every category; an offspring of Casa Cortes that has been in the agave distilling business since 1850.

Mezcal is typically not aged. El Jolgorio Espadin ages for 5 years in glass containers ensuring maximum smoothness.

Aging in glass removes harshness from the spirit making it easier to enjoy. It comes with a delicious creamy feel making it the best mezcal among the mentioned in this round-up.

How to drink sipping mezcals?

Drink them slowly kissing every sip. Don’t rush or shoot it down as these are quality mezcals meant to be enjoyed with time.

These mezcals are easy to sip and are perfectly suited even for newbies curious about agave spirits.

Once you become familiar with these flavors you can try more interesting bottles such as those made with tobala or tepextate agaves. Those agaves require more experience to be fully enjoyed.

Sipping mezcals make good mixers

This selection with the 7 best sipping mezcals make good mixers. You can perfectly make a margarita with any of the aforementioned, furthermore, mezcal will add a smoky note to your margarita making it more interesting.

What makes a Mezcal smooth?

There are three critical aspects that ensure a good sipping mezcal:

• Using ripe agave
• The cooking method of the agave hearts
• Distillation process

Ripe agave

Espadin takes long 8 years to mature and be ready for mezcal production hence using agave not yet ready gives an odd flavor to the spirit. This is pretty much like eating a green banana, is not goofing to be sweet enough.

Cooking method

The selection of the fuel source to cook the agave hearts is another critical aspect. Pine tree wood is rich in resins that add a stronger flavor, using Guamuchil ensures a smoother mezcal that will ultimately make a better sip.

Distillation

The first distillation yields a spirit with a very high ABV (alcohol by volume); consequently, the maestro performs a second distillation. The distiller has to remove the top and bottom of the distilled liquid to ensure a smooth and sippable dram; if he fails to this right mezcal gets rough.