Madre Mezcal Espadin

Madre Mezcal Espadin is a varietal Oaxacan mezcal made entirely from cultivated Espadin agave.

Agave is drawn from several villages across Oaxaca, each chosen for the way its site reads in the finished spirit, then the mezcals are blended so the full range of Espadin comes through. The core comes from Carlos Blas's palenque in Matatlan, where his family has been making mezcal since the 1930s; he works with a number of growers nearby and runs the distillery along lines that have held in the district for generations. Madre pays up for ripe, high-quality agave wherever it is sourced, which is most of the battle with Espadin. The bottle itself is recycled glass.

Herbal and citrus-inflected, with a succulent, mouth-filling palate and a delicately smoky, earth-scented finish. It sips well on its own at room temperature, and it lifts any tequila cocktail you care to rebuild, a mezcal margarita or a Tommy's most of all.