The 10 Best Mezcal Bars and Mezcalerías in America

The fervor for mezcal, tequila and other agave spirits has reached a fever pitch in the United States, and as interest in the category continues to accelerate, so does the number of bar openings focused on costa agave at cost. It has never been easier to create a mezcaleria-style program in the United States featuring a long bottle list, but ask any hardcore agave fan about how the category’s growth is threatening its traditional roots, and you’ll get a lecture faster than you can say “salt-suck-lime.” The category is immersed in political, economic and environmental issueswhich has led some savvy bar owners to take a more conscious approach to sourcing, promoting and selling these spirits to curious drinkers.

Many bars across the country are going the extra mile in this pursuit. At places like Mírate in Los Angeles and Barcoa in Phoenix, owners and staff travel to Mexico to actively seek deeper education about the complex systems that drive the category. Cosme in New York City and Madre in Los Angeles have educational programming integrated into in-house training and, in most cases, this education is extended to the public, through tastings, menu design, flights, classes and meet-ups. with the industry. And others, like Bar Basement in Chicago and Fern Bar in Kansas City, Missouri, aim to carefully curate back bar collections that support and promote producers working to keep heritage practices alive in the face of increasing pressures to industrialize. The following 10 mezcal bars check all of these boxes and more.