The best first bottle of mezcal

The right first mezcal is forgiving without being boring: enough agave character to explain what the category is about, no proof wall, no specialist price. These are the bottles we hand to someone starting out, ranked by score with current average prices.

  1. Agua del Sol Jabali Puntas (4.5/5, $40–90): Repays the legwork. A reference puntas release on one of mezcal's hardest agaves
  2. Maguey Melate Ensamble 3 (4.5/5, $40–90): The Velasco pick. Ensamble 3 over the other three
  3. Mezcalosfera Espadin Destilado con Tlaciahual (4.5/5, $40–90): Pursue it. A category experiment worth taking seriously
  4. 5 Sentidos Bicuixe-Madrecuixe (4.5/5, $40–90): An uncomplicated yes. One of the better karwinskii ensambles on the shelf right now
  5. Cinco Sentidos Azul y Pichomel (4.5/5, $40–90): Drier and more mineral than the Matatlán blends. This is the Puebla ensamble to show someone skeptical of the state
  6. Cinco Sentidos Candelillo (4.5/5, $40–90): Move on it. Candelillo like this doesn't get bottled often
  7. Mal Bien Tobala (4.5/5, $85): A clear yes. A reference Miahuatlán tobalá
  8. 5 Sentidos Jabali (4.5/5, $90–150): Move quickly. A reference-level jabalí from one of the best clay-pot palenques
  9. 5 Sentidos Tobala - Israel Palestino (4.5/5, $90–150): An easy purchase. A quiet tobalá from a producer worth learning
  10. 5 Sentidos Tobala - Alberto Martinez (4.5/5, $90–150): Go find it. The best value reference tobalá in 5 Sentidos' catalog
  11. 5 Sentidos Tepextate - Luis Enrique Juarez (4.5/5, $90–150): Our pick. A tepextate where every production choice compounds
  12. 5 Sentidos Pichomel (4.5/5, $90–150): An endangered agave from its few responsible growers. The pichomel reference in the 5 Sentidos catalog

See the best mezcal at every price →

Scores come from the same five-agave rubric as every review; prices are current averages across the US retailers we track. The full method lives in The State of Mezcal.