Oaxaca, village by village

Ninety percent of the mezcal that reaches the US is made in Oaxaca. Within Oaxaca, most of it comes from about a dozen villages, and the differences between them are as meaningful as the differences between Burgundy communes. This is the village-by-village map that the good producers use, rendered for drinkers who don't have one.

Santiago Matatlán bills itself as the 'World Capital of Mezcal,' and by volume the claim holds. The village is the spiritual and commercial home of espadín – Ilegal, Montelobos, Nuestra Soledad Matatlán, and Mestiza Negra all come from here. Matatlán espadín is typically smoky, confident, and forward – you taste the village's industry as much as its terroir.

San Luis del Rio is the source for Del Maguey's Vida and its village expression, as well as Nuestra Soledad's SLDR bottling. The signature is a mineral, slightly saline espadín – cleaner than Matatlán, denser than Tlacolula. The village is small enough that a few palenques define the whole category's commercial output.

San Baltazar Chichicapam gives us Del Maguey's Chichicapa – and by extension, the clearest example of what a single-village designation can do for espadín. Floral, honeyed, mineral, food-friendly; a dozen producers in this village have their signature on a bottle you've probably tasted.

Santa Catarina Minas is the clay-still capital. Real Minero, Lalocura, Del Maguey Minero, and Del Maguey Iberico all use the village's ollas de barro distillation tradition. Minas-style mezcal is heavier, more textured, and more savory than anything made in copper – if you want to understand what 'ancestral' tastes like, Minas is the vocabulary word.

Miahuatlán – home to Mezcalosfera's releases, NETA's wild-agave bottlings, and much of El Jolgorio's tepextate production – is where the high-end wild-agave conversation is happening. The region's elevation and soil types favor long-maturing plants, and the bottles are priced accordingly.

Candelaria Yegole is Rey Campero's home village, and increasingly the shorthand for 'where modern jabalí production got legitimate.' Aquilino García López's work for Mezcal Vago also comes from here – the village has become a sleeper hit for drinkers paying attention to producer names.

Sola de Vega is the Siete Misterios village, plus a handful of Mezcalero numbered releases. Production runs toward the herbal and bright, with a lean spine that distinguishes it from the richer Miahuatlán style. Underappreciated as a region.

Ejutla is Banhez's home, and the answer to the question 'where does good cheap mezcal come from.' The cooperative model works well here; if you're looking for value-tier wild-agave expressions, Ejutla producers are punching above their weight.