Oaxacan Mezcal Route
Heading south from Oaxaca City will allow you to follow a route full of different approaches to mezcal, from the unique and rich flavors that clay pots can achieve in Santa Catarina Minas to the pristine and sharp profiles that are a consequence of using copper pots in San Baltazar Chichicapam. Depending on your commitment and capacity to digest high ABV booze, this can be a half-day or a two-day project.
In this Google Maps, you’ll find every stop that we think is worth your time and your palate. We’ve bottled the juice of each one of these producers, so we can guarantee that you’ll be sipping beautiful stuff and having potentially life-changing conversations (we are not responsible if you end up making mezcal your most expensive hobby to date, ha).
If you are feeling anxious before your trip, we get it. There is no stress like thinking that you’ve made it all the way to Oaxaca and that you are possibly choosing the wrong producer to visit. We believe they are all exceptional, but we also understand that each palate is different. If you are as obsessive as we are, it may be worth it to buy a few bottles of the producers before you drive all the way to their palenques. In the link above, you’ll be able to find different bottles from most of the producers listed in this map.
If you are a Maguey Melate member (if you are not, here is a link to fix that), we are offering our nerdy brains to help you better plan your trip to mezcal’s holy ground. We know all people are different, and sometimes it's just nice to have a fellow mezcal enthusiast to express your needs and aspirations. So if that is your style, you can click on that button to schedule a call.
Santa María Atzompa
Oaxacan mezcal is so special because it could only happen there. The production of this spirit is intimately linked to many other crafts and traditions. One of those is ceramics. Santa María Atzompa has been producing clay artifacts for hundreds of years; it was the official pottery maker for Monte Albán and for many of the other glorious surrounding cities. They do all kinds of objects that allow for gastronomic practices (tejate) and rituals (burning copal). Still, specifically for mezcal, they are in charge of making the clay alembics that define the flavors connected to the Santa Catarina Minas mezcal. Everything about these alembics has been refined over centuries, from the clay formulation to their geometry; these alembics are a testimony to Oaxacan wisdom and ingenuity. One of our favorite workshops in this town is the “Taller Ruiz López”. An all-women operation, their space is a perfect opportunity to become a clay expert, but also to buy some of the most beautiful mezcal copitas that you’ll ever see.
Santiago Matatlán
The so-called “World Capital of Mezcal” is also one of the most challenging destinations on this map. You’ll find dozens of palenques right on the highway, and with any place that receives such a volume of tourists, you can imagine that the mezcal in most of those spaces is, to say the least, not very exciting. In our opinion, “El Cultivador” is one of the best palenques you can spend your time at. Back in the day, we bottled a wood-matured expression from them, and it was a great success amongst our club members, because even after spending months in wooden barrels, the spirit was still full of bold agave flavors and aromas.
This is an excellent stop if you want to believe in Matatlán again, or if you are starting your mezcal journey—classical mezcales made with the utmost care
Santa Catarina Minas
Mezcal enthusiasts love to discuss and throw hot takes left, right, and center. But we’ve never heard a soul talk slack about Santa Catarina Minas. We all describe the mezcales from this town with reverence and full enthusiasm. If you want to understand why people go crazy about clay-pot mezcal, this is the place to try some of the absolute best. There are plenty of palenques here, and we have to admit that most of them are pretty excellent. To this day, we’ve bottled three producers that are based here. They are all a dream, but some are more active than others. Felix will always have production and tastings going on, the same as Rosario, with Heladio (featured in the video), it gets a bit trickier because his palenque is very tiny. So it is worth trying to talk with him beforehand.
San Baltazar Chichicapam
If you’ve been drinking mezcal for a long time, you probably remember the name of this town. When mezcal was just starting to gain popularity in the US, Del Maguey was pushing Chichicapam mezcal, with what at the time felt like an incredibly high price. To this day, it is one of the most reviewed mezcal expressions on all platforms, and possibly one of the main culprits (thank you so much!) for the contemporary love for mezcal. You can’t visit the Del Maguey palenque, but this town has exceptional producers that can make you have a lovely afternoon.
Fortunato, featured in this video, is one of our favorite talents in town. If you are interested in trying a vast array of agaves, he’s definitely your man. You’ll be able to sample up to 10 or 12 different agaves and some remarkable “ensambles”. If you are planning to bring back mezcal with you, we really think he has some of the best value, so be prepared with cash and plastic bottles.
La Soledad, Heroica Ciudad de Ejutla de Crespo
If you’ve never encountered a “refrescadera” before, this town is fully specialized in this, so you’ll have a field day. For us, it is hard to describe the mezcales from this region. But if we had to use only one word, we would say that they are “powerful”. So this is definitely not a stop for those with a faint heart or palate.
We could say a lot about our favorite producer in the area featured in this video. But we think that the folks at Mezcal Reviews have done the best job at writing a concise introduction:
“Gregorio Hernández López, along with his brother Gonzalo, were two of the first mezcaleros to partner with Casa Cortés, back in 2013. They have mostly produced Barril for El Jolgorio, and in 2014, they began producing Espadín for the Nuestra Soledad Ejutla single village expression. After his brother Gonzalo retired, Gregorio began producing with the support of his two sons, Valentín and Joel, on their family ranch 30 minutes west of the main town of Ejutla de Crespo.”
Santa María La Pila, Miahuatlán
Now we are entering the mythical Miahuatlán. Maybe one of the most convoluted and exciting regions in Oaxaca. The grand majority of producers here are also famous, like in Ejutla, for their refrescadera-style alembics, but Palenque “Los Cortez” is a notable exception. They use a traditional copper pot alembics, mill with a tahona, and ferment in wooden tanks using only wild yeast.
We love all of their products, but we are especially obsessed with their “gusano” mezcal, which we bottled in October of 2024. Many ill-informed purists would claim that throwing a worm inside a mezcal bottle is the definition of a hideous tourist trap; there is even a brand that decided to use that argument to create its complete identity (hi John, you know we love you). But if you choose to disregard other people’s opinions and trust your palate, the gusano mezcal will provide a rich and savory experience you’ll crave for the rest of your days.