For many mezcal fans, Asis Cortés is their first introduction to Oaxaca, and an original glimpse at Oaxacan culture and life. He’s travelled the globe, bringing Casa Cortés brands like El Jolgorio and Nuestra Soledad to the Acropolis of Athens, to the Mr. Purple Rooftop Lounge in NYC, and beyond. We first met Asis at […]
Continue readingThis is a guest blog post from our friend Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D. One distills ancestral mezcal, while the other makes the more traditional artesanal (artisanal) spirit. They live and work in different districts of the state of Oaxaca, and their generational backgrounds, personalities and lifestyles are rather different. But a common thread which binds […]
Continue readingThis is a guest blog post from our friend Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D. Within the first couple of hours of leading a Oaxacan mezcal educational tour, two of the most commonly asked questions are, “what’s the difference between a mezcal ensamble, a mezcla and a blend,” and, “why do the palenqueros do mixes in the […]
Continue readingWe started Mezcal Reviews in 2016 as a way to “connect the dots” between mezcals. As more mezcals arrived on US shelves each day, it became difficult to keep up (it still is). The goal was to make it easy to see the connections between different mezcaleros and brands. The website was also a way […]
Continue readingNo doubt you are spending more time at home right now if you live in the United States. The pandemic affects daily life and mezcal consumption is at an all-time high (as far as we can tell!). Our group of mezcal friends have been organizing mezcal tastings over Zoom and Hangouts these past few months. […]
Continue readingMezcal can’t really be the new scotch. Both spirits have been around for ages, and they each have their unique cultures and histories that support them. The way in which consumers are beginning to treat mezcal, however, is more like what it truly is: a world-class spirit that’s worthy of the highest esteem. And what […]
Continue readingWhen you look at a bottle of Viejo Indecente mezcal you will see an eye staring back at you. It is the eye of an old man, staring through a keyhole. The name of this “dirty old man” mezcal was inspired by Charles Bukowski, the writer and poet. Each bottle also comes with a key […]
Continue readingTime keeps on sippin’ sippin’ sippin’.. into the future. Let that mezcal spirit carry me. 2019 was a big year for Mezcal Reviews. Jonny shared some of our biggest milestones in the annual review blog. Another year also meant another anniversary celebration. Like we did in 2018, we swung open the doors of our mezcal […]
Continue readingWe’ve had a few users recently ask us about our Mezcal database. Given that the database makes up about 90% of our website, we figured it’d be good to post a quick few notes about the database and why we think you should use it and contribute to it with your reviews. The Mezcal database […]
Continue readingDoes mezcal go bad? Or more specifically, does mezcal in an opened bottle eventually go bad? We’ve seen several threads on Facebook, Reddit, and elsewhere over the years that have asked this question. Some have posited that oxygen or oxidization would have a negative impact on the spirits over time. Others have referred to results […]
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