Drink of the Week: Del Maguey Vida Puebla Mezcal

There’s never a bad time to mix mezcal into your Margarita. Or into your Oaxaca Old Fashioned, your Naked & Famous, or your Hell’s Belles. Or any of a host of other intriguing cocktail recipes. Del Maguey helped create the modern mezcal movement and its accompanying flood of mezcal cocktails over the past two decades. Now, the brand has a new expression aimed squarely at your cocktail shaker: Del Maguey Vida Puebla.

The first expression produced at Del Maguey’s new palenque in Axocopan, it brings the character of the Mexican state of Puebla to the glasses of American drinkers more accustomed to mezcals from Oaxaca. Its Espadin agave has been roasted underground and naturally fermented before being double-distilled on copper stills. Billed as an accessible mezcal, Puebla offers a gentle experience to agave novices as well as avenues for fresh discoveries for dedicated mezcal fans.

Produced in the new distillery at the base of the Popocatepetl volcano, the mezcal carries a crisp minerality from the volcanic soil. A mix of smoke and flint is accompanied in the glass by flavors of white pepper, white peaches, citrus peel, and pine. The finish is elegantly earthy. Overall the mezcal’s flavor seems well-suited to mingling with tropical fruits, fresh citrus, and Italian amari, offering many opportunities for exploration the next time cocktail hour rolls around. binnys.com, $35.99