These Mexican Spirits You Probably Haven't Heard of Are Like a Vacation in a Glass

Travel + Leisure

a day ago

Scan the shelves at your local bottle shop or Mexican restaurant, and you're sure to see plenty of tequila brands with celebrity bona fides: Casamigos was cofounded by George Clooney, Teremana is the label from Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and 818 got its name from Kendall Jenner's area code. Big names like these have flooded the market over the past decade, reflecting tequila's position as one of the biggest success stories in the liquor business. More than 32 million cases of agave spirits were sold in the U.S. in 2024, with sales totaling $6.7 billion, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. While year-over-year growth was only 2 percent, the figure was among the bright spots in the categories tracked by the organization: scotch sales were down about 15 percent last year, and gin was down more than 7 percent. From left: the hills of Durango, Mexico; Cardenxe cofounders Luigi Ambrosi and Nitzan Podoswa.
As demand for spirits like tequila and mezcal continues to grow, some enthusiasts are looking further afield for distinctive, artisanal Mexican products such as heirloom corn whiskey, gin, and less-familiar agave products like raicilla and bacanora . Distillers are responding with a new generation of spirits that feel refreshingly modern, while still delivering a strong sense of a place.
'It's an exciting time,' says Justin Lane Briggs, the Mexico portfolio manager for Skurnik Wines & Spirits, an importer. 'People's interest in the heritage and authenticity that surround traditional Mexican spirits has blossomed, and producers in Mexico are creating new categories.' From left: a sotol toast; Dasylirion in bloom.
Hillhamn Salome exemplifies this new generation of Mexican distillers. The 29-year-old founder of Flor de Luna Distillery has combined ancient traditions of curanderas, or healers, with contemporary gin-making techniques to create Condesa Gin, which released its first bottles in 2016. 'It's through the work of the agave-spirits industry that we even have the opportunity,' Salome says.
Other visionaries are working to honor tradition while embracing modernity. Celebrated Mexican chef Enrique Olvera, the creative force behind the Mexico City restaurant Pujol and New York's Cosme, has made a career out of introducing global audiences to the richness of his country's cuisine. In 2024, he helped launch Manojo Mezcal, and sees parallels between the upstart spirit brand and Mexico's broader culinary evolution.
'What's beautiful about this mezcal is that it's an expression of the place—and in our restaurants, we're trying to do exactly the same thing,' he says. 'There are so many different kinds of agaves, so many distillation and fermentation practices, so many different ways of aging—it's full of possibilities.'
While there is no shortage of innovation, lesser-known traditional spirits are finding new audiences, too. Consider pox (pronounced posh ), a pre-Columbian beverage that continues to hold ceremonial significance among the Maya. In 2017, a new brand, Siglo Cero, became the first commercial pox bottling to enter the U.S., says Briggs, whose firm is helping bring it across the border. 'I've not seen pox spreading outside the Indigenous community in Chiapas until recently.'
As distillers across Mexico continue to innovate, one unpredictable force may interrupt recent progress: President Donald Trump has proposed tariffs of 25 percent on Mexican goods. But, as of press time, imported spirits remain exempt from these duties. That's something artisans—along with the rest of us—can raise a glass to.
Adventurous drinkers have never had more choice when it comes to Mexican spirits for sale in the U.S. Here, the ones to look for.
Mezcal
This increasingly popular beverage is most closely associated with Oaxaca, though it is made in several Mexican states. The Espadín bottling from Manojo, with its grassy, less-smoky flavor,
is an easygoing entry point.
Sotol
Made from desert plants known as Dasylirion, sotol is produced across northern Mexico. Cardenxe makes three expressions, each with 'a flavor that sits somewhere between mezcal and gin,' says cofounder Luigi Ambrosi.
Raicilla
An agave spirit from coastal Jalisco, raicilla is often called a cousin of tequila. Mezonte Japo has a rich, almost cheeselike aroma, derived from a lactic fermentation process, that helps it pair beautifully with food.
Bacanora
Another agave option, bacanora is the state of Sonora's answer to mezcal. Rancho Tepúa is a family-owned label that balances bright vegetal flavors with subtle smoke.
Pox
Traditionally homemade in Chiapas, this corn-based spirit can be hard to find. That's starting to change thanks to Siglo Cero, the first commercial brand to hit U.S. shelves, which has savory notes that call to mind ancho chile and coconut.
Gin
Incorporating Mexican botanicals such as cactus fruit and orange blossom, Condesa Salome is a bright, citrusy gin made at the women-owned Flor de Luna Distillery in Mexico City.
Whiskey
Prieto y Prieta is a Oaxacan product made not from agave but from four varieties of corn, which are fermented, then twice distilled in copper pots. Aged in three types of barrels—oak, bourbon, and sherry—it is rich and earthy.
Charanda
Mexico's version of rum, made from both molasses and raw sugarcane juice, is a specialty of the state of Michoacán. Uruapan is a family-owned brand that uses heritage sugarcane varieties to deliver a smooth flavor.
A version of this story first appeared in the September 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "Move Over, Margaritas."