The Joy of Mezcal

Mezcal is the often ignored cousin of Tequila – a distilled liquor made from a type of agave, with a strong smoky flavor. I first had Mezcal at a bar in Portland. The bartender said it was like tequila, only smokey, and I like tequila and I like smokey, so I gave it a try.

I won’t say it was love at first taste, in fact I didn’t like my drink at all. But I liked the idea of myself as a person who like atypical things, so Mezcal joined the ranks of my signture liquors.

Eventually my taste buds caught up with my ego and I got to love mezcal. You can imagine my excitement when I learned that Tijuana is actually a great place to experience this liquor in all its wonderful forms – there are even bars like La Mezcalera and El Tiniebloe Mezcal room that are dedicated to it!

This is a catalogue of every way I tried Mezcal in Tijuana.

La Justina

LA Justina is my favorite bar in Tijuana for cocktails. It is almost always where I begin my night with some fancy drink before heading elsewhere...

With lavender and watermelon 

 

With cucumber, smoked bay leaf and rose petals 

 

With grapefruit and thyme 

Bartender’s choice

Mezcal Bars

I love La Mezcalera but never stay long. They play of a lot of trance and techno which I hate, and it gets very crowded with hipsters as the night goes on. 

With tamarind at La Mezcalera

With cream in a flight at La Mezcalera

EL TInieblo is a tiny speakeasy that feels like a time machine. Loved the ambiance. 

With hibiscus at El Tinieblo 

Random Bars

With tamarind and Cine Tonola.

A fantastic bar on the third floor of the cinema with stunning views and excellent cocktails.

As a shot at Dandy del Sur 

Classic shot at the oldest bar in Tijuana....

With Chamoy at Loki café. My friend's go-to place.

Fancy Restaurants

With lime and soda in Verde y Crema

With absinth, Aperol, St. Germain, and bitters at Nortico, a speakeasy at Oryx Capital.  

With tropical fruit, tangerine, lemon and salt at Mision 19 - th best restaurant in Tijuana. 

Across the border...

So I know this is supposed to be a post on Tijuana, but I didn't want to ignore the great Mezcal margeritas I had in San Diego. In a Margarita with salt in San Diego