Producers

Curator brand with two distinct product lines. Standard Single Maguey + Ensamble + Sacrificio lines are copper-pot artesanal with tahona milling. The Reserva line — nine bottlings — is explicitly clay-pot ancestral method per Bozal's own site.

PM Spirits' curator project. Mixed catalog: Tío Pedro Hernández Arrellanes (Santa Catarina Minas), Amando Alvarado Álvarez (Santa María Ixcatlán), and Alberto Martínez (Santa Catarina Albarradas) work in clay pots; the rest of the catalog uses copper or hybrid stills. Every bottle names the specific maestro.

Curator brand covering multiple Sola de Vega and Sierra Sur maestros — the Cruz family (Robles, Calvo, Cruz Rios) work in clay pots; other Cuentacuentos maestros (Serafín García Gerónimo, Everardo García Salvador, Laurentino Santos) use copper. Each bottle names the specific palenquero. Cruz family Ancestral bottlings are clay-pot with wooden mallet milling.

The brand that introduced US drinkers to single-village mezcal in the 1990s. Founded by artist Ron Cooper, acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2017. Most of the catalog is copper-pot artesanal — only the Santa Catarina Minas bottlings (Minero, Ibérico, Pechuga) are clay-pot ancestral method.

The Cortés family's premium curator brand, distributed by Skurnik. Standard line is copper-pot artesanal (labeled with the palenquero name). Only the explicitly-labeled 'Ancestral' bottlings are clay-pot — those come from Sola de Vega palenqueros including Doña Justina Ruiz Perez (the first female El Jolgorio maestra) and Felipe Velasco Jiménez.

Erstwhile is a curator project releasing small-batch limited editions. Only Juan Abel Quiroz Agustín's 2021 Ancestral LE bottlings are clay-pot distilled. Silverio García Luis (Rancho Blanco Güilá) uses hollowed agave quiote (flowering stalks) for distillation — a distinct traditional method that's not clay pot, so those bottles are not starred despite being ancestral in spirit.

Standard Koch line is copper-pot artesanal. Only 'Koch El Ancestral' — a Sola de Vega clay-pot Espadín by Alberto Vásquez — meets clay-pot criteria. A Koch Ancestral Coyote has been reported by some retailers with contradictory still-type descriptions; we don't list it until verified.

Eduardo "Lalo" Ángeles Carreño's family palenque in Santa Catarina Minas — brother of Graciela at Real Minero. Every Lalocura release is clay-pot distilled with the fiber included, hand-mashed with wooden mallets, and wild-yeast fermented. Batches rotate constantly.

Curator brand founded around specific Oaxacan maestros. Only Tío Rey's 'en Barro' line (Red Label, Sola de Vega) is clay-pot ancestral. Emigdio Jarquín and Joel Barriga bottlings are copper-pot artesanal. Elote is Aquilino García's copper-pot Espadín finished with toasted corn.

A Guadalajara-based curator project distributing traditional agave spirits from producers across Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, and Durango. Because most of Mezonte's producers work outside the mezcal Denominación de Origen, every bottle ships as Destilado de Agave rather than mezcal. Only Jorge Pérez (Michoacán) uses a non-copper still — his hollowed tree-trunk method with a copper cap is traditional but does not meet strict NOM-070 Ancestral (which prohibits metal in the still).

Fourth-generation Ángeles Carreño family palenque in Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca. Every bottle is clay-pot distilled by hand — the Ángeles family stopped using the CRM 'Mezcal' designation in 2021, so most current US releases ship as Destilado de Agave despite meeting ancestral method criteria.

Rómulo Sánchez Parada's single-palenque brand from Candelaria Yegolé (Zoquitlán, Oaxaca). Every current US-distributed bottle is copper-pot artesanal. The Jabalí 'En Barro' Brown Label is copper-distilled and then rested in clay pots — not clay-pot distilled — and is a common source of consumer confusion. Zero Rey Campero SKUs are currently starred on this site.

A US-focused import project. Only the Ancestral Espadín (Isidro Damián, Sola de Vega, NOM 363) is clay-pot ancestral method — the Ensamble and Artesanal Cuishe are copper-pot Jalisco bottlings from the Cascahuín tequila distillery. Note: Wild Common the mezcal brand is separate from Wild Common the tequila brand at wildcommon.com.