A mezcal crawl through Roma and Condesa

Why Roma and Condesa

Mexico City is enormous and mostly not walkable between neighbourhoods. Roma Norte and Condesa are the exception: two adjacent, leafy, early twentieth-century districts with a grid of tree-lined streets, flat terrain, and the highest concentration of good bars in the city.

The whole crawl fits inside a rectangle you can cross on foot in twenty minutes, which is what makes it work for a group. Everywhere else you would be ordering cars between stops.

What mezcal actually is

Mezcal is a distilled spirit made from agave. Tequila is a type of mezcal, made only from blue weber agave in a defined region, but the two have diverged completely in production and character.

Traditional mezcal is made by roasting agave hearts in an earthen pit lined with hot rocks, which gives the smoke. It is then crushed, often with a stone tahona wheel pulled by a horse, fermented in open wooden vats with wild yeast, and double distilled in small copper or clay stills.

The variable that matters most is the agave species. Espadin is cultivated and accounts for most production. Tobala, tepeztate, madrecuixe, arroqueno, and others are wild, take 12 to 25 years to mature, and taste dramatically different.

• Espadin: cultivated, balanced, the place to start
• Tobala: wild, small, floral and fruity, expensive
• Tepeztate: wild, takes up to 25 years, herbaceous and intense
• Madrecuixe: wild, mineral and vegetal, long finish
• Ensamble: a blend of species, often excellent value

How to order without embarrassing yourself

Mezcal is served neat at room temperature in a small clay copita or a shallow glass, alongside orange slices and sal de gusano, salt mixed with ground toasted agave worm and chilli. You sip it. You do not shoot it, you do not add ice, and you do not ask for lime and salt in the tequila-shot sense.

The correct opening move is to tell the bartender what you have tried and ask for a recommendation. Serious mezcalerias in Mexico City will taste you on two or three things before you commit to a pour, and the staff generally enjoy the conversation.

A flight of three is the efficient way to learn: one espadin, one wild agave, one ensamble. Expect MXN 300 to MXN 600 for a flight.

The crawl, in order

Start in Roma Norte around 19:00 at a proper mezcaleria, the kind with a wall of bottles and no cocktail menu. Have a flight, ask questions, and eat something small.

Second stop, a cocktail bar that uses agave spirits seriously. Mexico City has a world-class cocktail scene and several bars in Roma make drinks with mezcal that respect the spirit rather than burying it.

Third, walk into Condesa. Around Avenida Amsterdam, the oval street that follows the old racetrack, and Parque Mexico, the density of bars is high and the atmosphere is more relaxed. One more pour here.

Fourth and last, a pulqueria or a late cantina. Pulque is the fermented, unfiltered agave sap that predates distillation entirely, is around 4 to 6 percent alcohol, and tastes like nothing else. It is the correct way to end.

• Stop 1, Roma Norte mezcaleria: flight of three, ask for guidance
• Stop 2, Roma cocktail bar: one agave cocktail, well made
• Stop 3, Condesa around Avenida Amsterdam: one more pour, slower
• Stop 4, pulqueria or cantina: pulque or a beer, food, done

What it costs

A pour of espadin: MXN 120 to MXN 180. A pour of wild agave: MXN 200 to MXN 400 and up for rare bottlings. A flight of three: MXN 300 to MXN 600. A well-made cocktail: MXN 180 to MXN 280. Pulque: MXN 40 to MXN 90.

A four stop evening lands at roughly MXN 900 to MXN 1,600 per person, around EUR 45 to EUR 80, which is high by Mexico City standards and reflects that you are drinking well rather than cheaply.

Practicalities

Mexico City sits at 2,240m. Altitude makes alcohol hit harder and dehydration faster. Drink water between stops, and take the first evening slowly if you have just flown in.

Roma and Condesa are among the safest neighbourhoods in the city and are fine to walk in the evening. Use a ride app rather than a street taxi to get back. Bars in these neighbourhoods generally take cards, but pulquerias and small cantinas often do not, so carry some cash.

For a group of six or more, book the first stop. The good mezcalerias are small.