Mezcal: The History, Craft and Cocktails of the World’s Ultimate Artisanal Spirit

ABOUT FINDING MEZCAL

Emma Janzen (Voyageur Press, $27)

This 2017 book straddles the line between engaging guide to mezcal and cocktail book, with beautiful photos taken by Janzen. It’s a useful educational resource, but what really brings the book to life is Janzen’s myriad interviews with the mescaleros, talking about the spirit’s heritage and production and telling their own personal and professional stories. 

Excerpt: “Even if mezcal doesn’t run in one’s lineage, many Mexican natives see the growth as a great opportunity to make a living by reconnecting with their cultural heritage. That was the case for … the cousins who started Mezcal Tosba. Elisandro and Edgar Gonzales make mezcal in a mountainous village, San Crostóbal Lachirioag, about four hours north of Oaxaca City.… ‘I am proud of being indigenous to Mexico, and I’m not jumping into mezcal because it’s a trend. It was a dream,’ Elisandro says. ‘I was raised with rum. For us to make mezcal, it’s been really great.’”