"When Johnny Curiel was pulling together the spirits program for Mezcaleria Alma , "it was important to us that 100 percent of it was Mexican, from our wine to our sake to our vodka to our gins, tequila, palmilla and pox," he says. The result is a collection of bottles that you'd be hard-pressed to find at most U.S. bars."
"Despite the name, Mezcaleria Alma's backbar goes far beyond the namesake spirit. "To me, mezcal and tequila are easy [to get people to try], but we want to show the excellence of Mexico and the beauty that our culture has-not only from Jalisco or Oaxaca," he says. "If you go to Chihuahua, Sonora, Chiapas, anywhere, there's something that they produce that will be amazing or familiar to somebody.""
"The collection, Curiel notes, is in constant evolution. He and the bar's leadership team have taken trips to Mexico and come back having tried new spirits or visited exciting producers, which he then works with importers to bring stateside. "I was just in Mayakoba, and I tried Comiteco, another agave spirit, for the first time ever," he says. "We're already in conversation with [an importer] to bring it [here].""
The spirits program was curated to be 100 percent Mexican, spanning wine, sake, vodka, gins, tequila, palmilla, and pox. The backbar includes bottles rarely found in U.S. bars and extends beyond mezcal to represent regional specialties from Jalisco, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Sonora, Chiapas, and other Mexican states. The collection is in constant evolution through procurement trips to Mexico and collaborations with importers to bring new producers and agave spirits stateside. Examples include sourcing Comiteco after a Mayakoba tasting and entering conversations with importers. The program highlights five standout bottles exemplifying Mexican excellence and regional diversity.
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