Mexi: New York City's Go-To for Agave Spirits

Brooklyn’s Mexi, a mezcaleria and taqueria, is just two years old but claims to have New York’s biggest selection of agave spirits, at around 1,000. In September, it opened a second location, Mexi Stone Street, in Lower Manhattan, a more accessible spot for out-of-town visitors to explore. And it is indeed an exploration, led by an enthusiastic, informed staff.

The selection is the work of beverage director José María “Chema” Dondé, a Mexico City native who has worked in the agave industry his entire career and is also the founder of Panorama Mezcal, an advocacy and education group committed to championing traditional Mexican spirits. He says, “It’s like a library, but for Mexican spirits, not books, that is how I look at it. The most important information on the bottle is the producer’s name. A lot of these products are new, less than 10 years old, but the producers are not; they are second or third generation. Agave spirits are like wine, different climates, bacteria, tools, wood, and the family recipe. It’s like chicken soup, mine isn’t better than yours, but they are different, and it depends on our grandmother’s recipe.”

Mexi Stone Street is on Stone Street in the financial district, near the New York Stock Exchange, Statue of Liberty ferries, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. It is small and designed as a little escape to Mexico, done in “Hacienda style,” with adobe walls and lots of ironwork. The centerpiece is an L-shaped bar with about a dozen stools overlooking its selection of 400 (and growing) bottles of tequila and other agave spirits.

The list has page after page of mezcal, the main event, but there are also full sections devoted to sotol (21 options), a traditional Mexican spirit distilled from wild dasylirion, or Desert Spoon, in the asparagus family, rather than agave, and raicilla (18 of them), which they call “Jalisco’s wild spirit,” made from a mix of wild and cultivated agave. There are about 180 tequilas, categorized by blanco, reposado, and anejo.

In addition, there’s an excellent and creative cocktail program, with a menu designed as an homage to Mexican “loteria” bingo books, and each cocktail has an accompanying humorous photo of a costumed employee, ranging from a masked Mexican wrestler to vampire, using Dondé himself for the El Dracula, with hibiscus-infused Fosforo mezcal, Giffard cacao liqueur, Salers aperitif, Campari, oloroso sherry, and saline solution. The bar has a welcoming, laid-back vibe, but they are very serious about drinks here, including seven Margaritas, each available with your choice of tequila or mezcal.

All mezcals are available in 1 or 2-oz. pours, with discounts for the larger size, and the list is alphabetical by producer. For example, just for Bozal, there are 14 different options, from Bozal Cenizo and Tobasiche at $9/$16 to Ancestra Jabau at $14/$26. Prices are quite reasonable, with most ranging from $8/$15 to $10/$18, and the most expensive on the list is Amaras Joven Logia Horno Ancestral at $45/86. For tequila, it is by far the Clase Azul Day of the Dead 2022 ($500/2 oz.) and 2024 ($350), but drops off sharply from there.

The food menu is simple but delicious, with nine types of tacos, all served on house-made traditional corn tortillas, including birria, pork al pastor, shrimp, fish, and chicken, excellent homemade chips to start with a variety of dipping options including fresh guacamole and several from scratch salsas, and a few larger main dishes, including a standout chicken tinga quesadilla and carne asada, and a hanger steak with creamed sliced peppers, beans, and tortillas. Save room for its delicious fresh-fried churros for dessert.