Best Agave Spirit of 2022

Barrel aging isn’t a common practice among modern mezcal producers. But the latest limited release from Ilegal might persuade more of them to consider the cask. To make it, the palenque (distillery) in Tlacolula took its herbal-forward agave spirit and matured it for seven years in French oak—35 barrels’ worth of liquid in total. It’s woven with threads of roasted pineapple and chocolate-covered fig, and maintains a vegetal, eucalyptus-like undertone at its core.