Demand for mezcal was low for years, but interest and sales have soared. The vast majority of the spirit is made in Oaxaca, Mexico, where family-owned distilleries dot the landscape.
Cecilia Vega travels to Oaxaca and meets the Mezcaleros laboring to quench the world’s thirst for Mezcal. The handcrafted Mexican spirit, made from agave, has seen exponential growth in popularity and production.
Ilegal Mezcal is one of the leading artisanal mezcal makers in the world, which it’s achieved on its own terms by crafting spirits using traditional methods without additives or artificial ingredients. The brand began life in 2006 in a Guatemalan bar in the city of Antigua when expat New Yorker John Rexer created Ilegal Mezcal to supply his bar, Café No Sé, after about two years of smuggling the spirit from Mexico to Guatemala.
Today, it’s an award-winning brand owned by Bacardi (since 2023), but Ilegal remains true to its values and rebellious spirit even as it has scaled up its operations over two decades.
2oz Ilegal Mezcal Joven
1oz fresh lime juice
0.75oz agave syrup
A classic Tommy’s mezcal margarita with our signature black salt rim.
Fill a rocks glass with ice, run a lime wedge around the rim and dip into black salt. Add ingredients to a shaker. Strain over fresh ice in the prepared glass then garnish with a lime wheel.
1.5 oz Ilegal Mezcal Joven
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz grapefruit juice
4 oz grapefruit soda
Rim a tall glass with salt (or add a pinch to the cocktail). Add mezcal, lime juice, and soda, then ice. Top off with grapefruit juice and garnish with a grapefruit peel.
A carajillo is a sweet & easy to prepare Spanish & Mexican classic with Espresso & Licor43.
Add to shaker:
2oz espresso (or very strong coffee), cooled slightly
1.5oz Licor 43
1.5oz Ilegal Mezcal Reposado
Shake until chilled and strain into glass with fresh ice
Garnish with orange twist
2oz Ilegal Mezcal Reposado
4 dashes of Angostura bitters
2 dashes of orange bitters
0.5oz simple syrup
The Ilegal Mezcal take on a Oaxacan Old Fashioned is an enduring classic with a Oaxacan spirit.
Add all ingredients into a rocks glass over ice and stir. Garnish with an orange peel.
1oz Ilegal Mezcal Joven
2oz Italian Bitter Apértif*
3oz Prosecco
0.5oz grapefruit juice
1.5oz soda water
Add fresh ice to a large wine glass and pour in the mezcal and Italian Bitter Apéritif. Slowly pour Prosecco and top with soda water. Stir, and garnish with a grapefruit peel and a pinch of salt.
*Martini & Rossi Fiero Apéritif is preferred, or substitute with Aperol or Campari.
Light, bright, crushable mezcal cocktails you can try at home. Ilegal Cadillac Margarita ↓
Add to shaker:
0.75 oz fresh orange juice
0.75 oz Grand Marnier
1.5 oz Ilegal Reposado
Juice of one lime
More mezcal cocktails and recipes
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In 2018 we launched Ilegal’s Love Your Neighbor platform. We believe that at the door of your business your values should be exemplified and defended. We are too keenly aware of the issues of climate change, immigration, the refugee crisis, gender discrimination, racism and xenophobia. These issues impact us, our friends, and our relatives.
Since the company began we have supported and contributed to a number of groups working to affect social change for the better and in 2019 we have raised over $60,000 for several groups with your help.
1.5 oz Ilegal Joven
2 oz Margarita Mix
0.5 oz Real Pepper Purée
Garnish a rocks glass with a Tajín rim. Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice and shake vigorously. Strain into the rocks glass over fresh ice, and add a lime wedge garnish.
