Summer has arrived in Fresno. Cool down with a mezcal cocktail at these bars, restaurants

Summer is finally here, and what better way to cool off than with a refreshing mezcal cocktail?

Fresno has a number of restaurants and craft cocktail bars citywide that offer the spirit. Akin to Mexican tequila, mezcal is a type of liquor made from agave plants. Its flavor is often described as having a “smoky” flavor profile since the agave is traditionally cooked in an underground pit before distillation.

The word mezcal comes from the Nahuatl word “mexcalli,” which means cooked agave, according to the mezcal site, Mezcalistas. In 1994, Mexico implemented a denomination of origin, which means that agave distillates can only be considered mezcal if produced in the states of Mexico, Oaxaca, Guerrero, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Durango, Aguascalientes, Morelos, and certain parts of Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Michoacán and Puebla.

In recent years, mezcal’s popularity has exploded in the United States and beyond. According to the industry research firm The Insight Partners, mezcal is a $727 million industry as of 2021, and will likely surpass $1 billion by 2027.

Are you a seasoned mezcal drinker, or curious to sample the beverage for the first time? Here are a few local businesses where you can try mezcal:

Fresno’s cocktail bars embrace mezcal

At Los Panchos Mexican Restaurant on Fulton Street in downtown Fresno, mezcal, agave, and bitters come together in the Oaxacan Old Fashioned, a drink inspired by the classic Old Fashioned, a cocktail made up of bourbon or whiskey, sugar, and bitters.

Los Panchos can also use mezcal in any of its tequila-based cocktails, such as the Paloma, a refreshing tequila-based cocktail made with lime juice, and a grapefruit-flavored soda.

Carmen Serrato, owner of the downtown Fresno craft cocktail bar Modernist on Fulton Street “loves mezcal,” according to a 2020 Instagram post from the bar. So it’s no surprise that the seasonal menu often has mezcal-based drinks. Its spring 2023 menu included two mezcal-based cocktails.

“La Chingona,” which roughly translates to “the badass woman,” is a cocktail made of mezcal, reposado tequila, banana, rhubarb amaro (bittered Italian liqueur), pineapple, lime and saline.

“La Vida Fresca,” on the other hand, is a “very approachable” drink made of mezcal, sherry, grapefruit bitters, gentian liqueur, and a red wine bitter aperitif.

Nearby, Quail State rooftop bar on Fulton Street, which was recently sold to new owners, also has mezcal cocktails on their rotating, seasonal menu, and will have a new mezcal cocktail on their summer menu, which is expected to be released Friday. The Oaxacan on Sunshine, a cocktail on their spring menu, combines tequila, mezcal, campari, strega, an orange blossom and hibiscus aperitif, aperitivo rosato, and grapefruit bitters. You’ll want to sip this one slowly. ¡Salud!

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If you’re looking for craft mezcal cocktails in Fresno’s Tower District, visit The Howlin Wolf on Olive Avenue to try a barrel aged Oaxaca Old Fashioned or the “Train to Oaxaca.” The latter combines mezcal with tequila, almond liqueur and fresh lime juice.

Then, swing by Lucy’s Lounge, also on Olive Avenue, for the Cali-Gente cocktail, a drink that packs a sweet, spicy, and smoky punch. The cocktail is a mix of Glenmorangie X Scotch Whisky, Union mezcal, Ancho Reyes Verde chile poblano liqueur, pineapple juice, pineapple syrup, herbal French liqueur, green chartreuse and fresh lime juice. They can also make custom cocktails with mezcal.

Sip on mezcal with traditional Oaxacan food

Mezcal is most often associated with the Mexican state of Oaxaca. So what better way to enjoy mezcal than alongside traditional Oaxacan dishes, such as a mole, Tlayudas, or Oaxacan-style tamales?

Oaxaca Restaurant, on East Belmont Avenue, has you covered.

The restaurant, whose owners have Oaxacan roots, has a selection of mezcal-based cocktails, such as Palomas, Lemon Drop-inspired cocktails, and “Zapoteco Sangre,” an in-house creation made of mezcal, lime, blackberry and prickly pear.

If you want something neat, sip on a mezcal out of a jícara, a small, wide mezcal cup made from the fruit of a gourd tree, while munching on salty chapulines, or grasshoppers.

Mezcal cocktails and Fresno fine dining

Tabachines Cocina on Palm Avenue prides itself on serving modern Mexican dishes with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Their menu contains a handful of mezcal cocktails, from “seasonal” to “favorites.”

Some of the favorites include “Paper Bird,” a drink that contains El Silencio Mezcal, pineapple juice, Aperol, lime and piloncillo, a raw form of cane sugar that is common in Mexican cooking. There’s also a Mezcal Cadillac, a mezcal-version of the Cadillac margarita, with Don Amado “Rustico” Mezcal, Gran Marnier, lime and agave.

Also: Make sure to chat with Samuel Aguilar, food and beverages director, who can walk you through the restaurant’s expansive menu of tequila, mezcal and other agave distillates such as sotol, from the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Their selection of artisan agave spirits is arguably the largest in the Central Valley.

Saizon, Fresno’s new “vibey” restaurant that opened near Willow and Shepard avenues in December 2022, is an interpretation of “Napa Valley meeting Mexico City,” according to its website. Saizon’s menu features a handful of mezcal cocktails. The Mezcaloma, a mezcal Paloma, combines espadín mezcal (espadín is a type of agave commonly used to make mezcal), with house curacao, a Brazilian liqueur and grapefruit.

If you’re looking for something more adventurous, try the Kingston, a cocktail that combines mezcal, with Jamaican rum, midori, a melon liqueur, citrus, pineapple and cumin syrup. Finally, the Naked and Famous cocktail combines mezcal, chartreuse, aperol and lime.

Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant near Blackstone and Shaw avenues offers over 30 different types of mezcal at their bar and a variety of mezcal-based cocktails. They offer a “mezcal sampler,” a trio of mezcal-based cocktails with watermelon, tamarind, and lemon flavors, as well as a cantarito with mezcal. Their cantarito, a drink from the state of Jalisco typically made with tequila, features Guerrero Reposado Mezcal, sweet and sour mix, fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice, and a Tajín rim.

Mochuelo Tapas bar and restaurant on Shaw Avenue is no stranger to mezcal. The menu features a drink to “spice up the night” called Smoke and Embers, a combination of El Silencio Mezcal, agave, ghost pepper syrup, blood orange Italian soda, lime, and topped with a Gosling’s rum sugar flamed lime.

Clovis pizza and mezcal?

Michaelangelo’s pizzeria on Woodworth Avenue in Clovis might not be the kind of place you’d expect to find mezcal, but you can’t judge a book by its cover.

In addition to over 130 different types of whiskey, Michaelangelo’s seasonal menu includes a drink called “Bloody the Jet,” which combines Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, with Luna Azul Reposado Tequila, fresh lime juice, blood orange syrup, agave syrup and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao.

Don’t skip the pizza so you can soak up the stiff drink.