To study mezcal, our writer Avrey Evans travels to visit Oaxaca and shares her love for the Mexican city recently named as one of the world’s best travel destinations
Markets Oaxacan mercados are lively, to say the least, and you can find a variety of goods in different buildings. Benito Juarez Market has all your souvenir needs covered. Mercado 20 de Noviembre is my favorite for baked goods, fresh fruit and smoked meat.
Excursions There’s much to do in the beautiful city, but venturing to the outskirts of Oaxaca is well worth the bumpy bus ride. Monte Albán is an ancient structure that functioned as a Zapotec metropolis between 500 BCE and 800 CE. Located farther east, Hierve el Agua features three stunning natural spring pools and calcified waterfalls.
Mezcal No trip to Oaxaca is complete without a mezcal tasting, and in the city there is a bounty of mezcalerias a stone’s throw away. Some of my favorites include El Destilado and El Cortijo Mezcaleria, one of the oldest tasting rooms in Oaxaca. If you’re up for an excursion, book a tour along La Ruta del Mezcal, a road that connects several local palenques where you can learn about the distillation process up close.
Mole Oaxaca is known for its chocolate, mezcal and of course, mole. Of the seven different kinds of mole originating in the region, my personal go-to is Rojo served over browned chicken with queso Oaxaca on the side.
Cathedrals Oaxaca’s cathedrals are the heart of the city, and two of the most popular, the Santo Domingo de Guzmán and The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, are steps away from one another.
Did You Know? Mezcal 101
• Mezcal can only be made in 10 Mexican states, which comprise the entirety of the world’s mezcal production.
• Tequila is a type of mezcal, but mezcal is NOT Tequila, which is made specifically with blue agave.
• Mezcal is made from many different agave varietals, some of which can take up to 35 years to mature.
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