These Lesser-Known Mexican Spirits Are Booming at Boston Bars

Forget tequila—these other Mexican spirits are having a moment.

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A glass holding an orange cocktail has a black salt rim.

Sabina’s Bacanorazo cocktail. / Courtesy photo

While dining around Greater Boston all year with an eye toward compiling our Top 50 Restaurants list, we often like to bookend our fine-dining research meals with stops at our favorite local bars and casual haunts. In doing so, we’ve been delighted to find that Mexican spirits have really been getting the spotlight lately. Boston-area bars are taking deep dives into spirits beyond the ubiquitous tequila (and, increasingly, mezcal); here’s where to find a few in creative cocktails and on their own.

This guide was first published in October 2024 as an addendum to the Top 50 Restaurants list; stay tuned for periodic updates.

Bacanora

A Sonoran mezcal sometimes referred to as “Mexican moonshine” (its distillation was prohibited for much of the 20th century).

Where to try it: 

  • Gustazo Cuban Kitchen & Bar (Waltham location only), on its own or in a flight of Mexican spirits.
  • Sabina Mezcaleria, on its own—the year-old mezcal-focused bar in the Back Bay showcases bacanora from Rancho Tepúa, with grassy, minty, floral notes. Or, try it in the Bacanorazo cocktail with Ancho Reyes, pamplemousse, tamarind pure, and a splash of grape juice. (Sabina owner Allan Rodriguez, also behind El Centro and La Neta, grew up in Sonora.)
An orange cocktail with a chili pepper and chili salt rim sits on a black bar.

Barra’s Chamango cocktail. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Charanda

A sugarcane-derived, rum-like spirit from the state of Michoacán.

Where to try it:

  • Barra, in the Chamango cocktail, with Ancho Reyes, chamoy, and Tajín.
  • Rosa Mexicano, in two cocktails: a mojito with rum and charanda, and the tiki-inspired Buena Vibra with tequila, passionfruit, falernum, vanilla, orgeat, and Peychaud’s bitters.
A brown cocktail with a foamy top is garnished with a cinnamon stick and orange peel.

El Tacuba’s Carajillo cocktail with espresso, Licor 43, Nixta (a corn liqueur), mole bitters, and orange. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Nixta Licor de Elote

A branded corn liqueur made from ancestral cacahuazintle maize from a volcano in Central Mexico.

Where to try it:

  • Citrus & Salt, in Elote Old Fashioned, a cocktail with bourbon, Angostura bitters, and demerara sugar.
  • El Tacuba, in Carajillo, a cocktail with espresso, Licor 43, mole bitters, and orange.

Pox (pronounced “posh”)

A Mayan ceremonial liquor of corn, sugarcane, and wheat, with smoky whiskey-meets-rum notes.

Where to try it: 

  • Barra, in an otherwise classic mojito with fresh mint, lim, sugar, and soda, or in a pox sour.
Interior of a Mexican restaurant featuring dining space and a bar. Two skylights have faux greenery hanging from the edges, and one wall is covered in blue and white Mexican tiling.

El Tacuba. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Pulque Distillate

The increasingly popular distilled version of pulque, an Aztec spirit made from fermented agave sap.

Where to try it: 

  • El Tacuba, on its own—the Medford restaurant from the team behind Tenoch features double-distilled pulque from Estancia Destileria in Jalisco, Mexico, with vegetal, earthy, funky flavors.

Raicilla

An agave spirit from Jalisco that, like tequila, can be categorized by aging process—joven, reposado, añejo, etc.

Where to try it:

  • Barra, in a martini made with dry vermouth, elderflower liqueur, and cured cactus, or on its own (two varieties available).
  • The Painted Burro (Somerville location only), on its own.
  • Gustazo Cuban Kitchen & Bar (Waltham location only), on its own or in a flight of Mexican spirits.
  • Hojoko, in La Neta, a cocktail with mezcal, tequila, Mexican rum, mole, mint, and coconut.
  • El Tacuba, on its own.
Suitcases with vintage travel stickers line wooden shelves on a stone wall.

Travel vibes at Birds of Paradise. / Photo by Ran Duan

Sotol

A spirit distilled from the desert spoon plant and produced in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, or Durango, often with a piney, grassy taste.

Where to try it: 

  • Barra, in a flight, on its own, in a tasting compared to a mezcal, or in the Malverde cocktail with elderflower liqueur, cucumber, mint, lime, and orange bitters. Barra typically carries around eight varieties of sotol.
  • Birds of Paradise, in the Pennies del Cielo cocktail, a play on an Old Fashioned with coconut-washed bourbon, elote pandan cordial, and tango bitters.
  • Casa Romero, on its own. The Back Bay mainstay carries two varieties of one brand.
  • Gustazo Cuban Kitchen & Bar (Waltham location only), on its own or in a flight of Mexican spirits.
  • The Painted Burro, in the Sotolyche cocktail at the Cambridge location (with elderflower liqueur, grapefruit, lychee purée, and aquafaba), in the Sotol Sour at the Waltham location (with green Chartreuse, pineapple and ginger syrup, and lime), or on its own or in a flight at the Somerville location.
  • Sabina Mezcaleria, on its own.
  • Shore Leave, in the Other Mother cocktail with tequila, Ancho Reyes Verde, bell pepper, and lime.
  • El Tacuba, on its own. El Tacuba typically carries around six varieties.
  • Temazcal Tequila Cantina, in the Illegal Fashion cocktail with mezcal, agave nectar, Nixta corn liqueur, and Aztec chocolate bitters. Multiple locations, temazcalcantina.com.

A version of this piece was first published in the print edition of the November 2024 issue as an addendum to the Top 50 Restaurants list.  

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