Street Stand · Agave Spirit
Mezcal
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Small unmarked mezcalerías and street stands in Oaxaca often serve it in a hollowed-out orange slice dusted with sal de gusano, a salt ground with dried, roasted agave worms.
Agave hearts are roasted in underground pits, crushed, fermented, and distilled into a smoky spirit, then poured into small clay cups (copitas) at street stands and family-run palenques around Oaxaca. It's typically sipped slowly, not shot, alongside an orange wedge and worm salt.
Why it's made this way: Oaxaca produces the large majority of Mexico's mezcal, and its underground pit-roasting method, distinct from tequila's above-ground ovens, is central to the region's identity.
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