Mezcal Union Uno Joven Mezcal 375ml

The name encodes the philosophy. Unión — union — is the word that an old Oaxacan told the founders when they were starting the company: the future of mezcal would be based on a unión. A union of farmers who grow the agave. A union of mezcalero families who roast it, grind it, ferment it, and distill it. A union of urban partners who market and distribute it. Each with their own responsibilities. Each with their own profits. More than 50 mezcalero families across Oaxaca, working together under the guidance of Master Mezcalero Pedro Hernandez in San Baltazar Gualichán, producing a mezcal that carries every family's accumulated generational knowledge in every bottle.

The agave varieties chosen for Uno are as specific as the cooperative model. Espadín — the most widely planted and most commercially familiar agave variety in Oaxaca, here grown for eight years before harvest — provides the sweet, fruity, roasted agave foundation that is the category's most approachable and most broadly recognized character. Cirial — a wilder, less common variety that grows for fourteen years before reaching harvest maturity — provides the herbal, earthy, and specifically tropical dimensions that distinguish Uno from every single-varietal Espadín mezcal and every Cirial-absent blend. Together they produce what Wine Enthusiast's Kara Newman found most immediately appealing in a 92-point review: "ripe, fruity style — tropical fruit flavors like lychee and banana, and a mild note of jalapeño on the finish."

The Mezcal Reviews community calls it "the mezcal that got me into this incredible spirit." The official tasting summary from the estate is "pear, apple, smoked, herbs." The Blackwell's listing describes it as "the most commonly found mezcal for cocktails in the US and Mexico." And the Brussels World Competition awarded Gold in 2019. This is the mezcal that introduces people to Oaxaca — and keeps them there.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Mezcal Unión was founded on a specific organizational model that distinguishes it from virtually every other mezcal brand in the market: a genuine cooperative of more than 50 mezcalero families across Oaxaca, each contributing their generational expertise, their specific terroir, and their specific production knowledge to the collective expression. The brand works not as a single-distillery producer but as a coordinating organization that sources, guides, and bottles the work of multiple producer-families — preserving traditional techniques, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and ensuring fair wages in a region where agave spirits production has historically concentrated its profits at the urban distribution end rather than the rural agricultural and artisanal production end.

Master Mezcalero Pedro Hernandez leads the production program from San Baltazar Gualichán, Oaxaca — a small community in the Oaxacan highlands whose specific combination of elevation, soil, and microclimate produces agave of the particular character that the Unión Uno blend requires. The mezcal carries NOM O174X — its specific production authorization confirming the artisanal production category, the Oaxacan origin, and the traditional methods that every mezcal CRM certification requires.

The production process is 100% artisan hand-made from harvest to bottling. Espadín agave — grown for 8 years — and Cirial agave — grown for 14 years, nearly twice as long — are hand-harvested at their specific maturities, then roasted in traditional earthen pit ovens for four days. The earthen pit roasting is the production step that deposits the specific smoky, roasted quality that defines mezcal's most fundamental flavor distinction from tequila: the agave hearts cooking slowly underground in the specific combination of heat, smoke, and steam that the earthen walls and the covering materials produce over the extended roasting period. After roasting, the agave is ground using a Chilean tahona — the volcanic stone wheel that extracts the juice from the cooked agave fiber more gently and more completely than mechanical mills — preserving the natural oils and the specific textural quality that tahona-ground mezcal consistently produces. Natural wild fermentation — no commercial yeast additions, allowing the local Oaxacan microbiological environment to govern the fermentation character — adds the specific complexity that industrial yeast programs suppress. Double distillation in copper alembic stills produces the finished Joven, bottled unaged at 40% ABV to preserve the pure agave expression and terroir character.

Critics Reviews

Wine Enthusiast — 92 Points (Kara Newman): "The ripe, fruity style of this mezcal lends itself to making margarita variations and other cocktails. Look for tropical fruit flavors like lychee and banana, and a mild note of jalapeño on the finish."

Brussels World Spirits Competition 2019 — Gold Medal

Mezcal Unión official tasting notes: "Sweet, Fruity — pear, apple. Smoked. Herbs — mint, peppermint. Wet earth."

Blackwell's Wines & Spirits official product tasting notes: Nose: "Fresh and smoky with aromas of roasted agave, citrus peel, light vanilla, and faint minerality. Hints of herbs, white pepper, and subtle wood smoke drift underneath." Palate: "Clean and slightly sweet at first — cooked agave, green apple, and a touch of tropical fruit. Mid-palate introduces a mild smokiness, herbal tones of mint and sage, and a faint peppery spice. Smooth and balanced, with warmth but no harshness." Finish: "Crisp, dry, and refreshing. Citrus rind, soft smoke, and mineral linger with a subtle sweetness — a clean, earthy impression that invites another sip."

Union Square Wines: "Fresh grapefruit on the nose. Mint, juicy pineapple, and herbal undertones on the palate. Hints of pear and green applewood. Bittersweet lime on the finish."

Old Town Tequila: "Initially reveals its artisanal production with oak firewood. Sweet and fruity notes of Espadín agave. Earthy, herbal and citrus notes of the Cirial agave."

Mezcal Reviews community — "the mezcal that got me into this incredible spirit."

Tasting Profile

Nose Crystal clear with brilliant silver luminosity — Joven mezcal at 40% ABV in its most unmodified and most purely expressive form. The nose opens with the immediate and entirely characteristic dual-agave combination that makes Unión Uno the most specifically identifiable entry-level mezcal in Oaxaca's export market: roasted agave arrives first with the warm, earthy sweetness of four days in the earthen pit oven — the specific quality that distinguishes mezcal's roasted character from tequila's autoclave or brick-oven cooked agave. Then the Cirial's contribution emerges alongside: fresh grapefruit and citrus peel adding a brightness and freshness that the Espadín's roasted earthiness alone doesn't achieve. Sweet pear and green apple follow — the Espadín's most vivid and most characteristic fruit contribution. Light vanilla adds a barely perceptible warmth from the copper alembic distillation. Mint and peppermint add the herbal dimension that the Cirial's 14-year maturity specifically contributes — cooling, slightly medicinal, and entirely pleasant. Faint minerality from the Oaxacan terroir adds background depth. Subtle wood smoke drifts underneath — restrained rather than dominant, communicating the earthen pit roasting as a background quality rather than a primary aromatic force. White pepper adds the light spice that wild fermentation consistently contributes.

Palate Clean, slightly sweet, and impeccably balanced — the Wine Enthusiast 92-point characterization's most direct palate confirmation. The entry is immediately accessible: cooked agave sweetness arriving first alongside green apple in a combination of warmth and freshness that is the dual-agave blend's most specifically inviting palate quality. Lychee and tropical fruit follow with the ripe, vivid character that Kara Newman identified as the most distinguishing and most cocktail-appropriate quality of the Uno profile. Juicy pineapple adds further tropical dimension from the Cirial's contribution. Mid-palate introduces the smokiness — present and identifiable but restrained, "giving way" rather than dominating in the Liquor Barn's precise characterization. Mint and sage add herbal tones. Grapefruit zest adds citrus brightness at the mid-palate peak. Earthy minerals from the Oaxacan terroir ground the whole palate experience. A faint peppery spice adds warmth. The texture is smooth and balanced — the tahona grinding and the copper alembic distillation together producing a mouthfeel of genuine quality at an accessible proof point. The mild jalapeño warmth that Wine Enthusiast specifically identified surfaces at the mid-palate close as the most memorable and most specifically savory finish note.

Finish Crisp, dry, and refreshing — the Blackwell's characterization confirmed in a finish that is clean, medium in length, and entirely inviting for the next sip. Citrus rind and soft smoke carry the close together in the specific combination that makes Unión Uno most effective in cocktail applications while also being entirely enjoyable neat. Mineral earthiness lingers. A bittersweet lime note adds the most specifically Oaxacan final quality — the worm salt and orange slice serving tradition's flavor combination emerging naturally from the spirit itself at the very close. Sweet fruit and gentle smoke linger together. A mild jalapeño-like warmth provides the "savory farewell" that the Liquor Barn reviewer found most memorable.

Quick Overview

Serving & Occasion

Traditionally neat with an orange slice sprinkled with worm salt (sal de gusano) — the authentic Oaxacan serve that the spirit was designed for, and the most specifically terroir-expressive way to encounter the Espadín-Cirial interplay. The orange amplifies the citrus and tropical fruit notes; the worm salt's umami and earthy quality bridges the mezcal's mineral and herbal dimension in a combination that Oaxacans have understood intuitively for generations.

On the rocks — a single large ice cube opens the tropical fruit and mint notes further while the smoke integrates into something more harmonious. A few drops of water achieves the same effect with more precision.

In cocktails — Wine Enthusiast specifically recommends "margarita variations and other cocktails," and the Uno's restrained smoke, lychee, and tropical fruit profile makes it the most immediately mixable and most broadly accessible mezcal cocktail base at this price point.

Cocktail Suggestions

Mezcal Margarita (the natural home) 1.5 oz Mezcal Unión Uno · 1 oz fresh lime juice · ¾ oz Cointreau · agave syrup to taste · worm salt rim. Shaken over ice, served on the rocks. The lychee and tropical fruit carry through fresh lime with smoky depth that tequila cannot add — a margarita of genuine complexity and surprising accessibility.

Oaxacan Old Fashioned (the classic mezcal cocktail) 1 oz Mezcal Unión Uno · 1 oz reposado tequila · 1 tsp agave nectar · 2 dashes mole bitters · expressed orange peel. Stirred over large ice. Philip Ward's original recipe — the mezcal's smoke and the tequila's agave sweetness cycling through each other in a genuinely extraordinary combination.

Mezcal Paloma 1.5 oz Mezcal Unión Uno · grapefruit soda · squeeze of fresh lime · pinch of salt. Built over ice in a highball. The grapefruit notes from the Cirial agave align naturally with the grapefruit soda — a refreshing long drink that showcases the Uno's most food-friendly qualities.

Mezcal Mule 1.5 oz Mezcal Unión Uno · ginger beer · fresh lime · mint sprig. Built over ice in a copper mug. The mint and herbal Cirial character aligns naturally with ginger beer — the smoke providing a depth that vodka-based Moscow Mules cannot match.

"The ripe, fruity style of this mezcal lends itself to making margarita variations and other cocktails. Look for tropical fruit flavors like lychee and banana, and a mild note of jalapeño on the finish." Wine Enthusiast 92 Points