By Kristen Hawley

Sometime over the past few years, bartenders and patrons in San Francisco started paying more attention to mezcal, a Mexican spirit derived from the agave plant. Until recently, it was relatively unknown compared to tequila, which is, of course, distilled from the same plant. Why the increase in popularity? Probably because mezcal is handcrafted, often from old family recipes, and complex in taste — qualities that San Franciscans love. It’s popped up in bars and restaurants all over town, from tequila haunts to dive bars to any spot with a craft cocktail menu. As one SF bar manager puts it, “If you don’t have mezcal, you’re not really a bar.”

With so many different varieties, mezcal isn’t a had-one-had-them-all spirit. Agave hearts are fire-roasted in pits dug into the ground before distillation, giving the spirit its trademark smoky flavor.

Tasting notes on a list of mezcal options read like a wine menu: from floral and fruit to hints of chilies, red pepper, and coffee on the richer end. It’s like the grand slam of bar beverages: the complexity of wine, the power of tequila, and the craftsmanship of artisanal production.

The essence of mezcal is best summarized by the Mexican saying: Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien también. For everything bad, mezcal, and for everything good, the same.

We agree. Here’s where to get your fix in San Francisco.

1. Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant

5929 Geary Blvd, Outer Richmond

The Tommy’s margarita is a San Francisco institution, but it’s also a special spot to drink mezcal. Pull a stool up to the colorful and well-stocked bar for a glass of your favorite. Stay for the plates of Mexican food. As you’d expect, a restaurant this popular can get pretty packed, so if you’re into chill drinking, try a weeknight (but not Tuesday, it’s closed) or lunch time.

2. The Alembic

1725 Haight Street, Upper Haight

No cocktail list is complete without mention of the Upper Haight’s Alembic, beloved since it first opened in 2006. Enjoy one of 15 mezcals currently on the menu, ranging from the popular $10 Del Maguey Vida to a $55 2010 vintage Pechuga. There aren’t any mezcal cocktails offered right now, but if you’ve ever trusted a bartender to make a well-balanced, delicious, spirit-forward drink, the gents and ladies behind the Alembic are the ones to create it for you.

3. La Urbana

661 Divisadero Street, Western Addition

Nothing solidifies the popularity of a spirit more than a restaurant that essentially opened in its honor. This spot on the Divisadero corridor pays homage to mezcal, offering nearly 60 varieties to choose from. The detailed menu lists tasting notes and proofs, similar to a wine list. Order a single glass, compare types with a three-mezcal flight (the bartender is happy to recommend selections), or try one of the cocktails. The La Urbana Margarita is made with mezcal, offering a new twist on a familiar favorite.

4. Nopalito

1224 9th Avenue, Inner Sunset

Nopalito’s second location has been around since 2012. You can get your mezcal fix at the other location on Broderick and Fell, but this spot has a great outdoor patio. Half of the spirit menu at Nopalito is mezcal (the other half, fittingly, tequila), offered in one-ounce servings with traditional sal de especias — spiced salt. And lest you forget, the menu reminds patrons, “Sip it, don’t shoot it.”

5. Sabrosa

3200 Fillmore Street, Marina

Sabrosa is the place for mezcal in the Marina. Try the unique Beer and Smoke cocktail: mezcal, lime, celery bitters, and Cholula hot sauce topped with Dos Equis amber (yes). Or, sip on a three-mezcal flight of Del Maguey Vida, Chichicapa, and Tobala at the bar. Sabrosa serves Mexican dishes like guac, ceviche, and carnitas until 10 p.m., and the bar is open until 2 a.m.

6. 15 Romolo

15 Romolo Pl., North Beach

15 Romolo is one of those alley bars that you don’t want to tell newcomers about. Celebrating its 15th year of operation, this is the spot for both great food and mezcal. Plus, it has poutine on the menu, so you can give a nod to our Canadian friends while you’re sipping on some of Mexico’s finest.

7. Brass Tacks

488A Hayes Street, Hayes Valley

This great Hayes Valley spot opened in summer 2013 on a stretch of Hayes with surprisingly limited drinking options. Brass Tacks has what you’d call a “good starter selection” of mezcal for sipping, and a cocktail called Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo — the good, the bad, the ugly — made with mezcal, averna, cacao, and something called Hellfire bitters (we’ll assume that’s the ugly).

8. West of Pecos

550 Valencia Street, Mission

This rustic-looking Tex-Mex spot on Valencia puts you in the mood before you step inside. A roaring fireplace greets diners and drinkers at West of Pecos, providing quite the rustic backdrop for the one lucky table seated outdoors (under a heat lamp most nights). Drink mezcal in a cocktail: the Rodeo Ghost includes vermouth and amaro. Or try the Mezcal Mule, a variation of the Moscow Mule made with lime juice, bitters, and spicy ginger beer. For purists, a flight of three mezcals, paired with house sangria.

9. Mosto

741 Valencia Street, Mission

This Mission spot, a tequila bar attached to Tacolicious, has 300 agave spirits with a rotating list of mezcals — 64, currently (try the Mezcalero #6). Thanks to the impressive selection, there’s usually an available “bartender’s choice” mezcal cocktail on the menu too. (Get that.) And keep an eye on the future — new bar manager Danny Louie, who recently joined the group to open the forthcoming Chino, will also shake up the Mosto menu. If you prefer your mezcal in the morning, head to Mosto sister Tacolicious on Chestnut Street in Cow Hollow for the Breakfast of Champions: mezcal, cava, maple syrup, and sage.

10. Loló

974 Valencia Street, Mission

Loló moved to a new location on Valencia Street recently, giving this family-run spot more well-deserved visibility. If the crowds are any indication, the relocation has been a success, and the bartenders remain as personable as ever, happily pouring glasses of organic Minotauro mezcal, considered the house variety. (Loló has plenty of others, too.) A bigger location means a revamped food menu, so you can get your snack on, too, though we still recommend the tuna tacon.

11. Beretta

1199 Valencia Street, Mission

This Italian spot in the Mission is better known for its pizza than its mezcal, but Beretta’s stand-out cocktails and vast spirit selection, coupled with knowledgeable bar manager Dominic Alling’s touch, means the place has a deep drink portfolio. The rotating cocktail menu features at least one mezcal option. Or order off-menu: Beretta’s wildly different Port of Spain, inspired by Alling’s childhood in Trinidad, is made from mezcal, lime, orgeat syrup, and Angostura bitters — a full half-ounce of them.

12. Don Ramon’s

225 11th Street, SoMa

This family-run restaurant opened on 11th Street in 1982, and has recently expanded its cocktail program to include 15 varieties of mezcal. Don Ramon’s is a good spot for hot-plate Mexican food, especially in large groups. This isn’t the place to sit quietly and nurse a drink, but if it’s party time, enjoy a margarita made with Vida mezcal.

13. Tres

130 Townsend Street between 2nd and 3rd, SoMa

If you’re seeking mezcal for a group — like before a Giants game at AT&T Park — Tres is your place. Try “Mexican cousins of classic cocktails” like La Palabra Verdá, which is mezcal la puritita verdá, green chartreuse, maraschino, and lime. Or the Okey Dokey Smokey — mezcal Vida, sugar, grapefruit bitters, and a cinnamon dusted orange. There’s a five-mezcal Del Maguey flight on the menu, but you can let the bartenders create a custom flight, too.

Tequila, mezcal, what comes next? Keep an eye on sotol, a related spirit distilled from an agave plant that grows in northern Mexico and parts of the southwestern U.S.