Mezcalería In Situ

A mind-boggling selection of mezcals to try. The bartender was patient and clearly excited to teach us about each different mezcal we tried - we ended up trying about 8 different mezcals at the bartender's selection. Overall a cool and fun experience!

I really wanted to love this place after reading all the positive reviews online. Maybe I came at the wrong time on a wrong day. - just not feeling much love here. We had much warmer experiences in Oaxaca, including all the other mezcalerias. 3 stars based on acceptable and average experience. The wow or above average experience was lacking for us.

Great selection of mezcal and the bartender is very knowledgeable! We did a tasting and it was wonderful. The place also has a lot of shop specific souvenirs that would make good gifts for friends & family! The day we went the owner was there who is one of the most well known mezcal mastero in Mexico

Not crowded, vast variety of mezcales, way too much mezcal. It has a nice ambience, chill music, modern, little minimalist, and the staff recommended mezcal according to personal taste. Very good place to come.

Learned a LOT about how vast and varied mezcal can be, depending on the type of agave. We chose a variety of types across different distillation methods and did a lot of taste comparison. This place has by far the most variety of mezcal I’ve seen anywhere. Service was very attentive, we didn’t sit at the bar and our server didn’t speak much English so it was more of a self-guided tour but he refilled our waters promptly and was very kind to us despite our broken Spanish. They had a special discount if you wanted to buy a bottle and paid in cash that night, I think 20% off. We already had bought too much mezcal so didn’t have any more space in our luggage but I’d definitely go back if next time I’m in Oaxaca.

So much mezcal!!! And tasting flight prepared depending on your preferences. This place is away from the crowds and you can get a great mezcal experience here!!!

Lovely mezcaleria with a huge selection of mezcals and a knowledgeable, friendly owner. I visited one evening by myself to try mezcal for the first time and thought I would do the tasting trio. The lady working there chose three different styles for me and took the time to explain each one (in Spanish but was able to translate to English anything I didn’t understand). She also provided some cards providing explanations about the type of agave used in each of the mezcals in the tasting which made the tasting more enjoyable. Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting an introduction to mezcal (and I’m sure even a veteran would be able to try something new there as well!)

Went in there tonight for a couple shots. The prices are a bit higher than is to be expected in Centro, but not much. The menu didn't say whether their mescal was artesenal or ancestral, which to anyone who knows anything is very important. I asked if they had any varieties which were ancestral, and the lady working waved vaguely at the menu and said they all were. In retrospect, I doubt it. I jokingly commented how much more expensive it is to buy mescal by the shot in town rather than at the palenques where it is made. Again something everybody knows. I was going to sample their wares anyway, but the woman behind the bar became extremely rude and arrogant as if she was offended that I noticed her mescal was priced between 9 and 13 dollars a shot. She literally told me to leave. I'm not at all surprised she only had a couple of customers in there. I am a permanent resident of Oaxaca and will never walk through her doors again. Not recommended.

There are 2 locations for In Situ now - we went to Bodega Versus, Reforma 306 (Versus is another In Situ brand). Small place, tasting counter up front, little bar in back. David was our tour guide - spoke good English, which was great because we're kinda new to mezcal (my Spanish is passable, but I would've missed a lot). He asked us about the things we liked to drink, and set us each up with 3 tasting glasses. Oh, it was amazing! Our favorite ended with an aftertaste of roses. We shared our little cups, so in all we tasted 12 mezcals (David brought us an extra round). Went back a few nights later, sat in the bar and Olivia mixed us some delicious cocktails, and David brought back samples of the mezcals from the cocktails. Sigh! I'd highly recommend reserving a tasting with David - it was just us, and we had his full attention. He is the most gracious and knowledgeable of hosts, and I feel I was properly introduced to mezcal.

Neat spot to try a larger variety of mezcal. Bartender was super nice. Mezcal was great! I didn't love the price for 450 was a tasting of 3 1.5 oz shots of mezcal. I'd suggest you pick three on your own and save a few bucks, we would have spent less than 250 pesos if we would have picked them ourselves. The cards were in Spanish only as well as the bartender telling us about them was great but my partner doesn't speak Spanish so I had to translate.

Estuvimos visitando el lugar, de entrada nos trataron muy mal, no nos dejaron utilizar su baño que es lo primero necesario luego de una gran caminata, nos dijeron que no tenían agua! Jaja qué excusa más mala!! Me sentí muy mal cuando minutos después, mientras esperaba un taxi para irme dejaron entrar a un hombre! La señora que nos habló es una mal educada y mentirosa, qué pena que no pudimos aprovechar su mezcal.

We drank way too much mezcal in Oaxaca and In Situ was our favorite spot for the tastings. The bartenders are very knowledgeable and friendly (it helped that we had a Spanish speaker with us but I think we would have figure it out on our own too, although some of the mezcal information might not have gotten through). We each did a tasting of 3 mezcals, bartenders choice, and really enjoyed it! We were traveling with a career mixologist and he was very impressed by their selection. We were there Saturday afternoon around 5pm and there were a few other patrons there but it was very easy to find seats.

This place was highly recommended by our tour guide this past weekend. He was a Oaxacan native so he stated to me to visit " In Situ ", because he said the owners would get me the perfect bottle for my taste buds so I believed him. The place is a hole in the wall but very laid back, which I liked. Upon arrival, I showed up with a group of six, and immediately I was greeted by a fellow with glasses, a beard, and long hair, he was a friendly dude, and immediately gave everyone a glass of fresh water, which was truly refreshing. I told him that I was looking for a particular bottle of Mezcal, named Tobala. I also told him that I was going to make a purchase of a bottle due to the highly recommendation. Keep in mind all the Mezcal there is 100 percent pure. So I asked if I can taste the Mezcal, so he poured me 2 samples and I immediately loved the first one. By then an older lady with short hair and glasses walked in, didn't bother to say hi to anybody and sat her ass in the register and was just staring at everybody with a serious face. I didn't get a good vibe from her. So she immediately took over the conversation I was having with the bartender and left him out of place if you tell me. I pursued on purchasing the bottle which was 1200 pesos, kinda pricy for being in Mexico but it made sense because their product ia legit and 100 percent pure. I gave the 2 stars because after I purchased the bottle she said " oh wait, I didn't charge you for the shots " I'm like, well they were sample shots not full shots and I bought a bottle. She replied to me and stated to me that they charge everyone for the samples. Now I don't know if this is true or not. I got upset because I purchased an expensive bottle and still charged me for 2 samples. You can literally go anywhere in Zocalo or zona touristica and try all the mezcal samples for free. I didn't want to return the bottle and go elsewhere because it was my last night and I was over it. I hope when you visit they don't hussle you the way they did to me. You guys are better off buying mezcal from the mezcal tours, I highly recommend them. My gut just told me to listen to the local tour guide.

We stopped by this intimate Mezcal bar before dinner on a Thursday evening and was treated to a very fun educational Mezcal tasting experience. We tried a flight of 3 Mezcals and the bartender explained the attributes differences for each one. She spoke very good English and was very friendly, patiently answering our questions. After the flight we had a couple more, and wow, Mezcal is strong stuff - everything we had was over 45%. The bar itself is very small - it probably can only accommodate maybe 10 people. We chatted up a very friendly Mexican tourist while we were there. Defiantly a fun time.

Nice spot for Mezcal tastings and a few good cocktails! Hidden little cozy spot near the center of town. New Year's Eve around 5 or 6pm, there were a few others in the bar. Quiet, but plenty of space for six of us. See my photos for additional details! We got the Grapefruit & Chocolate Mezcal cocktails. Both fantastic, 4.5 stars. The Chocolate one was quite strong, but they were a good balance.

Skip this place. I think this place used to be the spot to go to for Mezcal 5-10 years ago. But since then, many other better spots have opened (Boulenc, Mezcaloteca, Archivo Maguey next door). Mezcal has blown up in Oaxaca. On top of this, the glass is half-empty there (and I'm generally an optimist). Come on...that's a not a pour. That's half a shot. To the owners, I was sitting there, reading, and I didn't want another half shot. Then you give me a hard time for not ordering more. I would understand, if I was indeed keeping others from getting a seat. But your place was empty. Don't treat customers like this!

Great samples of Mezcal. Sandra Ortiz was amazing. She explained all different types of mezcal. Laid back atmosphere. A little on the pricey end. Try the sampler of 3.

Great place to sit down and learn about Mezcal in a relaxed envirnoment.Prices are fair and space is cozy. Sit downstairs to learn and be social with other patrons or go upstairs to have space with your group of friends. Mezcal selection is only in house (one brand but many varieties).

Tasty and informative. No pretensions detected which is what I was worried about. The mezcal master(?),not sure what to call them since they're not really bartending, gave me a recommendation and it was spot on to what I prefer in a mezcal. Top notch service. They speak English and Spanish

Prices ok.. no food and the atmosphere seemed sad. Cute setup though! Cheer up amigos!

In Situ is a quaint place to sip mezcal. It's definitely a helpful place to learn about mezcal if you're unfamiliar with the drink and the prices aren't too elevated. I gave the place 3 stars because it's a bar that doesn't have regular beer (Victoria, Dos Equis, etc)...only artisanal. So you're forced into having an IPA or stout with your mezcal or a water. Not the best combination in my opinion.

Yet another stellar spot to visit in Oaxaca. I'll keep it short and simple... You're in town to drink mezcal? Do you want to learn more or hang out with local experts? This is a great spot for that. Whether you want to be in the company of mezcal fans or you want to learn from the best, come here to try lots of variety, have questions answered, and to have a lovely time.

Amazing place to hang out and drink and learn about mezcal. It's a small bar area with an upstairs as well. They have close to a hundred different bottles I would guess. Bottles by specific agave plant, different distillation techniques, different aging processes. You can sit and talk and learn from some really knowledgable and passionate people. In addition when we went there were playing some excellent blues. We spent a few hours mid day and got our feet numb after walking several miles. A beautiful memory and wonderful time. This place is a must visit

I tried the Tobalá and horno mixto. Both very nice, very soft and not to complex. They are very attentive and give you plenty of explanations on the different types of mezcal and advice on transporting it. In particular I was happy to find some small bottles (250 ml) for trying on my own without having to worry about tripping over a curb and being flattened by a taxi. And the prices are quite reasonable, compared to other places that have a similar selection. It is a little small--maybe seats for 10 people at a time. Highly recommended!

Good selection hard to pick a favorite. Tepextate has to be one of the best mezcal I ever had.

My local guide in Oaxaca knows her stuff, and she certainly knows her Mezcal. On one of our evenings out, doing anthropological research on local liquors ;) she took me here. Guru of mezcal Uileses runs this place. Ulises Torrentera. He is amazing. Rows and rows of bottles filled with clear goodness, many with hand-written labels. Don't be afraid. Spanish only unless his partner Sandra Ortiz Brena is working. Allow them to guide you and take you on an amazing journey. A very different experience than some of the more upscale mezcal tasting rooms. But no less worthy. ALL HAIL UILESES!!

Really bad service and owner was really rude. Very expensive for the tiny pours that you get. Overall horrible experience.

Great mezcaleria! They made spot-on recommendations based on our likes and dislikes, and the mezcal selection is unique, varied and interesting. They also offer mezcal cocktails and craft beers. The space was relatively empty on a weekday afternoon and it was lovely to spend a couple of hours sipping mezcals in this comfortable, easy going place. Highly recommended if you like and/or want to try mezcals!

Fun mescal bar: friendly bartender who can describe in English what flavor sand mouth responded signify

Small but lots of character, felt much more traditional than other bars made for english speakers. really cool art and overall vibe and really good mezcal. The night I went they had a guitar playing Mexican music and singing. I enjoyed it very much as a first stop on a mezcal bar hopping adventure

Fantastic, charming mezcal bar. A staggering array of choices, and a staff who knows their stuff. Owner Ulises was aptly described in another review as a guru. A mix of tourists and locals, old and young. Our favorite seat was on the landing between the first and second floors, where you could sip great mezcal and watch people going by, down on the street.

This place is great. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable!! It is the perfect place to learn about the mezcal in the area.

The best mezcal tasting room in Oaxaca, period. And I say that even as a new place seems to open every few months. Ulises Torrentera and Sandra Ortiz Brena know their mezcal and are well-respected within the mezcal world of producers and distributors. If you don't know what to order, ask Ulises and he will magically find you the perfect one among his vast collection.

By far the best mezcal bar in Oaxaca in terms of selection, knowledge, and quality. The owners are there daily and always seem happy to share their vast knowledge of mezcal. Oftentimes they will even pour you free samples of this or that exotic just to help expand your appreciation of different mezcal styles. Moreover their 200 MXN mezcal tasting flight is not fixed as it is at most bars and they will happily pour from even premium bottles like tobala and tepeztate. Water is always available to cleanse your palate between samplings. The interior is modern and comfortable. Highly recommended.