Veracruz All Natural Founders Open La Mezca, a Mezcal Bar Celebrating Agave, Art and Community
With palo santo in the air and shelves lined with small-batch agave spirits, this new Mueller mezcalería offers an immersive celebration of Mexico’s mezcal traditions
Walk into La Mezca on a Friday night and the first thing that hits you is the smell of palo santo drifting through the air, mingling with the earthy aroma of mezcal being poured into handcrafted glasses shipped from Mexico City.
This is intentional. Everything here is.
The Vazquez sisters, Reyna and Maritza, who built an Austin empire with Veracruz All Natural and Veracruz Fonda & Bar, have opened something different this time. La Mezca, which opened in October, is a cultural space dedicated to agave spirits and the generations of maestros and maestras mezcaleros who craft them in small batches across Mexico.
“La Mezca came from a desire to create something more intimate,” Reyna Vazquez said. “A place where people can really experience the art and history of mezcal. It’s not just about drinks or food; it’s about connection and culture.”
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The name itself carries layers of meaning. “La Mezca” plays on “mezcla,” Spanish for mix, and mezcal, the spirit at the bar’s heart. But there’s more to the story.
“At first, we had envisioned another concept, one deeply inspired by our friend and collaborator, Osvaldo Vázquez, who played a pivotal role in opening Fonda,” Reyna said. “But in the end, La Mezca felt like the name that truly resonated with our vision. It embodies our desire for simplicity, mystery and reflection, a space where culture, community and creativity intertwine effortlessly.”
An education in agave
Behind the bar, Sebastian Cajas is holding court. The bar manager spent eight years in Austin falling in love with the city before finding his calling at La Mezca. Originally from Quito, Ecuador, Cajas brings an educator’s passion to his work, one rooted in respect for the families and traditions behind every bottle.
“I want it to be more educational and guide people and teach them how to drink mezcal, how to appreciate the juice inside, not just look at it as a valid spirit,” Cajas said. “There’s a lot of thought and work in every bottle.”
The bar carries exclusively artisanal and ancestral mezcals, nothing industrial. The difference lies in the process. Artisanal mezcals are distilled in copper stills; ancestral ones use clay pots, the way it’s been done for generations.
Cajas doesn’t focus on flavor profiles the way other bars might. “To me, flavor profile in the palette is unique for each person that comes from every memory you have,” he said. “My focus is with the story, the families that are making the mezcal and the process.”
The right way to drink mezcal
There’s a ritual to drinking mezcal at La Mezca, and it doesn’t involve orange slices or salt.
“I don’t give oranges,” Cajas said. “I want people to drink it the right way.”
Instead, he teaches guests a traditional approach. First, smell the mezcal directly from the glass. Then, place a drop on the back of your hand and let it dry. Smell again. The alcohol burns off, revealing the scent of cooked agave underneath, sweet like sugarcane.
“That’s agave,” Cajas explained. “That’s the smell of cooked agave. Basically, agave is cooked under the ground to make it soft so they can muddle it and extract all the juice.”
The fermentation happens in open tanks or wood containers, often just behind the mezcalero’s house, for five to seven days, depending on the weather. Summer ferments faster because of the heat.
“Mezcal is just water and agave. That’s it,” Cajas said.
The difference between mezcal and tequila comes down to the agave. Tequila can only use blue weber agave. Mezcal can use almost 50 different species that grow across Mexico and beyond.
After understanding the process, guests take a small sip to prepare their palate, then continue sipping slowly.
Private picks and wild agaves
Cajas has also launched a private picks program, working with brands to secure exclusive small-batch bottles. One recent selection was an ensemble featuring three types of wild agave with only 84 bottles produced.
“You’re not going to find this one ever again,” he said. “I want people to come here and just try this one. That’s the only place you can find it.”
These wild agaves, called silvestres, grow wherever nature plants them. Mezcaleros forage for them and work with very small batches, preserving traditions that stretch back generations.
He ensures every bottle La Mezca carries comes from producers who do things right: family-owned operations that work with their communities and protect water sources, a critical concern across Mexico.
Honoring Día de los Muertos
Opening around Día de los Muertos wasn’t coincidental. The holiday’s themes of remembrance, celebration and connection mirror La Mezca’s mission.
“For us, La Mezca itself is an homage to those traditions; it’s a space that carries the soul of Mexico,” Reyna Vazquez said. “From the moment you walk in, you’re surrounded by elements that reflect where we come from: the textures on the walls, the sound of the music, the smell of palo santo and the flavors in each cocktail.”
Mezcal has always been part of Mexican ceremonies, both joyful and solemn. “It’s part of ceremony, celebration and reflection,” she said. “La Mezca honors that by creating a space where people can celebrate life while remembering their roots.”
The bar features an altar for Día de los Muertos and plans to continue seasonal rotations with guest bartenders from Austin and Mexico, culinary pop-ups and live vinyl DJ sets on Friday and Saturday nights from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
“It’s not just a mezcalería, it’s a cultural space where food, music and art come together,” Reyna said. “Every visit should feel like a new chapter in the same story.”
A space for connection
After years of building Veracruz All Natural from a food truck into an Austin institution, the Vazquez sisters wanted to explore something deeper with La Mezca.
“We’ve always been about community from our first food truck to Fonda, but with La Mezca, we wanted to explore the deeper, more soulful side of Mexican culture,” Reyna said. “It’s a space to have meaningful conversations, to feel inspired and to celebrate our heritage in a new way. Whether you come alone or with friends, the idea is that you leave feeling connected to yourself, to others and to the spirit of Mexico.”
Cajas, who chose Austin as his home after falling in love with the city’s warmth, sees La Mezca as a place to share that connection through education and respect for tradition.
“I want here to be the place that I can find the mezcal for everybody,” Cajas said. “We guide here. What do you like? Not this one? Okay, try this one.”
La Mezca offers something different: a chance to slow down, to learn the stories behind each bottle, to taste the years of work and generations of knowledge in every sip.
La Mezca is open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 5 p.m. to midnight and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. at 1611 E. Seventh St. Follow the bar on Instagram at @LaMezcaATX.
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