IN THE ZAPOTEC Indian village of Chichicapa, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and about four hours from the tourist haven of Oaxaca City, Faustino Garcia Vasquez, 38, distills mezcal following his family's generations-old recipe. Handcrafted from roasted agave plants, mezcals can vary in taste as widely as wines. "They're some of the finest heirloom spirits in the world," says Ron Cooper, an importer who markets Vasquez's mezcal in the U.S. "But what most people know as mezcal is just the cheap stuff they drank in college."

Even if you've had it in Mexico—and especially if your bottle had a worm in it—chances are you've never tasted genuine mezcal. Pure shots are hard to come by, paradoxically more so in Mexico, where bottlers add cane alcohol and other nasty stuff, giving the liquor its reputation as tequila's raunchy sibling. (The worm was a gimmick.) While imported brands win top awards at the World Spirits Championships and are available in the U.S. for up to $200 a bottle, the only way to get real mezcal in Mexico is to head to Oaxaca City, and then get out of town.

Your best bet is to book a day trip with David Sanchez, of Diamantes Zapotecos, who leads tours in his air-conditioned Chevy Suburban ($120; 52-951-544-3834, davidsantours@hotmail.com). Sanchez stops by traditional distilleries in the village of Teotitlan del Valle, 17 miles southeast of town, and at the thousand-year-old Mixtec-Zapotec ruins of Mitla, where indians sell mezcals for around five dollars a bottle. After a day of Sanchez's smooth stories and Oaxaca's rough roads, you'll see the truth behind the proverb "Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también": For everything bad, mezcal, and for everything good, too.

FROM THE SOURCE
If a trip to Oaxaca isn't in the cards, you can still buy premium mezcal through importers and fine liquor stores in the U.S. Try Vasquez's home-distilled Chichicapa ($65), as well as San Luis del Rio ($65) and Pechuga ($200), which uses an herbal infusion in its triple-distillation process. Also noteworthy is Crema de Mezcal ($45), a delicious blend of agave syrup and mezcal. All are available through Park Avenue Liquor in Manhattan (212-685-2442), Sam's Wines & Spirits in Chicago (800-777-9137), and D&M Wines and Liquors in San Francisco (800-637-0292). In the 26 states where it's legal to mail-order alcohol, you can also buy through Ron Cooper's Del Maguey Ltd. (505-758-1211, www.mezcal.com).