Tequila and mezcal are nothing new to the UK spirits market. However, unless you were already a fan, or big on Margaritas and Palomas, the changes in the scene over the last few years may have passed you by entirely. Tequila, both here and in the USA, has gone through a similar pattern of growth and premiumization as whisky. Think celebrity brands, luxury marketing, jostling for dominance in on-trade and off-trade with other spirits, and so on.

The Whisky Exchange, being the purveyors of all sorts of spirits, added the Tequila & Mezcal Show to their slate last year, and after a successful first outing it has returned in 2026. Eager to learn more about this category, and to complete their set of festivals like a Pokédex, I headed down to the show for the Saturday slot.

Glazier’s Hall by London Bridge hosts the majority of The Whisky Exchange’s festivals: Welcome To Whisky, The Rum Show and The Cognac Show. This means we’ve covered many times why we love it as a venue but to recap: It’s easy to get to with plenty of food options nearby, it’s spacious and bright inside, and it’s accessible too. The Tequila Show changes up the space a little though. Downstairs is a basement food court and cocktail bar, and mixed in among the stands upstairs are Mexican snacks and handcrafts. Given the size of the sector versus other spirits it’s good to see the show fleshed out like this rather than with awkward gaps or spaces closed off. 

Upon arrival at the festival we headed to the Whisky Exchange Stand as the team use their stands not just to show off their exclusive product, but also to provide knowledge and introduction to spirits for newcomers along with samples to match. I was able to ask questions, compare different profiles and solidify my knowledge before heading out onto the showfloor. The team were also happy to recommend places to start on the showfloor based on what I enjoyed. As you come in you’re also handed a cocktail token and a food discount token in lieu of any Dream Dram vouchers.

If you already love Tequila and Mezcal then attendance is a no-brainer, but for anyone curious and coming from the world of whisky, rum or Cognac  – things are very different over here. Barrel aged tequila is common but aged Mezcal is very uncommon. Ageing is also nowhere near as long as whisky either. These Anejo or Extra Anejo bottles are where I recommend brown spirit fans start as there’s some natural parallels you can draw. Herradua for instance is aged in Jack Daniel’s barrels being a fellow Brown-Forman product. I didn’t know this when I tried it but the nose had that distinctive foam banana I get from Jack Daniel’s beneath the earthy and vegetal notes. The oldest barrel aged product there was four years old from La Altena Tequila which is aged in a combination of casks. It was dry, floral and incredibly earthy. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of this much ageing on Tequila but it helped join the dots in my head. What matters more with agave based products is the terroir, production methods and also the age of the plant as agave can be harvested over decades. This plus the various regional rules are a lot to take in but all the brands were willing to educate.

So what did I enjoy the most? Well truth be told I found myself drawn to the Mezcals, especially those by Los Siete Misterois. Unfortunately the best of these are in the ultra-premium part of the category at £200+ but all of them impressed me and I learned a lot more about traditional mezcal production from the team. The standout of the show for me was Mama Chuy Tepeztate mezcal. This agave is roasted over mesquite and tamarind wood for several days but has a taste unlike anything I’ve ever tried. There’s a distant smoke in it sure, but for me it’s got maritime air, wet stone, charred vegetables and salted chocolate. After trying this and everything else at the show it’s fair to say my horizons were broadened. 

The cocktail offering at drinks festivals usually just gets a quick note from me but this show was superior on that front to The Whisky Exchange’s rum and whisky shows in my opinion. Run by Mestizo the mezcal Negroni I picked was very good and hit that bittersweet balance I’m looking for without any flavour overwhelming the others. It was the second best festival cocktail I’ve ever had, beaten only by the Cognac Show’s Dangerous Game by Ozalee. Since the show I’ve taken to ordering mezcal Negronis over my usual favourite the Boulevardier. There were also refreshing Palomas and Margheritas on the show floor, free of charge as a promotion for Altos tequila.

As with all Whisky Exchange shows things are overall smooth and organized. The drinks list and show map went up the day before too so you can plan ahead if you’re a serious enthusiast and want to maximise what you get through whilst minimizing the hangover. If you’re a fan of tequila and mezcal already then you don’t need anything more from me – this is yet another quality show from The Whisky Exchange.

For fans of barrel aged spirits who are just curious it may be worth looking to see if there’s a specialist bar like Mestizo or tasting experience near you before you put up the cash for a ticket. I had to kiss a lot more proverbial frogs to find the tequila and mezcal I adored than I did for rum and Cognac when I used The Whisky Exchange’s festivals to learn about those. If your only experience with tequila is slammers from a bottle with a little hat on then you’ve missed out on some magic, there just might be a bit more work involved in finding it.

[A complimentary ticket for this show was provided by The Whisky Exchange]