Whether or not it’s your go-to spirit, chances are you’ve heard about mezcal in the last several years. In fact, according to data from the Mexican government, so many of us were learning about mezcal for the first time between 2007 and 2011 that sales of the beverage grew by nearly 48 percent in that period — a true feat if you understand just how polarizing mezcal’s backbone flavor is to so many palates.

That iconic smokiness isn’t the only