South Grand's Monstera Mezcaleria is bringing back Copita, its multi-day celebration of Mexican spirits, running September 10 through September 13 around South Grand before culminating in a grand tasting at the historic Das Bevo windmill. The 2026 edition promises more than 100 spirits brands, guided tastings, a bartending competition, and a hidden late-night party, positioning the neighborhood bar as the anchor of a citywide showcase for tequila, mezcal, and beyond.
Copita is presented by Monstera Mezcaleria, the South Grand Boulevard bar that rebranded from a neighborhood bottle shop called Grand Spirits into a dedicated mezcaleria and natural wine destination back in October 2024. As reported by Sauce Magazine, the festival is described as a multi-event celebration of traditional Mexican spirits that will bring together bartenders, producers, educators, and drinkers for cocktails, tastings, and education. Sauce Magazine is serving as a media sponsor of Copita 2026 and is also the presenting sponsor of the Carajillo Cocktail Competition Finals.
Monstera itself has been busy expanding its footprint on South Grand. In March, the bar opened a hidden basement bar, New Society, accessed through a bookcase door and created by Monstera owner Michael Fricker along with bartender Meredith Barry, according to Hoodline's earlier reporting.
Competition Kicks Off the Festival
The festivities open September 10 with the Carajillo Cocktail Competition Finals in St. Louis, which will test local bartenders as they create cocktail interpretations using Mezcal Vago and Paranubes. Paranubes is an artisanal Oaxacan sugarcane rum co-created by distiller Jose Luis Carrera and Judah Kuper, who also co-founded Mezcal Vago, per the same account from Sauce Magazine. The spirit is wild-fermented from fresh sugarcane juice in the cloud forests of Sierra Mazateca, Oaxaca, as reported by Imbibe Magazine. Guests at the finals will sample the competition cocktails and help choose the winner.
A Full Day of Guided Tastings
September 12 turns into a marathon of education with the Copita Symposium, which includes three guided tasting sessions across the day. Terroirs of Jalisco runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and explores the effects of elevation, climate, soil, fermentation, and distillation across Jalisco through nine spirits from producers including Siembra Spirits, Mezonte, Chacolo, Tequila Ocho, and Caballito Cerrero. Mezcals of the North follows from 1:30 to 3 p.m., focusing on mezcal traditions of northern Mexico with 10 spirits from Lamata, Cumbrita de la Sierra, and Los Cantiles. Mezcals of the South rounds out the sessions from 3:30 to 5 p.m., covering southern Mexican mezcal traditions with spirits from Mezcal Vago, Zinacantán, Cuish, Rey Campero, and Real Minero.
That same evening, the Buena Gente Party takes over South Grand as a free late-night event running from 8 to 11:30 p.m. on September 12.
Grand Finale at the Historic Windmill
Copita 2026 wraps up September 13 with the Copita Agave Spirits Festival at Das Bevo, running from noon to 3:30 p.m. The grand tasting will feature more than 100 brands spanning tequila, mezcal, and other Mexican spirits, alongside producers and agave experts on hand to talk shop.
The venue itself carries its own history. Das Bevo occupies the building originally constructed in 1917 by brewing magnate August A. Busch Sr. as a European-style restaurant and rest stop known as the Bevo Mill, complete with a signature 60-foot windmill, according to historical accounts documented by Rich Romano Photography. The building took its name from Bevo, Anheuser-Busch's Prohibition-era non-alcoholic malt beverage. After closing in 2009, the property underwent a $1.5 million historic renovation led by local artists Pat and Carol Schuchard before reopening in May 2017 as Das Bevo, a modern biergarten and event hall that still retains its original 1894 stone fireplaces and Alpine lodge aesthetic, according to Good Food St. Louis.
A Special Cup for VIP Guests
VIP ticket holders will receive early entry, a discount on retail purchases during the festival, and a handmade copita crafted by Oaxacan artist Ana Martínez. A copita is a wide, shallow terracotta clay cup historically used in Mexico to sip neat agave spirits, letting the distillate spread across a wider surface to release subtle aromas, according to Summit Sips. Authentic copitas like Martínez's are handcrafted by regional Mexican artisans, tying the festival's namesake vessel directly to the culture it celebrates.
Why Agave Spirits Are Having a Moment
The timing lines up with a broader surge in agave spirits nationally. U.S. supplier sales for tequila and mezcal generated $6.4 billion in 2025, keeping the category as the second-largest by revenue behind vodka even as overall U.S. spirits sales softened 2.2%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Super-premium agave expressions have been the primary driver of that growth, with U.S. consumer volume expanding by more than 1,200% between 2003 and 2025 to reach nearly 7.5 million 9-liter cases last year, per the council's data reported by Mordor Intelligence. Meanwhile, global exports of 100% agave tequila grew to 278.62 million liters in 2025, reflecting rising consumer preference for pure, additive-free spirits, according to Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council as reported by El Informador.
That national appetite for authenticity has taken root locally, too. St. Louis has developed a dedicated agave cocktail scene, with specialized Mexican spirits programs established at venues including Nixta, Planter's House, and Blood & Sand alongside Monstera Mezcaleria, according to Mezcal Culture. Local cocktail bars have increasingly expanded their menus to include unaged mezcals, raicilla, and artisanal tequilas, reflecting the same shift toward regional terroir and craft production that Copita's symposium sessions are built around.
