In the world of whiskey, most geeks will tell you that a spirit won’t age unless it’s stored in wood. In the world of agave spirits, geeks will swear they do change. The agave geeks are right and, now, we finally have proof. It’s an evidentiary episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto with Patrick Timmis of PKGD and a cast of dozens from Arte Agave Chicago tasting through a unique flight from mezcalero Victor Ramos to help demonstrate our point.

Episode Notes

Shout outs this episode to SACRED’s Futures program, Tales of the Cocktail, CH Distillery, Malort, Patrick Timmis of PKGD, Arte Agave Chicago, Eduardo Angeles of Lalocura, Dark Matter Coffee, Big of Big Works, Tony at Spilt Milk!

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I was watching that short documentary that PKGD released about mezcalero Carlos Mendez Blas, “Capitan Palomo.” And I was struck by the revelations in that film and how I think there’s something in Carlos’ world view that could solve the problems around immigration.

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Chef Oto Michel of Estrella Negra with wisdom from Carlos Mendez Blas of Mezcal Palomo.

Episode Notes

If you haven’t yet watched “Capitan Palomo,” do that here.

This episode cover is from the Loteria illustrated by Jose Guadalupe Posada.

Shout outs this episode to PKGD, the National Association to Protect Children, Erika Valenciana’s “Brewer," Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature, The HERO Child-Rescue Corps, Blue Oyster Cult’s “In Thee,” Lalocura, and Milt Rosenberg!

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Linda has her method for tasting agave spirits. I have mine. And they’re relatively the same. But we just learned a new method from Rosa Perez Hernandez of Campanilla and it blew our minds! It’s a breath-taking episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto with wisdom from Rosa Perez Hernandez of Campanilla.

Episode Notes

This isn’t the first episode of Agave Road Trip to cover ways to taste agave spirits. Check out Season 2, Episode 7, “How to Taste Spirits Neat”; Season 2, Episode 25, “The only correct way to drink Mezcal”; and … there’s another with Linda but I can’t find it. Help!

Thanks to Agave Road Trip poet laureate Larry Beckett for his performance of “Prayer for What Vanished,” excerpted from his epic poem “Wyatt Earp,” which is included in the book American Cycle.

Shout outs this episode to the National Museum of Mexican Art, Copitas de Sol, Siete Pozos Tuxca, Mezcal Villasuso, Maria de la Luz at Campanilla, Regina Gonzalez, and Oro by Nixta.

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Ron Aleman of Taco Mucho knows and loves Tequila. But he’s now finding himself drawn to Raicilla. “I’ve never had one I didn’t like,” he says. And I have a theory about that. So I run that theory by Marissa Paragano of The Tequiladies in this Jalisco-centric episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Marissa Paragano of The Tequiladies and Tequila That Cares.

Episode Notes

Marissa is also a board member of Tequila That Cares, a philanthropic organization bringing positive change to the agave spirits industry!

Shout outs this episode to El Bandido Yankee Tequila, G4 Tequila, Tequila Fortaleza, Cazcanes Tequila, Lagunitas Brewing, Dark Matter Coffee, La Venenosa Raicilla, PKGD Group, El Acabo Raicilla, and the DC Chocolate Fest!

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There are people in rural Mexico for whom Mezcal is 100% cultural heritage. And there are people there for whom it’s 100% business — sometimes tied to cultural heritage but sometimes tied simply to paying for food, clothing, shelter, and life’s aspirations and pleasures. So what does it mean when that business side taps into the cultural heritage side to increase business? It’s a thoughtful, precious episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with Shawn Miller of PKGD Group.

Episode Notes

Shout outs this episode to Ultramundo Mezcal, Mezcal Palomo, Chrissie Hynde, Sleep Walk’s award-winning Blanco Jaguar chocolate bar, red Solo cups, DC Chocolate Festival, Linda Sullivan, The Tequiladies, Connie, and Mezcal Lalocura!

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I see it all over the news, hear it in conversations: we're drinking less. But then I look at the sales numbers from DISCUS and it makes me wonder, are we really drinking less? Or are we just drinking differently? It’s a complex math equation that we try to solve in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto.

You can check the raw data from DISCUS here.

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The fastest-growing spirits category in the USA is Tequila/Mezcal. The most popular cocktail is the Margarita. We love tacos, we love tamales. So … can all of that help us as a country learn to love the people who brought us these things we love?

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Alba Huerta of Julep Houston.

Episode Notes

Shout outs to Alvin Schultz, Ben Quasius, Gustavo Arellano and his book Taco USA.

This episode was recorded about a month before the immigration raids in Los Angeles. The government’s violent response to the peaceful protests against those raids is, I think, evidence of what Alba says in this episode.

This Instagram post from my friends at Lost Lore Tequila says everything I’d want to say in a smarter way than I could

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At the DISCUS conference a few months ago, I was at a party that was populated by small-brand tasting tables. The one that drew my attention most was the one that was both least visited and most colorful. And my response to everything they were pouring was, Yes, please! But most especially, the White Chocolate/Raspberry Tiramisu whiskey! It’s an artificially inspired episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto with wisdom from Al Murphy of Mother Murphy’s Flavors.

Episode Notes

Thanks to Al Murphy of Mother Murphy’s Flavors

Shout outs to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US, Runts, Skittles, Hampden Estates Rum, Elevate Innovation, Non-Alcoholic Phony Negroni, Zignum Mezcal, Ancho Reyes Verde, Mexico in a Bottle, and “Outspoken,” the monthly storytelling event at Chicago’s Sidetrack!

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I thought this episode was going to be about blind tastings. And it is. Or, at least, it starts that way. But when you’re talking with Marissa, aka @tequilaencyclopedia , you rarely take as straight a path as you’d expect. So if you want to listen to a conversation about that … or about CostCo … or about the Agavos Awards … or how much I paid Marissa to join me on a trip to 818 Tequila, this episode is for you!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Marissa Paragano of The Tequiladies.

Episode Notes

Marissa is also a board member of Tequila That Cares, a philanthropic organization bringing positive change to the agave spirits industry!

Shout outs this episode to the Agavos Awards, 818 Tequila, Costco, and Marissa’s dream team, the Boston Red Sox!

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Chuck Cowdery was called “the dean of American whiskey journalism” by no less than Robert Simonson in the New York Times. So when I decided more than 250 episodes into this podcast to finally devote one to Mexican whiskey, I naturally invited my celebrated drinking buddy over. It’s (perhaps) the corniest episode of Agave Road Trip!

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Chuck Cowdery and additional wisdom from Ismael Gomez of Laika Spirits, Xaime Niembro of Whisky Juan del Campo and Gracias a Dios Mezcal, Txomin Alcorta of Whisky Prieto y Prieta, and Jonathan Barbieri of Whiskey Maiz Nation!

Episode Notes

Check out The Chuck Cowdery Blog!

Thanks to Ismael Gomez of Laika Spirits, Xaime Navarro of Gracias a Dios Mezcal and Juan Del Campo Whiskey, Txomin Alcorta of Whisky Prieto y Prieta, and Jonathan Barbieri of Whiskey Maiz Nation for the quotes this episode.

You can check out NOM 199 here and to see how the rules for whiskey in Mexico compare to the rules for Mezcal, Tequila, and everything else, check out this spreadsheet.

And if the tangent about feni in Goa got you going, check out Hansel Vaz’s Instagram page and Fazenda Cazulo!

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