I think I prefer mezcal at room temperature. I mean, I’ve had it cold and didn’t find it as complex as room temp, which actually helped me get into it, in the beginning. But I’ve also had it out of the still and it was delicious, but … that had to have been at least warm, right? So what’s the right temperature to serve mezcal to your customers? We talk temp in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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We argue a lot about which element in the production of agave spirits contributes most to the flavor of that spirit: the agave itself; where that agave was grown and what grew around it; the cooking process; the yeast that converts the sugar to alcohol, or the mezcalero who oversees the decisions throughout the process. But … when we’re drinking a 50% ABV mezcal it’s only half alcohol. The other half is water. Is that the answer? That water contributes the most to the flavor? We debate that and talk about water insecurity in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

Click here for more info on Lou and Chava's appearances at Tales of the Cocktail. 

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Chava spends a lot of time talking with me about the differences in how artisans are treated than artists. But it’s usually while I’m driving 90mph on Mexican toll roads, so I just nod and watch for cars coming at me. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, he forces me to pay attention to the conversation … which also includes an interview with and music by maestro mezcalero Temo Garcia and the International Congress of Peanuts.

Click here for more info on Lou and Chava's appearances at Tales of the Cocktail. 

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

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Mezcal has been “having a moment” for at least fifteen years. The New York Times, Food & Wine, Thrillist … heck, even Better Homes & Gardens are writing breathlessly about “tequila’s smoky cousin.” But … how did that happen? When and why did mezcal become a *thing*? We reveal the secret origins of mezcal in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

Click here for more info on Lou and Chava's appearances at Tales of the Cocktail. 

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Episode Art by @chemaskandal

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It seems like we get emails and calls on a monthly basis from someone looking to start their own mezcal brand. So here’s an episode of Agave Road Trip that helps point them in the right direction … and maybe helps gringo bartenders think about what they could ask that next brand representative who walks in offering “the best mezcal in the world.”

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Your friend’s been to Oaxaca, came back with a plastic water bottle of a heritage agave spirit. The only label is your friend’s chicken-scrawl on a piece of green carpenter’s tape. And you love that bottle. So when you see a new mezcal come to market in a fancy bottle, you think, Well, that can’t be good. Or … can it? We talk packaging in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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What does it mean that this mezcal won double gold in San Francisco? What does it mean to you, to your bar, and to your customers? What does it *not* mean? We talk spirits competitions in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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If you're just now joining Agave Road Trip - strap on in! Over the past year we've traveled far and wide throughout the world of agave spirits and we've got many more adventures planned!

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You’re amazed by how delicious mezcal is. It’s got your attention in a way that no other spirit does. And you think, Man, where was all this amazing stuff just five years ago? Well, it was there, in the rural Mexican communities where it’s made. And it still is. Want to know how to find it? Listen in to this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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Maybe you’ve heard of bacanora, that agave spirit from the north of Mexico. But you probably haven’t. Or if you have, you’ve maybe tried one or two. Maybe. And … why is that? In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we try to figure out why bacanora is the agave spirit that never seems to get its share of respect.

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Celebrate HRN’s new look and invest in the future of food radio. Become a monthly sustaining donor at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

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