I like to talk about the 400 decisions that a mezcalerx makes that determines how an agave spirit tastes. But there are other elements beyond their decisions … natural elements that find their way into the process … that also have an impact on what goes into the bottle. We’re taking shots 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 special guest Unknown Mezcalerx of Unknown Mezcal Brand.

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It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I know. But when I think about what Tequila was back in the ‘80s and ‘90s … it was a catalyst for fun. I had a coworker who thought “tequila” was Spanish for “dancing on tables.” And I still see that, though mainly in Mexico. Here in the USA, it’s become so serious. Or maybe I just don’t go to the right places or hang out with the right people. But I’m left wondering … when did Tequila stop being fun? When did they add Tequila Académico to the Norma? We’re taking shots 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 special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto and quotes from James Miller of El Bandido Yankee Tequila and Jaime Salas from Proximo Spirits.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

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In the past several weeks, I have seen in numerous online forums the misstatement that Mezcal can’t have additives. And the misstatement that those additives can only be fresh fruits and raw turkey. So this episode is 100% just so I can post a simple link the next time I see that error pop up again. And it’s an opportunity to clarify the allowance of additives in all Mexican spirits. And it’s an opportunity to speak again with Alberto Esteban Marina, who was the Director General for all Normas in Mexico from 2013 to 2019, during which time he literally wrote some of those regulations. It’s a from-the-horse’s-mouth 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.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John Douglass of the multi-award-winning Louisville bar Pretty Decent is renowned for his hospitality. But he got a bit hot under the collar when one of his favorite customers complained about a $30 chicken dinner at a fancy spot around the corner. We break that chicken down — and your free chips-and-salsa, too — in this under-priced 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 John Douglass of Pretty Decent, a mezcal-focused cocktail bar and a boutique plant shop in Louisville, Kentucky.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Road-tripper Nathan Mealey checked in to ask, “How do you if a brand is ethical?” So I’ve started having that conversation with a number of people, coming at the question from different angles. This first answer considers packaging — specifically glass bottles. We think of those glasses as recyclable. But … are they? It’s a myth-busting 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 William Bahan of W. Bahan, a Los Angeles-based firm that provides branding, identity, and package designs for select clientele.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

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How do you turn 24,000 acres of wild maguey Lamparillo and dasylirion into beer? You bring Mike Schallau of is/was brewing to Durango to hang out with Sergio Garnier of Mezcal Ultramundo! Mike has been making beer since 2018 with agave I’ve brought him from Mexico, to fundraise for SACRED. This year, he made the trip himself. The beer is in the works and should be ready for your glass this summer! But this episode of Agave Road Trip is ready to be consumed now!

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

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I’ve heard a lot about how bartenders use cocktails as a way to introduce their guests to Mexican spirits like Mezcal, Tequila, Raicilla, Bacanora, and Sotol. And lately, I’ve also heard a little about using those same cocktails to introduce guests to the communities those spirits come from – turning the cocktail into a gateway to another culture. So I spoke with some bartenders about exactly that. Alex Dominguez checks in from Calico in New York, Matthias Ingelmann from KOL in London, Mariane Garcia from Copitas Cholula, NC Stevens from the nomadic Drinking Folk, and Aithan Shapira from MIT Sloan School of Management. It’s a globe-spanning 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.
 

Photo Courtesy of KOL Mezcaleria and Eleonora Boscarelli.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

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The first time I saw tascalate on a menu it was at Itanoni in Oaxaca. I immediately fell in love with the traditional drink. But finding a second cup – particularly at home in Chicago – was a lost cause. But now, years later, Ximena N. Beltran Quan Kiu has written an article about how tascalte has made its way onto bar menus. And that’s a reflection of a broader trend. It’s an everything-old-is-celebrated-again 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 Ximena N. Beltran Quan Kiu. 

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I was having a conversation with Grace Gonzalez of Tequila El Mayor and she said something that brought into focus a thought that’s been bumping around in my head: We talk a lot about the ages of the agaves that are used to make Mezcal and Tequila. But there’s really no mechanism to verify that. And, in fact, since different agaves reach maturity at different points – even when they are the same species growing in the same territory – a statement like “we only harvest eight-year-old agave” simply can’t be accurate. So how should we be talking about the age of agave? It’s an episode for the ages on 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 supporting insights from Grace Gonzalez of Tequila El Mayor.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Four wheels good! Two wheels more good? For the last few years, Nick Barreiro has organized a moto-rally for small group of motorcycle-and-Mexico enthusiasts. And while motorcycles aren’t my speed, I know they work for plenty of gringx bartenders, and I love this whole different way to take in the stories of rural Mexico. Learn about Nick’s international motor rally in this bitchin’ hog of an 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 Nick Barreiro of Mezcal Moto Rally.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.