The Secret Origin of Tequila Oro
Back in the Seventies, Steely Dan was all into the Cuervo Gold. Now, the additive-free army would wage war against Donald Fagen. Tequila Oro is one of the recognized expressions by the CRT and is understood to have been made gold in color through the support of additives. But … is there a history to Gold Tequila here that’s been lost? It’s a fool’s 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.
Palomo Mezcal: It's better not to count
"Before, only white people or gringos used to sell Mezcal, and the consumer was used to only buying it from those people. But now the consumer is changing their mind and saying that I want to buy from the producer. I want to know how it's made. I want to know if they are planting more agaves, or if they are not cutting trees, or what are they doing for the environment. So we have the information here. Not all of it, but maybe enough information to show the people how we do this Mezcal, how we do Palomo." That’s mezcalero Carlos Mendez Blas, owner and producer of Palomo Mezcal. We profile Carlos and Palomo in this episode of Agave Road Show!
Agave Road Show is an advertorial podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand specific brands of agave spirits. Sometimes other Mexican spirits. Really, whatever they pay us to profile. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto.
Making Mezcal from the flowering agave
To make alcohol, you need sugar. And for an agave to make flowers and seeds — for it to reproduce — it also needs sugar. So you need to decide, do you let the plant go to flower? Or do you use it to make alcohol? Or … do you need to decide? It’s a reality-bending 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 wisdom from mezcalera Natalia Sanchez Bustamante.
The ominous threat of Mezcal tariffs
I was on a call with Arik Torren of Lot001 Brands, just catching up, and the conversation turned to the looming tariffs. So we switched on the recorder and broke into a conversation about what these added expenses can mean for gringx bartenders. It’s an especially taxing 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 Arik Torren of Lot001 Brands.
Should we limit the limited-release Mezcals?
The average consumer has a hard time understanding Mezcal. Heck, the average gringx bartender has a hard time understanding Mezcal! So should we add to that confusion with limited-edition releases? Does that obfuscate the limited nature of many of these expressions to begin with? It’s an unlimited amount of questions in this special-release 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.
Why is Espadin the only Angustifolia in Oaxaca?
Mezcal geeks love to run down all the varieties of Agave Karwinskii they can name. And when we talk about Agave Americana, we talk about Arroqueno and Coyote and Sierra Negra. But the most prolific of agaves in Oaxaca is easily Angustifolia, represented exclusively by Espadin. But that’s not the sole variety of the species – at least, outside of Oaxaca. So why don’t we talk about varieties of Angustifolia in Oaxaca? And is that a possible solution to the growing monoculture in Mezcal? It’s another head-scratching 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 insights from mezcalero Arturo Campos of San Juan Espanatica, Jalisco.
The 400 decisions of Tequila
I’ve spoken a lot about the 400 decisions that mezcalerxs make, but I’ve not applied that to Tequila. In an early episode of this podcast, Chava spoke about how he loved that Tequila was restricted to a single agave variety, in that it made it more interesting to see how specific techniques impacted flavor and aroma. And I was dismissive. But a few recent interactions have changed my view. It’s a years-in-the-making 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 insights from John des Rosiers of Cambio Tequila and Rodrigo Mestas of Tequila Torrente.
The day celebrating the people who work at bars
Don’t read this wrong — I think it’s right that there is a National Bartenders Day. But I think that simplified name oversimplifies the people who serve us — serve us drinks, serve us food, serve us hospitality. I hash that out with Bridget Albert, cohost of the Served Up podcast, 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 Bridget Albert of the Served Up podcast.
Another way to bring the desert to your bar
It’s more resilient than agave and it’s the perfect thing to pair with your Tequila and Mezcal. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we celebrate nopales and how they can fit into a set of simple bar offerings!
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 Lyanne Alfaro of Moneda Moves
A different approach to additive-free Tequila
The additive-free-Tequila movement was launched by Grover and Scarlet Sanschagrin of Tequila Matchmaker. As it’s gained steam, it’s gotten the pair – and the movement – sideways with the CRT, the body that regulates Tequila. How sideways? Well, it includes a raid on the couple’s home and threatening letters to brands who are using the “additive-free” language – or third parties using the language on their behalf. So what’s the solution? I think I have one, and explain it all 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 with wisdom from Tequila-geek royalty Khrys Maxwell.
The physical cost of pre-industrial Mezcal
I love these agave spirits that are made using pre-industrial methods, and I’ll often talk about the value – if not the actual cost – being greater because of the inefficiencies. But a cost that I’ve only recently recognized is the very real human cost.
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.
Can culture and commerce coexist in a bottle of spirits?
An article in Food & Wine highlighted a crisis in craft distilleries in the USA. I think there's a lot of overlap between that crisis and what so many of these families in rural Mexico are experiencing — the discomfort of trying to preserve something that's art-focused in a world that’s more commodity-focused. But is the market even built for that? We try to suss it out 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 Jordan Tepper of Apologue Spirited Liqueurs with insights from Morten LJ Koch of Mezcal Chulele.
What happens when they stop calling it Tequila?
Both Tequila and Mezcal are Denominations of Origin — Bacanora and Raicilla, too. Meaning: the Mexican government owns those word and if you want to use them in commerce, you need to follow their rules, including paying for certification. But what happens when you don’t use those words? When you simply call your agave spirit and “agave spirit”? By any other name, this is still 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 Marissa Paragano of The Tequiladies.
When did “smooth” become a dirty word?
I’ll admit, when I hear people describe agave spirits as “smooth,” I blanch. To me, smooth is the opposite of complex, and what I’m looking for in my agave spirits is that: complex. But … what about everything else I consume? Is it unreasonable … hypocritical … to expect people to want complexity from their Tequilas, Mezcals, Sotols? And am I even correct in my view of what “smooth” means to most people?
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 insights from Francisco Prieto of Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol and whiskey legend Chuck Cowdery.
The argument for pairing chocolate with Mezcal
Pickled eggs and pigs feet have disappeared from bars across the USA. You can sometimes find corn nuts and some places offer free popcorn. But I think it’s time for a bar snack revolution! We started with tinned fish a few weeks ago and now we’re back with an argument in support of chocolate. Joining me for this leg of the bar-snack campaign is James Beard Award-winning journalist Rowan Jacobsen, whose book Wild Chocolate is out now!
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 Rowan Jacobsen!
G4 Tequila: Felipe Camarena doesn't have the whitest legs
"This is my playground. And we are always looking for the best profile we can get. Different profiles, different changes." Those are the words of Master Tequilero Felipe Camarena, founder of G4 Tequila. We profile Felipe and G4 in this first episode of Agave Road Show!
Agave Road Show is an advertorial podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand specific brands of agave spirits. Sometimes other Mexican spirits. Really, whatever they pay us to profile. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto.
Is Mezcal more authentic than Tequila?
People in the Tequila chat groups get pretty outraged by things like diffusers and additives, and the basis for their outrage tends to be that these things aren’t traditional. But if it’s tradition they’re looking for, why aren’t they drinking Mezcal? Isn’t that more traditional than Tequila? And what exactly is tradition? It’s the most authentic episode of Agave Road Trip ever!
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 master potter Rufina Ruiz Lopez!
There is no traditional Mezcal in the marketplace
In the comments section of the Agave Road Trip Instagram page, Craig Reynolds — founder of the California Agave Council — wrote, “Unfortunately, there is virtually no significant amount of truly traditionally produced Mezcal left in the marketplace. It’s not environmentally or economically sustainable. An unfortunate fact that is difficult to accept.” I don’t accept that, but Craig did accept my invitation to debate the matter on 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 Craig Reynolds of the California Agave Council.
The world’s most environmentally sustainable Mezcal brand
This Mezcal brand replants agave in the wild, uses solar power, and only cooks with certified wood. They convert their bagaso into biodegradable planters. They are a model of best practices in the industry. And they just left the market because no one supported them. We question what you really care about 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
The argument for pairing tinned fish with Mezcal
Gone are the days when jars of pickled eggs and pigs feet lined the back of a bar. But a bit of food in your stomach can sure help when you’re out drinking. So what should the new bar snacks be? And how can they enhance your drinks menu? Sustainable-seafood expert Barton Seaver makes the case for canned fish. We go fishing for a new bar-snack direction 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