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! In fact, this entire podcast is about me trying to understand 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.
Episode Notes
Shout outs this episode to Mezonte, Off Premise: Wine, Agave, Whiskey & Craft Beer, and Alambique Serrano Single-Origin Oaxacan Rum!
John Douglass, owner of Pretty Decent, a mezcal-focused cocktail bar and boutique plant shop in Louisville, Kentucky, dropped in with this (edited) food for thought after listening to this episode: We have three private batches currently. 39 liters, 25 liters, 36 bottles. If we, or someone else, don’t/doesn’t pick those it’s unlikely they see the light of day in the US and they’re just demijohns in a tasting room. Sure, there’s ego involved. There’s an element of: I’ve got something no one else has! But it’s not, like, me me me me. It’s you.
If you come to Pretty Decent, you can taste this special thing no one else has. This creates a connection between the person in Mexico making the spirit and the person in Kentucky who would otherwise have no idea these Mexican producers exist, and this generates a greater appreciation in Kentucky for Mexicans, their work, and their culture. The private batches help with that. They begin the conversations.