Does bottling mezcal and tequila in Mexico save jobs?
Back in 2004, the USA imported over $400 million worth of tequila. Approximately 73 percent of that was tequila in bulk form. So when the Mexican government suggested they were going to change the rules such that tequila had to be bottled in Mexico … well, US companies went to bat to protect their multi-million-dollar bottling factories. And they succeeded! Or did they? And should they have? We release our bottled up frustrations in this episode of Agave Road Trip!
Thanks to Road-tripper Andrew Ball for suggesting this episode and providing background material!
This episode of Agave Road Trip is sponsored by Mezcal Ultramundo. Ultramundo is a mezcal brand owned by a family without any real historic connections to mezcal heritage. Instead, their connection is to nature. They own a 24,000-acre ranch that is resplendent with agaves -- specifically maguey lamparillo, a variety that takes something like 15 to 18 years to reach maturity. The botanist they consulted said that if they allowed at least 20% of the mature agave annually to go to seed, the plants would be able to self-regenerate, creating a never-ending supply of lamparillo. So that’s what they’re doing. And the agave they’re harvesting, they’re turning into a delicious mezcal in Nombre de Dios, Durango. Mezcal Ultramundo is available at wholesale in California, and throughout the USA at retail via mail-order. If you want to taste what mezcal could be, if we avoid growth through mono-cropping, check out Ultramundo.
Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. It’s hosted by Lou Bank and Chava Periban.
Notes
Check out what ecospirits is doing to mitigate the carbon wake produced by shipping spirits around the world.
“US and Mexico Reach Agreement Allowing U.S. Importers to Continue Bottling Tequila,” Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, January 17, 2006
“Agricultural Provisions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement,” Congressional Research Service, November 20, 2020
Excerpt: “USMCA provisions are to protect certain U.S., Canadian, and Mexican spirits as distinctive products. Under the proposed agreement, products labeled as Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey must originate in the United States. Similar protections are to exist in the United States and Mexico for Canadian Whiskey, while Tequila and Mezcal will have to be produced in Mexico. In a side letter accompanying the agreement, the United States and Mexico further agree to protect American Rye Whiskey, Charanda, Sotol, and Bacanora. “