When Maluma announced he was releasing a cristalino mezcal, a corner of the world went nuts: tens of thousands of his fans, excited to try it, and hundreds of mezcal geeks, outraged over a perceived attack on Mexico’s cultural heritage. Meanwhile, most of the world went about their day. It’s a keep-calm-and-carry-on episode of Agave Road Trip!

If you’re outraged by the release of a cristalino-style mezcal … if you see Maluma’s Contraluz mezcal as some kind of assault on the cultural fabric of Mexico in general and Oaxaca in specific … then I’m going to ask you to put your money where your mouth is. Since 2009, SiKanda has been doing the hands-on work to help support  Oaxaca’s under-served communities. And this Mexican NGO has been doing this work with the financial support of fewer people than we have listeners for this podcast.  If you’re angry about mezcal cristalino … well, hey, spoiler alert, as you’ll hear in this episode, I think your anger is mis-directed. But anger can be fuel. And I hope you’ll take that anger and do something productive – donate ten dollars to SiKanda, a Oaxacan organization that works to preserve the cultural fabric of their state. Make your tax-deductible contribution at buildoaxaca.com -- make your anger actually mean something.

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

Thanks to spirits author and consultant Eric Zandona for the insightful quote and historical perspective on cristalinos. More on the “cristalino” Puerto Rican rums here.

Thanks also to spirits author Chuck Cowdery for the insightful perspective on wood-aged spirits. The phrase he shared with me that was used for intentionally aged whiskies was “the straight goods.”

And if you are interested in mezcal cristalino or Maluma, check out this Rolling Stone story about Mezcal Contraluz.

Whoops! Found another mezcal cristalino! Say hi to Zignum Mezcal Anejo Cristalino.