This week’s episode marks the third anniversary of Agave Road Trip! Chava and I celebrate by sharing the many rules we’ve learned for making a great road trip — and we get schooled by road-trippers Ben Schroder (Pensador Mezcal), Craig Thompson, Dalton Kreiss (Maguey Melate), Ismael Gomez (Mezcal Cruz de Fuego), Jon Darby (Sin Gusano), and Sergio Garnier (Mezcal Ultramundo), who have their own rules! Strap yourself in, because that’s the first rule of the 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. It’s hosted by Lou Bank and Chava Periban. 

Episode Notes

When you rent a car, always get one with at least six inches in ground clearance (or listen to Craig and hire a guide or driver)

Only rent from Avis in Mexico City, and prepay through avis.com — the USA site

If given a choice of vehicles, select the one that’s most dinged up, so if you make some new dings, they maybe don’t notice

Know where the spare tire is on that rental car, and how to access it — not always obvious

And if you have to change that tire, be like Bruce Costa and park it on a level surface

Purchase a toll pass at an Oxxo or pharmacy, and keep it fully loaded

Get cash from the ATM in Mexico, decline the machine’s local conversion option, and always stay cash-heavy

Keep water-heavy, too — stay hydrated and maintain a surplus of bottles you can use when you purchase spirits directly from producers

Buy at least a liter from every producer you visit

Always carry painters tape and Sharpies – or white-out/liquid paper! — to mark your bottles

Bring energy bars or trail mix so you don’t have to divert from mission

Gas-up whenever you can, and don’t trust Google Maps to know where gas stations are

Carry ass-wipes (or the Buttler) and Imodium, activated charcoal, or another solution for explosive diarrhea

Don’t listen to music, distracts from recognizing palenques/vinatas/tavernas/fabricas/etc

Carry a knife, in case you stumble on great avocados

Carry hot dogs, in case you stumble on great dogs – never force a dog to come to you, or approach a dog who shies away – and Dalton suggests buying candy for the children of the mezcaler@s

Always carry sunscreen and a hat

Carry an old-school GPS, and keep it up-to-date

Chart out path on Google Maps, and search “mezcal” and “palenque” between stops — you’ll be amazed at how many producers are on there now!

Bear to the right when driving – and understand the different passing rules in Mexico (see “suicide lane”)

Jon Darby says to depart early — mezcaler@s tend to start early, too

Turn signals don’t always mean what you think they mean – use hazards a lot

Ben suggests taking most of the money out of our wallet so that if you get pulled over by the police, you can show the officer that you only have a few hundred pesos, which can get your fine reduced

Sergio suggests avoiding driving at night, and take the toll road whenever you can

Chava suggests driving slowly, so that you can adjust when the unexpected happens

Jon says don’t drive buzzed — and I carry my own small copita with me, so that the mezcaler@s can’t serve you giant pours

Get names, titles, and permission when taking pictures of people and their property — and get it in writing to ensure you get the spelling correct

Spend money everywhere you stop – and Dalton suggests that buying is better than tipping

Get phone numbers wherever you stop, and GPS coordinates

Ask people if they know anyone where you’re headed next, or on the way to where you’re headed next

Offer to share agave spirits from others you visited on same trip

Give US money to kids — or don’t

Pick up people walking along the same route you are on, even if they are carrying machetes

Take public transportation — you can meet a lot of locals, who know a lot of other locals

Vinik Jure leads tours of mezcaler@s and tinacaler@s (pulque producers) via public transportation — click here to see his site!

Journal the entire trip

When visiting a new city, visit the mercado Central de Abasto