Tequila Sunrise and Mexican Moonshine
There’s this thing called a Denomination of Origin. The premise is, “Hey, we’ve got this special product we make here. You can maybe make something like it somewhere else, but what we are making here? It’s our cultural heritage. And we’re going to protect our culture heritage.” So Champagne? That’s protected. Scotch? That, too. And Tequila. But is the Denomination of Origin protecting the cultural heritage? Or is it protecting an income stream? In this episode of Agave Road Trip, Chava and I chat about that under the lens of Raicilla, the other agave spirit from Jalisco that’s recently been claimed by the Mexican government.
This episode is brought to you by Bowl of Zole, the festival of pozole and mezcal. Bowl of Zole will take place THIS SATURDAY, October 23rd, in Brooklyn. There will be ten pozoles by ten chefs and more than fifty agave spirits, so you’ll definitely want to coat your stomach with all those pozoles. And Chava and I will be there pouring samples of the new Cafe Mezcalero, a coffee conditioned with Cruz De Fuego Mezcal by our friends at Dark Matter Coffee! And we’ll also be running around doing live Instagram and Facebook interviews from the event, so if you can’t make it, hey, join us that day on social media!
This episode is also brought to you by Seminario 12, a space for memory and heritage located in the heart of the historic CDMX. If you’re looking for fine ceramics, tiles, and agave spirits, head to Mexico City’s zocalo — and you’ll maybe find Chava Periban there, leading a tasting! Contact them to schedule your tasting with Chava!
Agave Road Trip is a podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. It’s hosted by Lou Bank and Chava Periban.
Episode notes
Thanks to our friend Esteban Morales from La Venenosa and Derrumbes for the information and quotes!
If you click here, you will find the spreadsheet that compares the rules for making raicilla to the rules for making mezcal, tequila, bacanora, sotol, and other spirits in Mexico.
An example of an agave that is reproducing two ways: by shooting hijuelos (babies) from its roots but also by developing a quiote, a reproductive stalk that will blossom with flowers and, later, seeds
The capon’d quiote of an agave that refuses to die before it reproduces … which, in this case, means it builds a second quiote
