Okay, so ... not all agaves are created equal. Some have fewer sugars than others. Like Bruto. So they add pulque to start the fermentation. But, wait ... that pulque is also made from Bruto. So ... how does the pulque ferment? Chava freestyles his science-like ideas in a car in Miami to try to explain what's going on in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

Don Arturo is a fifth-generation mezcalero. Or palenquero. Or tavernero. Or, really, tachicero. Because that’s what his family calls their little distillery, a tachica. It’s a hillside gem -- a couple of clay-topped steel pot stills, in-ground fermenters, and an earthen oven overlooking a forested hillside. But that hillside is eroding. The rains from the extreme weather that has been plaguing the region in recent years is literally washing away Don Arturo’s little distillery, threatening to take with it the community’s cultural heritage. With the financial support we’re receiving from 818 Tequila, SACRED is fortifyng Don Arturo’s family tachica. We’re rebuilding and reinforcing the hillside that has been eroded, creating a retaining wall that will secure the location. Above that, to serve as a buffer for the weakest part of the earth, we’re building a modest tasting room, where the locals can sit and enjoy the view of that forested hillside when they come to purchase Don Arturo’s “vino de mezcal.”  This effort to preserve Don Arturo’s family business and the cultural heritage of this community in southern Jalisco is only possible because of a grant SACRED received from 818 Tequila. To learn more about this and the other projects 818 Tequila is funding, please visit us at sacred.mx. The earth is home to all of us, and we’re honored to have been selected by 818 Tequila as their partner in making it a more welcoming home.

Agave Road Trip is an award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. It’s hosted by Lou Bank and Chava Periban. 

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