The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States released their 2020/2021 report and … good lord, you people are drinking a lot. But the real news here is, you’re also paying a lot more for what you drink. So does that mean you’re getting better tequila? Or just more expensive tequila? We dissect the numbers in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

Zapotitlán de Vadillo is a community of some 6,000 people in south central Jalisco. There’s a long history of traditional agriculture in this community — what’s now being called regenerative farming. But that history is at risk of disappearing. SACRED is supporting the build of a 4,000-square-foot public library in the community. The focus of the library will be regenerative farming, with a large portion of the collection being selected by local vinateros. SACRED is humbled and proud to be able to help support the future of regenerative agriculture in Zapotitlán de Vadillo. And it’s all made possible by a grant from 818 Tequila. To learn more about this library, 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. 

Episode notes

You can download the DISCUS report we reference by clicking here. And you can check production and sales of tequila on this very cool page of the CRT website.

When I talk about the math I did for case prices, I suggest I’m talking about just agave spirits. Really, the numbers refer to all spirits. So … in 2020, 266.4 million cases sold in the USA for $31.9 billion. That’s $119.74 per case. Sales increased in 2021 by 24.7 million cases and $3.8 billion — those additional cases represent $153.85 per case, in essence. That’s a $34.10-per-case increase — or 28.48%. The point being, we spent a lot more per bottle in 2021 than we did in 2020!

Speaking of “point,” here’s a drinking game for this episode: Drink every time I say “point.” I don’t think you’ll make it to the end of the episode. But, then, I’ve been told it’s hard to listen to me for a whole episode regardless.

There were a bunch of articles that misinterpreted this DISCUS report. In their story, “Tequila could overtake vodka as America’s favorite liquor as sales boom,” the folks at CNBC wrote, “[Tequila and mezcal] was also the second-largest category by revenue behind No. 1 vodka.” It wasn’t. Whiskey is still larger than agave spirits. The confusion, I think, is that when DISCUS reports on top categories by volume growth, they break out whiskey into a lot of subcategories — American Whiskey, Canadian Whiskey, Single Malt Scotch.

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