… and Sometimes, Even When It’s Certified, It Still Ain’t Mezcal
Profeco, the consumer-protection agency of the Mexican government, ran an analysis of 36 certified mezcal brands. They flagged a bunch of them for various violations, including the claim that Mezcal Gusano Rojo doesn’t even qualify as mezcal. What?! We drag out the dead horse that is the mezcal denomination of origin for another beating in this episode of Agave Road Trip!
It Ain’t Mezcal if it Ain’t Certified
There's a Denomination of Origin for mezcal -- has been since 1997. The Mexican government gets to decide what is and what isn't mezcal. So if the Mexican government doesn't recognize an agave spirit as "mezcal," should we? It's another rhetorical episode of Agave Road Trip!
The Birth and Death of the CRM (NOM mini-series #4 of 3)
Okay, to be fair, that title is 100% click-bait. Or, rather, it’s click-bait if you’re one of the agave geeks who even knows that the CRM is the body that certifies mezcal. Or, rather, that the CRM is *a* body that certifies mezcal – but *used* to be the sole body. And the end of the monopoly paired with the chaos over who controls the CRM … ? Well, that’s what the “death” part of the title refers to. Listen to this episode of Agave Road Trip if you want to join us in trying to sort out exactly what’s happening with this institution.