Agave Road Trip

There’s this idea that’s been circulating around USA bars that you should only ever use espadin mezcal to make cocktails. But there’s this idea that’s been circulating around in my head that we should never use espadin mezcal to make cocktails. It’s yet another contrarian episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pulque is a drink of place — something you have to have near or where it is made. It doesn’t travel. But it’s not the only such drink in the world. Eating to Extinction author Dan Saladino compares pulque to a drink made by the Hadza hunter-gatherers. It’s a cross-cultural episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our friends at Bat Conservation International have teamed with a number of other organizations to launch “We Belong Together,” a campaign in support of their Agave Restoration Initiative. The goal is to redevelop the foodways that allow bats to migrate from the southern USA to southern Mexico. So they connected us with Valeria Cañedo from Colectivo Sonora Silvestre and Centro de Colaboración para la Ciencia y Cultura S.C. to wing another episode of Agave Road Trip about bats and agave!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dan Saladino has traveled the world documenting the stories of our most endangered foods. He would argue that we need to protect them, for our future food security, for the good of the planet, and for the good of our own health. And Chava and I are all for that — but we’re also all for another person in the car to argue with. So we took Dan on an Agave Road Trip, and all you get is this episode.Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yeah yeah yeah. I know. Plastic is killing the world. But it’s hardly the only thing. And in the case of ecoSpirits, it’s maybe also saving the world. We talk about the complicated path of sustainability in what’s sure to be another contentious episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s this concept of the infinity bottle in other spirits – where you take the last bits of favorite bottles, pour them together over time to make this ever-changing blend. But … can you do that in mezcal? Without getting kicked out of a Facebook group? We tamper with the forces of nature in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s an idea that mezcal made with wild agave is more delicious, because the agave lived in a hostile environment. But in the world of pulque, there’s an idea that the most delicious batches of that fermented beverage come from pampered, farmed agave. We check in with Gonzalo Álvarez-Ríos (who we call Dr. Pulque) and Dr. Iván Saldaña Oyarzábal (who we all Sir) to better understand the why and how and what of it all in this 150th episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chava says this is the first of a series of episodes where we take a close-up look at specific agaves. I'm not as confident that this works. But, hey, you tell us. It's a Choose Your Own Adventure episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are so many different approaches to farming these days, and so many different terms that, from the outside, feel like they mean the same thing. But how do they look from the inside? And which one best describes the agaves you’ve seen in rural Mexico? It’s a rhetorical episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The average consumer doesn’t understand how the established taxes on mezcal in Mexico affect the producers, who pay a VAT of 16% plus a separate tax of 53%. Now the state of Oaxaca is adding a 4.5% tax to that – but only for some mezcaleros. And that’s going to have an even greater impact on these families. How? We break it down for you in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cows, goats, sheep — it’s not at all unusual to see livestock roaming around fields of agave in rural Mexico, especially up north. And it’s such a happy, peaceful, idyllic scene. But how are those animals being cared for? How does that impact the agave? It’s a mez-cow episode of Agave Road Trip, and you maybe won’t want that burger with the works!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the US released their 2022 report detailing who sold what, how that changed from the previous year, and suggesting where the market is going. Such great information! So Chava and I went through the report separately and each identified three facts in the report. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we bicker over what those facts mean, what they don’t mean, and where we really think everything is headed!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’ve had any number of conversations about what it means to pay a mezcaler@ fairly. But a better question is, once you know the fair price, how do you pay them? It’s a cross-border banking episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How many calories do you consume daily? How many do you consume through alcohol? Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Ryan Aycock, tells us about the philosophy, “I’d prefer to drink my calories.” And he tells us about all the reasons that is wrong. It’s another uplifting Cocktail MD episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alcohol is nature’s great temperature regulator — it warms you up when you’re cold, and cools you down when you’re hot! Or … does it? Agave Road Trip’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Ryan Aycock, sets the record straight in this week’s episode!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If drinking mezcal that has snake venom in it killed you right away, there’d be a lot of dead people on the floor of the mercados around Mexico. But … could it be doing damage you don’t see right away? Our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr, Ryan Aycock, the Cocktail MD, checks in for a check up in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lou and Chava got to go on a week-long trip through Tabasco and Chiapas …. visiting cacao and coffee farms … with Dark Matter Coffee and Rick Bayless’ Topolobampo crew … and all you get is this stupid travelogue. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Having trouble sleeping, pal? Think twice before you reach for that bottle of mezcal. Or tequila. Or whiskey. Or whatever. It’s a nightcap episode of Agave Road Trip, featuring our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr, Ryan Aycock, the Cocktail MD! And it’s way better at inducing sleep than alcohol is!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s not uncommon when a new tequila or mezcal launches that buyers will ask the brand what they are doing to support the community from which they’re sourcing their spirits. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we talk through what that means – and what it can mean – through the lens of Chris Pastena, former co-owner of Calavera, a restaurant in Oakland that he and his business partner and wife handed over to their employees.Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s a project down in Brazil that’s investigating agave as a source of biofuel. It’s funded and organized by Shell, and is a sort of extension of the biofuel project they started years ago that uses biomass from sugar cane in a similar manner. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we speak with Fabio Raya – a PhD candidate involved in the program – about how it works, when it might be a real thing, and what our cars might smell like when they’re fueled by mezcal!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This series on sustainability was sparked by all the industry talk about consumers only supporting sustainable mezcals. And the IWSR released a report that supports that notion, claiming that nearly half of alcohol consumers say sustainability practices influence whether they buy from a company or not. But … do they? We get real in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week we bickered about whether or not mezcal is sustainable. But maybe the bigger and more important question is, is anything sustainable? We get bleak in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s a lot of industry talk about only supporting sustainable mezcals. But … none of the brands are sustainable. Or, at least, not one of them that is being exported is sustainable. How can that be? What does that mean? And how does that inform what you should drink or not drink? Chava and I bicker it out in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

VP Pro shared out a story about the “impressive” growth that mezcal has been experiencing for many years. Yet, for all that growth, it’s still just 9 million liters annually. Compared to the 527 million liters of tequila that are produced in Mexico, let alone the 13.5 billion (with a “B”) liters of beer…? It’s a literal drop in the bucket. But could it be on its way to something bigger? How will it get there? And what could that mean for Mexico? We prognosticate and procrastinate in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For thousands of years, we’ve been adding color to our world to make it more beautiful — and cocktails are no exception. But before you add that dye, consider the advice of our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Ryan Aycock — the Cocktail MD! He’s here to drain the color from your your face and your recipes in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are a lot of distilleries referring to themselves as “craft” distilleries. But … are they? Who defines craft? And is craft a reference to flavor or to process? It’s a(nother) judgmental episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So we say it's about bats, but it's really about pollination. And we talk about all these other creatures that can do the job, but then … how would it damage the ecosystem if bats became extinct? Are they the only thing standing between us and mosquitoes? Dr. Kristen Lear, Agave Restoration Program Manager for Bat Conservation International, tells us what all the hubbub is about in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Irish coffees, espresso martinis, carajillos, vodka and Red Bull … there are so many examples of drinks that combine caffeine with alcohol, with the theory that this will be the pick-me-up that helps you extend your best-night-ever. But do they work? We ask our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Ryan Aycock, otherwise known as the Cocktail MD … otherwise known as the guy who punctures holes in all of our best fantasies. We’re wide-awake drunks on this week’s episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Agave? I don’t know what that is, agave.” That’s what Oprah Winfrey said in a 2004 episode in which Dr. Oz warned of the threats of refined sugar and listed his suggestions for substitute sweeteners. Agave nectar was top of his list. It was the endorsement heard round the world, and sales have been climbing since. So why would some bartenders suggest banning the ingredient? It’s a sticky subject on this week’s episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rosemary Smith of Black Snake Distillery in Australia asked us the question, “Does the unique taste of each agave spirit mainly come from its sugar source or the crushed fibers and juice?” So, of course, we fought over the answer! It’s a chicken-or-the-egg episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s pretty common, when we visit mezcaleros, that they’ll pull out a bottle and tell us it’s a special blend that serves as an aphrodisiac. Or Mexican Viagra. But … is that even possible? We ask Cocktail MD Ryan Aycock for the straight scoop, and somehow detour off into avocados and balut. It’s an eat-your-heart-out episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s a school of thought that suggests that aging mezcal in wood isn’t traditional, and that the changes imparted by the barrel distract from the flavors and aromas of the agave. And, sure, there are some communities where the mezcaleros would never age in anything other than glass for those exact reasons. But you don’t have to travel very far from those palenques to find villages where — for hundreds of years — they’ve been aging mezcal in wood. It’s a kick-in-the-pants episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by SimplecastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Back in the 1990s, the Mexican government took legal control of the word “mezcal” away from the people who have shepherded mezcal traditions for hundreds of years. But legal control isn’t the same as moral control. But what does it mean to refer to an uncertified agave spirit as mezcal in the USA? This episode of Agave Road Trip is entirely about why I say “agave spirits” to refer in the USA to what would be called “mezcal” in the communities where these heritage spirits are made.Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it just me or is activated charcoal suddenly in everything? We’re joined by our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock (the Emergency Room Doctor Currently Known as Cocktail MD) to talk about what activated charcoal is, what it does, and how it can deactivate birth control when it’s included in cocktails. But also how it can turn your teeth black, which is sort of another kind of birth control. Just in time for the holidays, we give you a lump-of-coal episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pulque is fleeting — it’s here, it’s gone. But does that mean it’s harder to make than mezcal? Chava and I duke it out over a subject neither of us can speak to — and bring in academic Gonzalo Álvarez-Ríos, who we call Dr. Pulque, to settle the matter. And we somehow land on the rare red pulque. It’s a full liter of an episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A year or so back, Alvin Starkman introduced us to Reina Cortés Cortés at A & V La Casa del Pulque. We had a Bordeaux barrel gifted to us by the kind folks at Mezcal Sombra — one of the barrels they had subsequently used to age their Mezcal Repose. We thought Reina would ferment her aguamiel in the wooden barrel to make a unique pulque. And she did make a unique pulque. But not in the way we expected. Ever have a five-month-old pulque? We drink in something we never thought possible in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chava found a letter from Hernán Cortés to Carlos V from 1520, and now we're pretty sure that everyone who claims pulque was only for royalty is wrong, the word "maguey" is cultural appropriation, and corn syrup is part of Mexico's cultural heritage. It's a what-happens-when-Chava-goes-academic episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Normally, Chava and I interview someone for an hour, pull a 90-second quote from that interview, then build an episode by bickering around that quote. But when Chef Rick Bayless agrees to an interview, you just run the whole thing! Although Chema Skandal’s outstanding episode cover suggests that Chef was bitten by a radioactive taco, we get into the real origins of how he went from a childhood in a barbecue restaurant in Oklahoma to building the family-run empire that is Frontera! (Hint: it involves charcoal, walnuts, pecans, and gas station mole!)Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comPhoto Courtesy of Chema Skandal!Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In November 2021, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Mexico City! It was great fun, but we learned a lot of lessons on the way. If you want to celebrate this traditional USA holiday south of the border, give this episode a listen and start making plans! It’s a fully stuffed episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All alcohol starts life as sugar, and the sugars used to make agave spirits like mezcal and tequila come from … agave! But the energy source that becomes sugar is also what powers the agave’s ability to reproduce. So if you allow the agave to reproduce, you’re also burning up the sugars you need to make alcohol. It’s a pick-your-poison episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s this idea that, somehow, tequila and mezcal are healthier to drink because sugar from agave has a lower glycemic index than other sugars. Our medical correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock, the Cocktail MD, punctures a hole in that idea — and also cautions that, if that idea had been drinking shochu before he made that hole, the idea will bleed more profusely. All that and more in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you believe the mezcal geeks, no self-respecting mezcalero would ever adulterate their multi-generational spirits with gusanos or scorpions or any critter of any kind. But I tend to believe history over geeks, and history tells a different story. We share that story in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Maluma announced he was releasing a cristalino mezcal, a corner of the world went nuts: tens of thousands of his fans, excited to try it, and hundreds of mezcal geeks, outraged over a perceived attack on Mexico’s cultural heritage. Meanwhile, most of the world went about their day. It’s a keep-calm-and-carry-on episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Back in 2004, the USA imported over $400 million worth of tequila. Approximately 73 percent of that was tequila in bulk form. So when the Mexican government suggested they were going to change the rules such that tequila had to be bottled in Mexico … well, US companies went to bat to protect their multi-million-dollar bottling factories. And they succeeded! Or did they? And should they have? We release our bottled up frustrations in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One of the things you hear over and over is that pechuga – the mezcal made (often) by adding raw chicken (or turkey or venison or name-your-protein) – is a special spirit made for celebrations. But then you see novelty pechugas, made with bacon or al pastor. So what’s the truth about pechuga? It’s a chicken-or-the-egg episode of Agave Road Trip! The cover for this week’s episode is provided by Eisner Award-winning designer Mark Cox!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mexican regulations require an agave spirit to fall between 35% and 55% alcohol by volume (ABV) to qualify for certification as mezcal. But in the USA, the TTB requires that same spirit to be a minimum of 40% ABV to qualify as mezcal. Why? Well, who knows? Not us! But that doesn’t stop us from blindly speculating! It’s another meandering episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since mezcal is often around 50% ABV, that means it’s also around 50% water. Does that water help hydrate you? What about the water in beer, which is often around 95% of that pint. And coffee? That’s more than 99% water. So … what exactly is the deal with hydration? We’re under water in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Read almost any of those “differences between tequila and mezcal” articles, and they’ll tell you that tequila steams their agave, mezcal roasts it underground. But in the cover to this week’s episode, you can see Chava and me sitting in the skeleton of a century-old boiler at an even older mezcal fabrica in Guanajuato. So when exactly does tradition start? We get the purists hot under the collar in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comHRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts empower eaters to cultivate a radically better world. This month, we’re asking you to join us. Become a monthly sustaining member at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How many different kinds of agave can be used to make mezcal? Well, heck, that’s easy: the regulations allow you to use any of them. So why have there been so many articles saying it’s “more than 40”? When 159 species … species … have been identified in Mexico?! We take the media to task in this episode of Agave Road Trip!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comHRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts empower eaters to cultivate a radically better world. This month, we’re asking you to join us. Become a monthly sustaining member at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you hang around a certain crowd, they’ll tell you that mezcal needs to be at least 50% alcohol by volume to be true to the cultural heritage of the spirit. And while that is certainly true in some communities, Mexico is not homogenous. We geek out on some 28% ABV mezcal in this episode of Agave Road Trip!HRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts empower eaters to cultivate a radically better world. This month, we’re asking you to join us. Become a monthly sustaining member at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.