What is Agave? - S1E2

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What is Agave? - S1E2

FromAgave Road Trip

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Length:

15 minutes

Released:

Jun 16, 2020

Format:

Podcast episode

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We give a nutshell explanation of how agave turns from sugar to alcohol and are joined on the occasion by maestro mezcalero Amando Alvarado Alvarez. We also talk about how growing agave helped a middle school in rural Oaxaca reduce violence in their community.Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is powered by Simplecast.

Released:

Jun 16, 2020

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Agave Road Trip provides gringo bartenders with firsthand knowledge about heritage agave spirits from Mexico, including mezcal, raicilla, bacanora, and destilado de agave.

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Coming Soon, from HRN: Agave Road Trip: Coming soon from Heritage Radio Network: Agave Road Trip provides gringo bartenders with firsthand knowledge about heritage agave spirits from Mexico, including mezcal, raicilla, bacanora, and destilado de agave. by Agave Road Trip
1 min listen
Mercado Day in Mexico - S2E9: All of the fruits and spices and flowers and herbs and meats and magic of Mexico show up in the mercados -- the markets. So you should show up there, too! What should you look for? What can you bring back? And what exactly is a clown market? All this and more in this episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
Gringo Guero - S2E3: Some folks are wondering what we mean when we say “gringo.” Here’s the deal…. by Agave Road Trip
24 min listen
Fantastic Fermentation - S1E5: We give a nutshell explanation of how agave turns from sugar to alcohol and are joined on the occasion by mezcalero Amando Alvarado Alvarez. We also talk about how growing agave helped a middle school in rural Oaxaca reduce violence in their community. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Jump In! - S1E1: We introduce ourselves and the series, but mainly because we felt obligated to do it. We think it’s more fun to let that information reveal itself naturally. Though there is a nice bit about mind-blowing arroqueño and Santa Maria Sola de Vega. by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
What is Agave? - S1E2: We give a nutshell explanation of how agave turns from sugar to alcohol and are joined on the occasion by maestro mezcalero Amando Alvarado Alvarez. We also talk about how growing agave helped a middle school in rural Oaxaca reduce violence in their community. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
15 min listen
What’s Heritage, Anyway? - S2E5: The traditional methods of making agave spirits in Yutanduchi de Guerrero, in Oaxaca’s Mixteca region, go back to … the late 1990s? So what does “heritage” mean, in this case? by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
Bad Mezcal: It’s the cleanest spirit you can drink! It’s made from the best sugar source in the world! It’s made by hand! So … how could there possibly be such a thing as bad mezcal? Find out in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
Be Still My Heart - S1E6: This is where we separate the alcohol from the water – we talk about distillation with mezcalero Jesus Franco. And traditional ceramics. And Oaxaca tour guides. And not a single poop joke. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
15 min listen
Hasta Pronto! - S1E8: The season wrap includes Tecate I.V. drips, bartender super powers, and the value of time in rural Mexico. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
15 min listen
The Arnold Palmer of Pulque - S2E2: Before there was mezcal, there was pulque: the undistilled, fermented sap of the uncooked agave. If you’ve never had it, you’ll want to go find it after listening to Chava and Lou talk with master pulquero Jose Luis Dominguez Gonzalez. Or, at least, you’ll be amused by how he dismisses Lou’s choice of the Arnold Palmer of pulques. by Agave Road Trip
30 min listen
How to Drink Spirits Neat - S2E7: The margarita is almost certainly Mexico’s greatest ambassador. But how do you move from drinking cocktails to drinking neat spirits? We suggest one specific journey in this episode of Agave Road Trip. by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
The Grind - S1E4: After you cook your agave, you’ve gotta mill it – make tiny, little pieces of those giant, cooked agaves. How do you do that? We explain it here and maestro mezcalero Eduardo Angeles joins. Then we talk about how to avoid explosive diarrhea while eating great street food in Mexico. And chocolate. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Another Freaking Gringo Looking for Jabali…: For hundreds of years, mezcaleros believed that you could not use maguey jabali (agave convallis) to make spirits — it foams so much, both during fermentation and distillation, that it was thought unmanageable. But a couple decades ago, someone found a strategy to manage the foaming. Now gringos go crazy looking for the rare, wild destilado de jabali! In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we speak with maestro Felix Angeles about his jabali strategy. by Agave Road Trip
21 min listen
Get Roasted - S1E3: That agave won’t just start fermenting, you know. You’ve gotta make it delicious for yeast before yeast makes it delicious for you. We talk with mezcalera Catalina Navarro Sanchez about how that’s done, then talk about how mezcalero Eduardo Angeles saved Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca, from drought. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Heads, Hearts, and Tails: Where You Cut Matters: Most people think that when you distill a spirit, what comes out of that still goes directly into the bottle. But, in fact, different distillers make different decisions about which parts of the distillation they keep and which parts they leave out — and those decisions have a profound effect on the finished flavor. That’s what we talk about in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
24 min listen
What's in My Tequila? - S2E1: Some tequila bottles say they're 100% blue agave. Others don't. So ... what exactly is in those bottles? Lou and Chava speak with David Suro of Siembra Azul Tequila about mixto tequilas: what they are and how they affect the tequila industry and the people whose lives are impacted by the industry. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
38 min listen
Did Mezcal Save Fiestas, or Did Fiestas Save Mezcal?: The religious fiestas in rural Mexico are often colored by the heritage agave spirits made in the community — which makes for an especially fun night when those festivities also include fireworks and flaming toritos. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we ponder the question: Did mezcal save the community fiestas, or did the community fiestas save mezcal? Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
20 min listen
How Much Can I Bring Back? - S2E8: You’re headed to Mexico! Excited to drink agave spirits in their natural habitat! More excited to bring spirits home to share with friends! So … how much are you allowed to bring back? Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
22 min listen
The Mezcal with the Chicken — Pechuga!: Maybe you’ve heard stories of a weird mezcal that is made with chicken. Maybe you’ve heard that it’s tied to celebratory rituals. Maybe you’ve heard that it’s precious and rare. Maybe all of that is right and maybe all of that is wrong. Maybe you’ll get the straight answer in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Or maybe not. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
22 min listen
Modern Bar Cart take-over: Not an actual episode of Agave Road Trip, but a cleverly disguised episode of Modern Bar Cart, Eric Kozlik’s cocktail podcast for home bartenders and industry pros alike. Erik interviews Chava and Lou and proves that they actually can talk for more than 15 minutes. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
79 min listen
Oh, Wood You? - S1E7: To age or not to age, that is the question. And Lou and Chava attempt to answer it, along with mezcalero Mariano Vazquez. They also talk the proper mass of a tortilla and drink the proper mass of Michoacan mezcals. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Tequila vs Mezcal: The Rematch: John McEvoy wrote what has to be the first English-language book for mezcal geeks: Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal came out in 2014. So when John sent us an email complaining that we “left out the most important part” in our “Tequila vs Mezcal” episode … well, we invited him on to try to convince him that he’s wrong. Will it work? Can we change the mind of the man who goes by Mezcal PhD? Find out in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
30 min listen
No Tequila is Mezcal - S2E4: Maybe someone told you that all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila. Hell, maybe you read it in the New York Times, USAToday, the Daily Mail, or the Chicago Tribune, or on VinePair, Thrillist, Chowhound, or Science 2.0. They’re all wrong. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
28 min listen
You Can Master the Strange Secrets of Mezcal!: Master this strange power! Sway others at will! This episode of Agave Road Trip shows you in just minutes how to use the mysterious power of Mezcal to influence the thoughts of others, control their desires, and make yourself master of every situation. Send no money now! Listen first and when you have this marvelous power at your command and you can work wonders, then decide what it is worth to you. You’ll make others love you; strengthen your own will-power; develop a magnetic personality; banish fear and worry; improve your memory; overcome bad habits; realize your ambitions; increase your salary. If you have an average active and intelligent mind, you can easily learn the secrets of Mezcal. Find out for yourself in this episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
30 min listen
The Difference Between Tequila and Mezcal - S2E10: What’s the difference between tequila and mezcal? Is all tequila really mezcal? Is all mezcal made by hand? These and other questions are answered in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip helps gringo bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. Your hosts are Lou Bank and Chava Periban. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
15 Days to Distill - S2E6: Many men and women in rural Mexico started learning to make agave spirits when they were 10 or 11 years old, from their parents. Then some learned in two weeks from a bunch of university students who randomly showed up in town. by Agave Road Trip
22 min listen
Perlas Before Swine - S1E9: Dr. Roberto Zenit is a highly regarded professor at Brown University. Nonetheless, he speaks with us about his recently released study of las perlas, the process by which maestro mezcaleros use the bubbles in their agave spirits to measure the alcohol content and quality of the spirits. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
17 min listen
MEZcal or meZCAL? How Do You Pronounce It?: Chava and I sit down with a couple of copitas of mezcal … or, rather, he sits down with a copita of meZCAL and I sit down with a copita of MEZcal. And we fight over how to pronounce it, whether it’s important to follow the native pronunciation, whether it’s acceptable to correct someone else’s pronunciation, and whether it’s ever acceptable to order guac. This and more in this week’s episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
Who Says It's Not Mezcal?: Mezcal can only be made from the heart of the agave. Or … wait? It can be made from the leaves? And sometimes that worm in the bottle isn’t just for tourists? What’s true in one community is not true universally, and the only absolute truths are the ones the Mexican government puts to paper … until they edit that document. Join us for the most confounding episode yet of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
23 min listen

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What Is the Connection Between Mezcal, Mexican Food, and Museums?: The first time I saw tascalate on a menu it was at Itanoni in Oaxaca. I immediately fell in love with the traditional drink. But finding a second cup – particularly at home in Chicago – was a lost cause. But now, years later, Ximena N. Beltran Quan Kiu has written an article about how tascalte has made its way onto bar menus. And that’s a reflection of a broader trend. It’s an everything-old-is-celebrated-again episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Ximena N. Beltran Quan Kiu. by Agave Road Trip
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Maybe That 12-Year-Old Agave Is Only Five Years Old…: I was having a conversation with Grace Gonzalez of Tequila El Mayor and she said something that brought into focus a thought that’s been bumping around in my head: We talk a lot about the ages of the agaves that are used to make Mezcal and Tequila. But there’s really no mechanism to verify that. And, in fact, since different agaves reach maturity at different points – even when they are the same species growing in the same territory – a statement like “we only harvest eight-year-old agave” simply can’t be accurate. So how should we be talking about the age of agave? It’s an episode for the ages on Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto, with supporting insights from Grace Gonzalez of Tequila El Mayor. by Agave Road Trip
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Mezcal Moto-Rally!: Four wheels good! Two wheels more good? For the last few years, Nick Barreiro has organized a moto-rally for small group of motorcycle-and-Mexico enthusiasts. And while motorcycles aren’t my speed, I know they work for plenty of gringx bartenders, and I love this whole different way to take in the stories of rural Mexico. Learn about Nick’s international motor rally in this bitchin’ hog of an episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Nick Barreiro of Mezcal Moto Rally. by Agave Road Trip
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What Can Cultivated Meat Teach Us About Mezcal?: In his New York Times op-ed about the imploding dream of cultivated meat, Joe Fassler writes, “[It] was an embodiment of the wish that we can change everything without changing anything. We wouldn’t need to rethink our relationship to Big Macs and bacon. We could go on believing that the world would always be the way we’ve known it.” And while I can’t see a direct corollary to Mezcal and Tequila, the way the word “sustainable” is thrown around over an afternoon of neat pours, it suggests to me that we think we’re saving the world one copita at a time. So … are we? It’s a plant-to-the-slaughter episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Evelyn Cotton Botello of Mezcal Amaras. by Agave Road Trip
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Are the Best Bottles of the Year the Best Bets for Your Bar?: Vinepair, Wine Enthusiast, Esquire … seems like every publication these days has their suggestions for what you should have been drinking over the past year. Maybe what you should be purchasing as holiday gifts. But these lists can also serve as sales tools for gringx bartenders! It’s a DIY episode of Agave Road Trip!Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of Seynasecreto. by Agave Road Trip
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This Bottle Protects Jaguars: We’ve done a lot of episodes about the importance of biodiversity, but usually we’re talking about plants. Sometimes insects. Bats, on occasion. So when we got an email from the gang at Alma de Jaguar Tequila about preserving this apex predator, I thought, yeah, let’s really sink our teeth into this subject! It’s a wild cat episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Sergio Garnier of Mezcal Ultramundo. by Agave Road Trip
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Are Agave Straws Really Better Than Plastic?: A trend that’s emerged in the past decade are these drinking straws that are being promoted as made from agave fibers — the agave fibers being a byproduct of the process for making Tequila and Mezcal. The straws are marketed as biodegradable. But I think — emphasis on “think” — that these straws are at least in part made from plastics and are not actually entirely biodegradable. At least not in the way that they are presented. So I invited Natasha Tucker, the executive director of Mind Your Plastic, to have that conversation. Are agave straws really better for the earth than plastic straws? At the risk of giving away the answer, it’s another heartbreaking episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with guest cohost Natasha Tucker of Mind Your Plastic. by Agave Road Trip
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The Church of Our Lady of Tequila: A preachment, dear friends, you are about to receive, on Mayahuel, nicotine, and the temptations of maguey. I’ve heard that all sorts of things in the world of agave spirits are sacred and should be treated with respect. But that begs the question, what does it mean to respect something? Or, more importantly, what constitutes disrespect? We bat that concept around in this unholy episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
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Mexican Hand Gestures in a Mezcaleria: I’m accustomed to people making hand gestures at me, whether in the USA or Mexico. And I’m generally able to understand those gestures in my home country. But just as I don’t understand the spoken language in Mexico, I’m a bit lost on these gestures, too. Luckily, on this specific Agave Road Trip, I have a couple of interpreters to help. Hands are flying in this episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
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Fantastic Fermentation - S1E5: We give a nutshell explanation of how agave turns from sugar to alcohol and are joined on the occasion by mezcalero Amando Alvarado Alvarez. We also talk about how growing agave helped a middle school in rural Oaxaca reduce violence in their community. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Get Roasted - S1E3: That agave won’t just start fermenting, you know. You’ve gotta make it delicious for yeast before yeast makes it delicious for you. We talk with mezcalera Catalina Navarro Sanchez about how that’s done, then talk about how mezcalero Eduardo Angeles saved Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca, from drought. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Bad Mezcal: It’s the cleanest spirit you can drink! It’s made from the best sugar source in the world! It’s made by hand! So … how could there possibly be such a thing as bad mezcal? Find out in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
Is Texas Messing with Sotol?: When people talk about mezcal and related agave spirits, they'll often lump in sotol. But it's not made from agave. But it is made in Mexico. But it's also now being made in Texas. And that's causing some waves. Is Texas messing with sotol? We skip through that minefield in this episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
What’s Heritage, Anyway? - S2E5: The traditional methods of making agave spirits in Yutanduchi de Guerrero, in Oaxaca’s Mixteca region, go back to … the late 1990s? So what does “heritage” mean, in this case? by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
The Grind - S1E4: After you cook your agave, you’ve gotta mill it – make tiny, little pieces of those giant, cooked agaves. How do you do that? We explain it here and maestro mezcalero Eduardo Angeles joins. Then we talk about how to avoid explosive diarrhea while eating great street food in Mexico. And chocolate. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Be Still My Heart - S1E6: This is where we separate the alcohol from the water – we talk about distillation with mezcalero Jesus Franco. And traditional ceramics. And Oaxaca tour guides. And not a single poop joke. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
15 min listen
The Secret Origin of Bull-skin Fermentation in Mezcal: The fist time I tasted an agave spirit fermented in the skin of a bull, it was all anyone was talking about in Oaxaca. I tasted it at three mezcalerias, and all three bottles were made by Amando Alvarado Alvarez in Santa Maria Ixcatlan, Oaxaca. I made my way out to visit him a few months later, to see the bull-skin fermenters myself. And when I share his spirits at tastings, everyone is in awe of these bull-skin fermenters. But … why bull skins? Where did that start? I think I have the answer! And I share it with you in this speculative episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Sergio Garnier of Mezcal Ultramundo. by Agave Road Trip
16 min listen
The Difference Between Tequila and Mezcal - S2E10: What’s the difference between tequila and mezcal? Is all tequila really mezcal? Is all mezcal made by hand? These and other questions are answered in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip helps gringo bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. Your hosts are Lou Bank and Chava Periban. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
The Best Mezcals for Mixing, According to Agave Road Trip: Price certainly has to be a factor when considering which Mezcals you stock in your well. And flavor, of course. But what about the environmental impact? Here are six lower-priced Mezcals (and a Bacanora and a Sotol) that you can use for high-volume cocktails that won’t break the bank and don’t threaten the bio-diversity of Oaxaca. It’s a Punch-and-Judy episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
33 min listen
How to Drink Spirits Neat - S2E7: The margarita is almost certainly Mexico’s greatest ambassador. But how do you move from drinking cocktails to drinking neat spirits? We suggest one specific journey in this episode of Agave Road Trip. by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
How to Pair Mezcal With Food: I’m seeing a lot more restaurants expanding their Mezcal selections, and a lot more events pairing Mezcal with food. So what do you eat when you drink Mezcal? I asked a bunch of industry folks that question over the last several months, then coerced food, science, and nature journalist Rowan Jacobsen to dig through those quotes with me to add his own thoughts. It’s a smorgasbord episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with guest cohost Rowan Jacobsen and insights and thoughts from Lanie Bayless of Topolobampo, Francisco Tapia of Tacovision, Grace Gonzalez of Tequila El Mayor, Mariana Alvarado-Garcia of Masazul, Kate Owca and Adrian Villarreal of Tahona, and mezcaleros Jorge Torres and Eduardo Angeles! by Agave Road Trip
34 min listen
3 + Mezcal Field Notes / Durango Part 1: Durango Part 1 Tess is back to talk about her recent trip to Durango! In this episode, Tess discusses the difference in production styles between Oaxaca and Durango. She explains the characteristics of the Cenizo (Durangensis) agave which is endemic to t... by Hey Hey Agave
41 min listen
How Much Can I Bring Back? - S2E8: You’re headed to Mexico! Excited to drink agave spirits in their natural habitat! More excited to bring spirits home to share with friends! So … how much are you allowed to bring back? Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
22 min listen
It's All About the Water: We argue a lot about which element in the production of agave spirits contributes most to the flavor of that spirit: the agave itself; where that agave was grown and what grew around it; the cooking process; the yeast that converts the sugar to alcohol, or the mezcalero who oversees the decisions throughout the process. But … when we’re drinking a 50% ABV mezcal it’s only half alcohol. The other half is water. Is that the answer? That water contributes the most to the flavor? We debate that and talk about water insecurity in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
23 min listen
Mezcalarrhea: Some People Think it’s Funny, But it’s Really Hot and Runny: There are often-repeated inaccuracies that cause the general public to greatly misunderstand Mezcal. I call them “mezcalarrhea.” You know, like Mezcal + diarrhea? Because it’s usually people talking out of their butt. And because it makes me laugh. It’s a hot-and-runny episode of Agave Road Trip featuring Dr. Steven Alvarez, professor at St. John’s University and Ismael Gomez of Laika Spirits and Cruz de Fuego Mezcal! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
19 min listen
Margarita Time: The History of Mexican Spirits by Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez-Rejón
26 min listen
What's Smoke Got to Do with It?: Before you can ferment those agaves to make alcohol, you’ve got to convert the carbohydrates into sugars. One way to do that is cooking. And one way to cook the agave is underground. And, yep, there are lots of ways to do that, which leads us to the question, "Do mezcaleros need to know how many grams of smoke per kilo are in their cooked agave?" Find out in "What’s Smoke Got to Do with It?” — the latest episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
22 min listen
The Cult of Hospitality: A Liquor.com article I read earlier this year highlighted the number of hospitality workers who grew up in radical churches. That made me think about how hospitality itself is a sort of religion – depending on how you define religion. So this is maybe, to you, a sacrilegious episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special co-host Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto. by Agave Road Trip
24 min listen
How Dangerous is Mexico?: When I tell people about my trips to Mexico, it's not uncommon for them to ask how dangerous it is. Chava and I debate the relative threats of Mexico in this not-approved-by-the-US-Department-of-State episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
23 min listen
"Milpa" is Spanish for "Regenerative Viticulture": If you dip your toe into the world of wine, some buzz phrases you’ll see are “regenerative viticulture” and “regenerative agriculture.” But, really, when you get right down to it, isn’t that really just milpa? Join us for a conversation about farming practices in Mexico, and about how those farming practices impact agave spirits, in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
18 min listen
Fast Mezcal and Slow Bars: The amount of time that mezcaleros take to make their spirits is an essential ingredient in the process. But it’s also in stark contrast to the amount of time that gringx bartenders have to share those agave spirits with their guests. What does that mean for those guests? And the future of those spirits? We’re running hot in this episode of Agave Road Trip! This episode is hosted by Lou Bank, Dr. Steven Alvarez of St. John’s University, and Ismael Gomez of Laika Spirits and Cruz de Fuego Mezcal. by Agave Road Trip
13 min listen
Oh, Wood You? - S1E7: To age or not to age, that is the question. And Lou and Chava attempt to answer it, along with mezcalero Mariano Vazquez. They also talk the proper mass of a tortilla and drink the proper mass of Michoacan mezcals. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
14 min listen
Why Don’t More Mezcaleros Own Their Brands?: Why are there so few Mezcal and Tequila brands owned by the people who produce them? When I try to rattle off the names of brands of Mezcal and Tequila that are owned by the people who actually make those spirits, it’s more of a clunk than a rattle. Why is that? And why is that important? It’s an own-or-be-owned episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special co-host Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto. by Agave Road Trip
24 min listen
1 + Tess Rose Lampert / Intro to Mezcal: In this episode, we introduce you to Tess. We learn about how she became involved in the agave industry and we discuss the classes she teaches in and around New York. She explains the etymology of the word Mezcal and why we sometimes use the term agave d... by Hey Hey Agave
27 min listen
How Much Alcohol is in Mezcal?: 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! by Agave Road Trip
20 min listen
Wild vs Farmed: Last Pulque Standing: Gonzalo Alvarez is pursuing his master’s degree in pulque. Ivan Saldana has his doctorate in agave. Both tell me that farmed agave produces better pulque than wild agave. But on trips through Nuevo Leon, Cohuila, and Hidalgo, three pulque producers said the exact opposite. So … what’s the truth? They call me the Seeker, and I search low and high in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with insights from Aaron Campos of Dark Matter Coffee, fermentation revivalist and New York Times best-selling author Sandor Katz, and Michael Schallau of is/was brewing. by Agave Road Trip
24 min listen
The Perfect Recipe for Mezcal: An ensamble mezcal is made from a number of different agaves — generally whatever has reached maturity at the same time. Or … is it? Maybe there’s a precise recipe that’s been handed down for generations? But how does that work within the confines of nature? We cook the cookbooks in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
16 min listen
Babies or Booze? Agaves Can’t Make Both… or Can They?: 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.com by Agave Road Trip
20 min listen
Mezcal: The Aphrodisiac that Makes you Strong as a Rhino by Agave Road Trip
16 min listen

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What is Agave? - S1E2

What is Agave? - S1E2

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