What’s Heritage, Anyway? - S2E5

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What’s Heritage, Anyway? - S2E5

FromAgave Road Trip

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Length:

25 minutes

Released:

Oct 8, 2020

Format:

Podcast episode

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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?Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.comAgave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.

Released:

Oct 8, 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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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Everyone Talks about Mezcal, but No One Drinks It: Yeah, okay, that title is intentionally misleading. I mean, everyone hasn’t heard of it — if they had, we wouldn’t continue to see articles explaining how mezcal is “having a moment.” And clearly someone is drinking it. I mean, you are, right? But … how deeply has it penetrated drinks culture in the USA? Or in Mexico, for that matter? And how can you get more of your customers to drink it? We run the numbers in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
21 min listen
Mezcal 2099: The Future of Agave: When we talk about the future of mezcal, the conversation tends to revolve around our fears of agave extinction. But there’s so much more to speculate on! That’s what we do in this episode. What will production look like? How will it be delivered? And what are the delicious innovations we should expect? All this and more in the Mezcal 2099 episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
22 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
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
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
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
Certified Tacos: Some restaurants in the USA are serving what they call tacos, but they’re skipping the certification process, so … should they be allowed to call their tacos “tacos”? Or should they have to call them “tortilla-wrapped meals”? And if they also serve uncertified salsa, does that double-negative result in a positive? We speak to the CRT (Consejo Regulador del Taco) to try to better understand the dangers of uncertified tacos in this delicious episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
23 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
Looks Like Mexico, Tastes Like India: Clay fermentation vessels … wood-fired pot stills … glass garafones filled with clear liquid. From the pictures you might think you’re looking at heritage agave spirits in rural Mexico. But in fact, you’re looking at heritage feni being made in rural India. Learn about another community using pre-industrial methods to ferment and distill spirits in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
25 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
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 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
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
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
The Clay Copita: Authentic Hipster Culture?: A lot of mezcal enthusiasts drink their mezcal from clay copitas. Hell, we drink our mezcal from clay copitas. And we think that’s the best vessel for heritage agave spirits. But is it? And is it culturally authentic? Maybe … if you’re talking hipster culture. This and more in the latest episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
19 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
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 is Going on with Bacanora?: Maybe you’ve heard of bacanora, that agave spirit from the north of Mexico. But you probably haven’t. Or if you have, you’ve maybe tried one or two. Maybe. And … why is that? In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we try to figure out why bacanora is the agave spirit that never seems to get its share of respect. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
23 min listen
The Only Correct Way to Drink Mezcal: If you’re not pouring a cross on the ground as a gift to the earth … if you’re not bowing to the south in gratitude to the land from which your mezcal came from … if you’re not performing a Mayan Cħa Chac ritual chant before that first sip, you may be drinking your mezcal all wrong. And if you’re drinking it in a cocktail? Be prepared for Mayahuel to have her vengeance. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we walk you through the only correct way to drink mezcal. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
30 min listen

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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
28 min listen
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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How to Welcome the Mezcal Curious: With all the press, all the talk, all the social-media posts, there are always people looking to find out what this Mezcal thing is all about. So what’s the best way to introduce them to these spirits? It’s a welcome-to-the-newbies episode of Agave Road Trip! 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
21 min listen
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
13 min listen

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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
All Bino Mexcal Is Mezcal but Not All Mezcal Is Bino Mexcal: Did the small family producers in Tequila, Jalisco, eat the metaphorical and literal lunch of the big producers in Guanajuato and San Luis Potosi at the 1893 World’s Fair? It’s a What If? 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, with supporting insights from Juan Pedro Valdés of Mezcal Villasuso. by Agave Road Trip
26 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
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
Looks Like Mexico, Tastes Like India: Clay fermentation vessels … wood-fired pot stills … glass garafones filled with clear liquid. From the pictures you might think you’re looking at heritage agave spirits in rural Mexico. But in fact, you’re looking at heritage feni being made in rural India. Learn about another community using pre-industrial methods to ferment and distill spirits in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
They Make Mezcal in California! Or Do They?: Is it cultural appropriation to make mezcal in California? Or whiskey in Mexico? It’s a throw-down episode of Agave Road Trip this week! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
27 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
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
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
What Exactly is Artisanal about Artesenal Mezcal?: In 2020, 86% of all mezcal was classified as “artesenal.” Twelve percent was just straight-up “mezcal,” so … made in a more industrial way. And only 2% was classified as “ancestral.” So is “artesenal” as artisanal as the name suggests? And who knows what that word even means? Chava gets quizzed on the mezcal NOM in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
28 min listen
The Cultural Heritage of Agave Syrup: There’s Mrs. Butterworth’s, and then there’s fine Vermont maple syrup. And the same extremes exist for agave syrup. But here’s the thing: the artisanal version of agave syrup has this whole cultural heritage aspect to it. And you’ve probably only been able to access Mrs. Agaveworth’s. Until now! It’s a sticky, chicken-feather-covered 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
38 min listen
The Diffuser: Nature’s Answer to Better Tequila: Tequila collectors the world over hate the diffuser, the industrial machine that is used to turn blue weber agave into tequila. So Chava and I attempt in this episode to show that the diffuser can be nature's way to make a better, more accurate tequila. Maybe because we're contrarians. Or maybe because science. Find out in this 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
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
Leave Tequila Alone!: In a Wine Enthusiast op-ed titled “Is it time to leave Tequila alone?,” spirits and cocktail writer Kara Newman asks, “When it comes to pushing tequila’s boundaries, how far is too far?” Now, I tend to be a “head to the endzone” kind of guy, so I’ve brought in Ana Rita García Lascurain, founder and director of MUCHO, Mexico City’s museum of chocolate, to ensure there’s actual culture in this cultural conversation with Kara. by Agave Road Trip
45 min listen
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
22 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
25 + Martha Garza Vázquez / Cuero Viejo Mezcal: 25 + Martha Garza Vazquez Cuero Viejo We are joined by Martha Garza Vazquez the COO of Cuero Viejo Mezcal, produced in the town of Nombre de Dios in the state of Durango. Martha shares the history of Cuero Viejo, a vinata and mezcal brand her father drea... by Hey Hey Agave
81 min listen
The Clay Copita: Authentic Hipster Culture?: A lot of mezcal enthusiasts drink their mezcal from clay copitas. Hell, we drink our mezcal from clay copitas. And we think that’s the best vessel for heritage agave spirits. But is it? And is it culturally authentic? Maybe … if you’re talking hipster culture. This and more in the latest episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
19 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
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
Food Journalism Is Still Journalism: How do you find reliable sources for information about adult beverages? This is a multi-billion dollar industry, there should be reliable places to learn about trends. But I keep seeing significant errors in articles about agave spirits — which leads me to question what I’m reading about other spirits. And food. It’s an “On the Media” 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 Jay West of Whiskey Raiders. by Agave Road Trip
36 min listen
You Can’t Judge a Mezcal by its Bottle: Your friend’s been to Oaxaca, came back with a plastic water bottle of a heritage agave spirit. The only label is your friend’s chicken-scrawl on a piece of green carpenter’s tape. And you love that bottle. So when you see a new mezcal come to market in a fancy bottle, you think, Well, that can’t be good. Or … can it? We talk packaging in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
21 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
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 is Going on with Bacanora?: Maybe you’ve heard of bacanora, that agave spirit from the north of Mexico. But you probably haven’t. Or if you have, you’ve maybe tried one or two. Maybe. And … why is that? In this episode of Agave Road Trip, we try to figure out why bacanora is the agave spirit that never seems to get its share of respect. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
23 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
9 + Spirited Conversations / Mezcal: 9 + Spirited Conversations / Does Big Mezcal = Bad, Looking Beyond Oaxaca We are so pleased to share the audio from the recent Spirited Conversations panel discussion hosted by the Mezcal Collaborative. This event was held on June 10, 2019, at Rosa Mexic... by Hey Hey Agave
79 min listen
There Is No Coffee in Mexico: Well, of course, there is coffee in Mexico. I’ve bought some at Whole Foods in the past. But my friends at Dark Matter — who want nothing more than to source coffee from Mexico — have run into nothing but trouble. So what can we learn from that? It’s a caffeinated, globetrotting 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. Lou Bank hosts this episode alongside Aaron Campos of Dark Matter Coffee. by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
I Know Art When I Drink It: Chava spends a lot of time talking with me about the differences in how artisans are treated than artists. But it’s usually while I’m driving 90mph on Mexican toll roads, so I just nod and watch for cars coming at me. In this episode of Agave Road Trip, he forces me to pay attention to the conversation … which also includes an interview with and music by maestro mezcalero Temo Garcia and the International Congress of Peanuts. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
24 min listen

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What’s Heritage, Anyway? - S2E5

What’s Heritage, Anyway? - S2E5

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