Is Anything Sustainable? (Sustainability Miniseries, Part 2 of 3)

FromAgave Road Trip

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Is Anything Sustainable? (Sustainability Miniseries, Part 2 of 3)

FromAgave Road Trip

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Length:

24 minutes

Released:

Jan 26, 2023

Format:

Podcast episode

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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.

Released:

Jan 26, 2023

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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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
How to Drive in Mexico Without Getting Killed - S2E11: I tell a lot of stories about driving through Mexico — about the dried-up riverbeds that serve as roads to rural communities, about the car rental agencies that sometimes need to be threatened before they get you your car, about the expansive beauty of the Sierra Madres. But perhaps the strongest reactions I get are to tales of driving through blockades — roadblocks set up by protestors to intentionally create traffic problems as a way of making a political statement. That’s what we cover in this week’s episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
24 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
River Rocks, Mountain Rocks, Volcanic Rocks: Mezcal Rocks: We talk a lot about the 400 decisions that palenqueros make in the process of producing heritage agave spirits. That’s the result of using pre-industrial methods in fermentation and distillation … but also in that first stage of production when you cook the agave to convert the fructans into fermentable sugars. Maybe it seems like, okay, you cook it underground in a stone-lined earthen oven. But what kind of stones you use in that oven can have a serious impact on how your mezcal tastes, Join Agave Road Trip for a conversation about river rocks, mountain rocks, and volcanic rocks, and what they can mean to that spirit you’re drinking. Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
23 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
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

More Episodes from Agave Road Trip

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Making Beer With Agave (And Sotol): How do you turn 24,000 acres of wild maguey Lamparillo and dasylirion into beer? You bring Mike Schallau of is/was brewing to Durango to hang out with Sergio Garnier of Mezcal Ultramundo! Mike has been making beer since 2018 with agave I’ve brought him from Mexico, to fundraise for SACRED. This year, he made the trip himself. The beer is in the works and should be ready for your glass this summer! But this episode of Agave Road Trip is ready to be consumed now! by Agave Road Trip
20 min listen
Cocktails as Cultural Bridges: I’ve heard a lot about how bartenders use cocktails as a way to introduce their guests to Mexican spirits like Mezcal, Tequila, Raicilla, Bacanora, and Sotol. And lately, I’ve also heard a little about using those same cocktails to introduce guests to the communities those spirits come from – turning the cocktail into a gateway to another culture. So I spoke with some bartenders about exactly that. Alex Dominguez checks in from Calico in New York, Matthias Ingelmann from KOL in London, Mariane Garcia from Copitas Cholula, NC Stevens from the nomadic Drinking Folk, and Aithan Shapira from MIT Sloan School of Management. It’s a globe-spanning 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
45 min listen
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
26 min listen
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
27 min listen
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
46 min listen
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
24 min listen
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
25 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
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
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Why Brands Don’t Certify Their Mezcal: Since I first met Sergio Garnier, before he launched Mezcal Ultramundo, we’ve debated about the relative merits of certifying your agave spirits as Mezcal. We decided it was time to record our disagreement. It’s a what-side-are-you-on 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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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
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24 min listen
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Giving Tuesday: On this Day of Thanks, I ponder why Giving Tuesday isn’t Giving Thursday — why we aren’t giving thanks on Thanksgiving. It’s a thankless episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
31 min listen
The Beautiful Inconsistencies of Coffee and Mezcal: It's impossible with coffee beans to get consistency in flavors and aromas from one harvest to the next. Add in the processing of those beans into that morning drug that starts most of our days and … still more barriers to consistency. Which reminds me so much of the things that I love about agave spirits. It’s yet another inconsistent episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
26 min listen
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
23 min listen

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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
The World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Mezcal!: A lot of people are blown away by how expensive mezcal is. But … is it? I mean, is it really? We talk the price of mezcal in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
23 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
Can Plastic Save the World?: 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.com by Agave Road Trip
18 min listen
The Differences Between Tequila and Whiskey: I’m asked all the time what the difference is between Tequila and Mezcal. But, for my money, the more interesting questions is … what’s the difference between Tequila and whiskey? It’s a grains-versus-succulents grudge match in this episode of Agave Road Trip featuring Jay West of Whiskey Raiders! You can find more from Jay at @t8ke.review, @aficionadosgroup, and @weekly.whiskey Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
29 min listen
Why are So Many Mezcaleros Named Don?: I don’t recall in which online forum I saw it, but someone asked the question, "Why are so many mezcaleros named Don?" It made me laugh, but it’s funny because it illustrates one of the translation problems with agave spirits. We dive deep into that problem in this week's episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
27 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
Does Mezcal Change When Aged in Glass?: When you age alcohol in wood, it of course takes on the properties of the wood. But what about when you age it in glass? Some experts say no. But experts aren't always right.... We offer our take in the latest contentious episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
21 min listen
Welcome to Agave Road Trip: If you're just now joining Agave Road Trip - strap on in! Over the past year we've traveled far and wide throughout the world of agave spirits and we've got many more adventures planned! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
4 min listen
What Do You Do With the Tiny Sips of Mezcal Left in Your Bottles?: 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.com by Agave Road Trip
17 min listen
Let's Talk About Maguey Salmiana by Agave Road Trip
21 min listen
14: Is Bikepacking Better? by The Outdoor Evolution Podcast
47 min listen
How to Get Started Biking: This week, we cover the basics of cycling for fun and transportation, including selecting, maintaining, and accessorizing your two-wheeler. by Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
35 min listen
How to Get Started Biking: This week, we cover the basics of cycling for fun and transportation, including selecting, maintaining, and accessorizing your two-wheeler. by Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News from WIRED
36 min listen
DB 156: The Time I Didn't Take "NO" For An Answer: Last December, we were invited by our dear friends Jackie and Chris to spend the weekend at their cabin in Lake Arrowhead. The highlight of the weekend for Eva was riding her own go-kart for the very first time. There is a go-kart track in Lake... by Dream Big Podcast for Kids
11 min listen
Immature Agave Makes Better Mezcal: There’s a lot of moral outrage around the harvesting of agave that hasn’t yet reached maturity. But … when exactly is agave mature? By whose standards? And if the agave is getting harvested before it can produce seeds — which is always the case when you’re using the agave to make spirits — how is it a morals issue whether you harvest that agave a week before or a couple years before it reaches maturity? We light the fuse in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
23 min listen
Ep.166 Snow Meng Snow: Kyle meng Joins us to talk about the awesome Snow wheeling trip in Dubuque Iowa. Its a pretty good Story, but we may have gone on a tangent. and this was intended to be released before the Grohe sode. Love you guys, see ya next week. ... by Total Offroad Podcast
63 min listen
How Not to Bring Mezcal Back From Mexico: I used to regularly come back from Mexico with a lot of alcohol — a lot. But in the last few years, it’s become significantly harder to get bottles back. And I think I know why. It’s a smuggler’s-blues episode of Agave Road Trip! by Agave Road Trip
28 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
Camp WeWow - Water Week Day 2: Floating EGGSperiment! by WeWow
11 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 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
Are We Drinking Ourselves Into Extinction?: We’ve talked a lot on this podcast about the importance of biodiversity in agave. But Dan Saladino takes that conversation to the next level, explaining how what we eat – and drink – will determine whether or not we can survive as a species. We have that conversation with the renowned food journalist and author of Eating to Extinction in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com. by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
Chava's Hair Malfunction: Due to a hair malfunction, this week’s regularly scheduled episode of Agave Road Trip has been bumped to next week. So what will you do in the meantime? You'll have to listen to the shortest Agave Road Trip ever to find out! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
4 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 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
I've Got a Theory About Long-growth Agaves: The agave has one mission in life: to reproduce. It spends its life generating the energy it needs to fulfill that mission. So ... does it tell us something when one agave takes significantly longer -- decades longer, even -- to reach maturity than another agave? I've got a theory about that, and I bother Chava with it in this week's episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
25 min listen
The Many Different Flavors of Mezcal: For decades we’ve seen flavor-wheels for wine, and more recently they’ve been appearing for mezcal. It makes sense, both in terms of market positioning and also trying to define the broad spectrum of different flavors you’ll find in mezcal and other agave spirits. But … what if banana tastes different to me than it does to you? The flavor training wheels come off in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com by Agave Road Trip
18 min listen
#127: Electric Cars: We hate to PLUG ourselves but in our opinion this is one of the best TORQUEs we've ever had: a GRIPping and wide-RANGEing chat about cars what run on batteries, not oil. - While electric cars aren't a new thing, them not being a bit rubbish, frankly, by Sustainababble
34 min listen
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

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Is Anything Sustainable? (Sustainability Miniseries, Part 2 of 3)

Is Anything Sustainable? (Sustainability Miniseries, Part 2 of 3)

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