Agave Road Trip

Ten Angry Pitbulls, Inc

Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. If you're interested in Mezcal, Tequila, Raicilla, or other things you'd drink in Mexico, this might be the place you're looking for.

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33 episodes
weekly
Avg 32 min
English

Episodes 33

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#173
Thursday · 28 min
The only agave that can’t be used to make Mezcal is a dead agave
It feels like for the past five or six years, I’ve been reading or hearing “Mezcal can be made from 30 or 40 kinds of agave.” And even Howard Scott Gentry suggested that there are some species of agave that can’t be used to make Mezcal. But I say, in fact, you can make spirits from any agave. Well, except dead agave. 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 Lo
#172
November 5 · 27 min
Howard Scott Gentry and the 11 best agaves for spirits
Howard Scott Gentry’s 670-page Agaves of Continental North America (University of Arizona Press, 1982) is a seminal work in the field. Gentry included thorough descriptions of over 136 species … and identified the 11 best agaves for spirits production. Which 11 are they? And what makes them the best? You’ll have to listen to this episode of Agave Road Trip (or read the book) to find out! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better underst
#171
October 29 · 28 min
The uncanny power of hibiscus
In my quest to lower my blood pressure, I stumbled on an article suggesting that jamaica — the Mexican agua fresca made from dried hibiscus flowers — can do exactly that. So I started using that as a base for an energy drink. Which maybe mitigates the blood-pressure thing, but, anyway, that’s where I landed when I invited Linda Sullivan‍ over to talk aguas fresca. Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits
#170
October 22 · 26 min
Is Mezcal cool? Or cooling down?
I've been having a lot of conversations recently with people who own brands of agave spirits. And my friends who own Tequila brands, they're a little uncomfortable with the state of the market. And then my friends with Mezcal brands, they really don't like the state of the market. Not so long ago, Mezcal was hot. Is it still cool? or is it cooling down? Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rura
#169
October 15 · 31 min
What cooked agave doesn’t taste like
The rules around Mezcal are so complex that I’m not surprised when someone gets the details wrong — even brand owners. But I still used that as a jumping-off point to get into it with Marissa Paragano about recent clips from The TequiLadies Show. And then we landed on a clip in which she talks about what agave tastes like. And what does it taste like? Well, which agave…? Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave
#168
October 8 · 32 min
The sex lives of agave: hijuelos, bulbils, and seedlings
Agaves have three ways to reproduce: they can generate seeds, bulbils (semi-clones that grow on their quiotes), and hijuelos (clones from the roots). But sometimes, you’ll hear that a particular variety of agave doesn’t produce hijuelos, or its seeds aren’t viable. Why not? Which ones? And how did that come about? It’s our most sexual episode yet! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexic
#167
October 1 · 27 min
What we drink when we don't know what to drink
My frequent-but-not-frequent-enough cohost Linda Sullivan‍ has a beverage education business, seynasecreto. And while she’s doing the education part at events, sharing funky, interesting, and cool agave spirits, the guests are engaged and loving it. But when the education stops and the bar becomes open call, those same guests go back to their common-order comfort zones. Which makes Linda uncomfortable — but gives us something to talk about in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is
#166
September 24 · 38 min
Proposed changes to the rules of Mezcal
The Mexican government is considering a revised version of the NOM that defines what is and what is not Mezcal. My big takeaway is that it feels like the changes are either moving more toward protecting heritage mezcaleres or codifying things that were already allowed but weren’t anywhere in the existing NOM. Sergio Garnier’s view isn’t so different. But we argue anyway. Because that’s our love language. Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartende
#165
September 17 · 38 min
Has the Margarita become a victim of its own success?
That’s what I thought we were talking about: the Margarita collapsing under the weight of its popularity, so to speak. But food writer Alisha Miranda thought we were exploring the question, Can we get past the Margarita? And that question itself suggests that, at least for Alisha, the Margarita has become a victim of its own success. And David Suro’s La Jefa Milpa Bar in Philadelphia doesn’t serve a Margarita, which suggests Alisha isn’t alone. So … what’s going on with the Margarita? Agave Roa
#164
September 10 · 30 min
September 16 is Cinco de Mayo!
As we approach September 16, we prepare to celebrate Cinco de Mayo: Mexican Independence Day! And we do so in Agave Road Trip style with lawyer and professor Dr. Juan Pablo Salazar Andreou, author of Con o Sin Derecho, about the history of Cinco de Mayo in the legal context. Take off your shoes, grab a machete, and join us for the fun! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This epis
#163
September 3 · 22 min
NC Stevens read all the royal directives so you don’t have to
When most people think about Mexican drinks, they think about Tequila. But Tequila's success is really built on the vibrancy of the broader landscape of drinks and drinking in Mexico. It’s not a standalone spirit. It comes from a history and geography and culture that made possible something as compelling as Tequila. And author and researcher NC Stevens argues that is one of the leading reasons that Tequila has become so successful. Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podca
#162
August 27 · 24 min
The reason to ID every drinker
I was watching an episode of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” about gas-station drugs and it felt to me like, while never mentioned explicitly, the reason to ask every guest who orders an alcoholic beverage to show their ID. And I had Linda cornered so made her talk it through with me. 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
#161
August 20 · 27 min
Plastic and glass in the age of Mezcal
“This brings us to the question of glass versus food-grade plastic, because both are used at José Alberto's palenque, and food-grade plastic is certainly used to store mezcal at every other palenque I’ve visited, and both are legitimate vessels for storing agave spirits.” That’s what Marcus Piña of Creador Spirits wrote in his online journal — and then he answered the question. We’ve talked a lot on this podcast about how agave spirits change when aged in glass. Marcus takes us beyond the claim
#160
August 13 · 37 min
The ten categories of ancestral mezcal
Mezcal can get very confusing for the average consumer. You’ve got regular Mezcal, Mezcal Artesenal, and Mezcal Ancestral. And then there are variations among those, including Joven, Reposado, Anejo, abocado con, destilado con, and on and on. But this, it seems, is part of the heritage of Mezcal — at least according to a 1904 book titled Diccionario de Aztequismos o Sea Catalogo de las Palabras del Idioma Nahuatl, Azteca ó Mexicano, Introducidas al Idioma Castellano Bajo Diversas Formas. (That’s
#159
August 6 · 39 min
A tahona doesn’t make your Tequila authentic
There was a time (about a week ago) when posting to social-media that you would only drink “additive-free” was a way to say, I know Tequila. Now it feels like “milled by tahona” is the new “additive-free.” And in the same way that the additive-free-signaling actually signaled the opposite to me, the tahona-signaling does, too. And we talk about why in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand
#158
July 30 · 1 hr 28 min
The Raicilla episode featuring El Acabo and Asil
“You just do it by the old way. It's not difficult. It's not fast, but it's not difficult. If we make it fast, you have to correct a lot of things. When you give the real time for a distillation, you get all the flavors. Give it the time, the real time that it needs to make it.” That’s Alvaro Fernandez, founder of El Acabo Raicilla and Asil Raicilla de la Sierra. We profile those brands — and talk about the Raicilla denomination of origin — in this episode of Agave Road Show!
#157
July 23 · 22 min
Gasoline & electricity: The science of Mezcal
Before science was invented, things were confusing. And, to be fair, for several decades into the birth of science, it was still confusing. Don’t believe us? Check out Scientific American magazines from the late 1800s — especially this one article about scientists tasting Mezcal and Tequila for the first time. 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
#156
July 16 · 47 min
The profound justification for Raicilla
Okay, for real, this episode is only vaguely about Raicilla. It’s a bit more about profound justifications — that’s a reference to a quote from my guest co-host, Shawn Miller of PKGD Group. He brings that quote up as we’re talking about the white paper PKGD released a few weeks ago. That white paper is what this episode is really about. But who would listen to an episode titled, “The one about Shawn’s white paper”? Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gri
#155
July 9 · 30 min
The great rise of industrial Mezcal
I recorded a few weeks ago an episode with Marissa Paragano in which we talked about the 2025 numbers from Comercam. But we got so distracted by overall sales that I forgot to highlight this one very important fact: plain, old Mezcal (in other words, the stuff that can be made industrially) has doubled in one year. Marissa was too busy with her weekly YouTube show, “The TequiLadies,” so Linda Sullivan got tagged in for the conversation!
July 7 · 57 min
Palomo Mezcal: It’s better not to count
“Before, only white people or gringos used to sell Mezcal, and the consumer was used to only buying it from those people. But now the consumer is changing their mind and saying that I want to buy from the producer. I want to know how it’s made. I want to know if they are planting more agaves, or if they are not cutting trees, or what are they doing for the environment. So we have the information here. Not all of it, but maybe enough information to show the people how we do this Mezcal, how we do

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