Agave Road Trip – Details, episodes & analysis

I saw a number of posts online suggesting that, if you’re making a Margarita, it doesn’t matter what Tequila you use – it pretty much tastes the same. Linda and I decided to put that to the test with a jury of nine tasters. What’s the verdict? To find out you’ll have to listen to 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 special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto.

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Not everybody who drinks Mezcal is politically liberal. Not everyone carrying a copita in their pocket is a Democrat. Not all of the folks traveling to rural Mexico lean left. In fact, probably most of the mezcalerxs themselves tend to be more conservative. In this politically hot season, it’s maybe a good idea to consider that the person across the bar from you maybe loves Mezcal as much as you do, but doesn’t have the same political beliefs as you. It’s an all-purple 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 Rimas Sydris. 
 

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

Agave Road Trip is Powered by Simplecast.

It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I know. But when I think about what Tequila was back in the ‘80s and ‘90s … it was a catalyst for fun. I had a coworker who thought “tequila” was Spanish for “dancing on tables.” And I still see that, though mainly in Mexico. Here in the USA, it’s become so serious. Or maybe I just don’t go to the right places or hang out with the right people. But I’m left wondering … when did Tequila stop being fun? When did they add Tequila Académico to the Norma? We’re taking shots 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 special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto and quotes from James Miller of El Bandido Yankee Tequila and Jaime Salas from Proximo Spirits.

Find extra photos and related links at agaveroadtrip.com

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Agave Road Trip by becoming a member!

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In November 2021, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Mexico City! It was great fun, but we learned a lot of lessons on the way. If you  want to celebrate this traditional USA holiday south of the border, give this episode a listen and start making plans! It’s a fully stuffed episode of Agave Road Trip!

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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!

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There’s this idea that, somehow, tequila and mezcal are healthier to drink because sugar from agave has a lower glycemic index than other sugars. Our medical correspondent Dr. Ryan Aycock, the Cocktail MD, punctures a hole in that idea — and also cautions that, if that idea had been drinking shochu before he made that hole, the idea will bleed more profusely. All that and more in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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If you believe the mezcal geeks, no self-respecting mezcalero would ever adulterate their multi-generational spirits with gusanos or scorpions or any critter of any kind. But I tend to believe history over geeks, and history tells a different story. We share that story in this episode of Agave Road Trip!

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When Maluma announced he was releasing a cristalino mezcal, a corner of the world went nuts: tens of thousands of his fans, excited to try it, and hundreds of mezcal geeks, outraged over a perceived attack on Mexico’s cultural heritage. Meanwhile, most of the world went about their day. It’s a keep-calm-and-carry-on episode of Agave Road Trip!

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Back in 2004, the USA imported over $400 million worth of tequila. Approximately 73 percent of that was tequila in bulk form. So when the Mexican government suggested they were going to change the rules such that tequila had to be bottled in Mexico … well, US companies went to bat to protect their multi-million-dollar bottling factories. And they succeeded! Or did they? And should they have? We release our bottled up frustrations in this episode of Agave Road Trip! 

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One of the things you hear over and over is that pechuga – the mezcal made (often) by adding raw chicken (or turkey or venison or name-your-protein) – is a special spirit made for celebrations. But then you see novelty pechugas, made with bacon or al pastor. So what’s the truth about pechuga? It’s a chicken-or-the-egg episode of Agave Road Trip! The cover for this week’s episode is provided by Eisner Award-winning designer Mark Cox!

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