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PODCAST

Agave Road Trip

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.

society & culture

All Episodes

00:33:45

Mezcal by the numbers

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/10/02

Months ago COMERCAM released the 2024 numbers for Mezcal. But I just finally got around to looking at them. What do they reveal? To me, a lot of questions about the integrity of the numbers!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 Shawn Miller of PKGD Group. Episode Notes You can find the 2025 Comercam report here and the AMMA

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00:47:34

How to take better pictures in rural Mexico

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/09/25

The technology most of us carry in our pockets allows us to take such good pictures that we often don’t recognize we’re not taking great pictures. Professional photographer Anna Bruce shares her tips and tricks to help you up your documentation game!

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00:19:54

Big trouble with ancestral agave syrup

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/09/18

There was sort of mini-boycott of agave syrup among bartenders about a decade ago, fueled by the industrial product contributing to Jalisco’s monoculture of blue weber agave. Or maybe fueled by a feeling that agave should only be used to make spirits – I’m still not 100% clear on that. And then there was the rise of the “new” agave syrup, which is really the original agave syrup, which is made in an entirely pre-industrial manner, in places other than Jalisco, from agaves other than blue weber. And

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00:45:10

The difference between celebrating cultural heritage...

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/09/11

Willy Chavarria and Adidas went to China and made "Oaxaca Slip-Ons.” Was it an opportunity to benefit the communities in Mexico who make huaraches? Or was it a multi-cultural slip-up? 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 Fabiola Santiago of Mi Oaxaca. It was recorded a day or two before Mr. Chavarria issued an apology for releasing

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00:29:22

The problem with that G4 music video

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/09/04

“That song makes me not want some mo G4.” That reaction to the music video “Sippin’ on Some G4” by Jeff Hodges and Los Henchmen, while nothing like the majority of commenters, was also not uncommon. Which is interesting, right? Because absolutely nothing changed about the Tequila in the G4 bottle. So … why would anyone stop drinking something they like because of a music video they don’t like?

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00:18:37

Does great Mezcal knowledge come with great...

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/08/28

The impact that a bartender can have on the consumption patterns within a bar is huge. Does great responsibility come with that great power? And if so, what exactly does that responsibility look like? 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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00:27:56

The dirty, filthy world of Tequila and Mezcal

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/08/21

There was this video that my friends at Zignum released years ago that suggested that traditional Mezcal was not clean. That was contrasted recently in a conversation I had with master tequilero Felipe Camarena, who suggested that county water with all its chlorine and other chemicals wasn’t clean. And then maestro mezcalero Eduardo Angeles has a further take on what “clean” means. So what exactly does it mean in the process of making spirits? How much does it matter? Find out in the filthiest

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00:24:37

How can a mezcalere make Mezcal without drinking Mezcal?

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/08/14

I’ve met at least a dozen mezcalerxs who no longer drink, but continue to make Mezcal. How do they do that, and still make delicious spirits? And what can bartenders and chefs take from this?

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00:37:31

Why you shouldn’t say Latinx (or gringx)

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/08/07

It feels like it was about a decade ago that I started hearing the word “Latinx,” and I liked the inclusivity – or, maybe, the lack of exclusivity – the word implies. But now I’m told it’s not the right term. I try to watch my language 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 Dr

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00:28:24

What happens to Tequila when there’s no more red...

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/07/31

I hear and read a lot about how the red, mineral-rich volcanic soil is what makes this Tequila especially delicious. Or about the arid earth that makes that Mezcal so special. But … those are not forever things, right? If the minerals produce an agave that makes a delicious spirit, that means the agave is taking something from that soil — is consuming those minerals. And if they aren’t replaced … does that mean no more delicious Tequila and Mezcal? Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed,

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00:28:00

Yes, spirits can be aged in glass

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/07/24

In the world of whiskey, most geeks will tell you that a spirit won’t age unless it’s stored in wood. In the world of agave spirits, geeks will swear they do change. The agave geeks are right and, now, we finally have proof. It’s an evidentiary episode of Agave Road Trip!

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00:45:10

Mezcal and forgiveness

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/07/17

I was watching that short documentary that PKGD released about mezcalero Carlos Mendez Blas, “Capitan Palomo.” And I was struck by the revelations in that film and how I think there’s something in Carlos’ world view that could solve the problems around immigration. 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 Chef Oto Michel of Estrella

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00:26:31

Another way to taste Mezcal

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/07/10

Linda has her method for tasting agave spirits. I have mine. And they’re relatively the same. But we just learned a new method from Rosa Perez Hernandez of Campanilla and it blew our minds! It’s a breath-taking 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 wisdom from Rosa Perez

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00:20:30

What can Raicilla teach us about Tequila?

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/07/03

Ron Aleman of Taco Mucho knows and loves Tequila. But he’s now finding himself drawn to Raicilla. “I’ve never had one I didn’t like,” he says. And I have a theory about that. So I run that theory by Marissa Paragano of The Tequiladies in this Jalisco-centric 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 Marissa

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00:29:04

The precious world of thoughtful Mezcal

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/06/26

There are people in rural Mexico for whom Mezcal is 100% cultural heritage. And there are people there for whom it’s 100% business — sometimes tied to cultural heritage but sometimes tied simply to paying for food, clothing, shelter, and life’s aspirations and pleasures. So what does it mean when that business side taps into the cultural heritage side to increase business? It’s a thoughtful, precious episode of Agave Road Trip!Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that

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00:20:29

Are we really drinking less?

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/06/19

I see it all over the news, hear it in conversations: we're drinking less. But then I look at the sales numbers from DISCUS and it makes me wonder, are we really drinking less? Or are we just drinking differently? It’s a complex math equation that we try to solve 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 Linda

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00:24:49

Can Margaritas help us love immigrants

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/06/12

The fastest-growing spirits category in the USA is Tequila/Mezcal. The most popular cocktail is the Margarita. We love tacos, we love tamales. So … can all of that help us as a country learn to love the people who brought us these things we love?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 Alba Huerta of Julep Houston.Episode NotesShout outs

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00:28:09

Agave Road Trip salute to additives!

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/06/05

At the DISCUS conference a few months ago, I was at a party that was populated by small-brand tasting tables. The one that drew my attention most was the one that was both least visited and most colorful. And my response to everything they were pouring was, Yes, please! But most especially, the White Chocolate/Raspberry Tiramisu whiskey! It’s an artificially inspired episode of Agave Road Trip!Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better

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00:21:57

Blind tastings, decision-making, prejudices, spirits...

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/05/29

I thought this episode was going to be about blind tastings. And it is. Or, at least, it starts that way. But when you’re talking with Marissa, aka @tequilaencyclopedia , you rarely take as straight a path as you’d expect. So if you want to listen to a conversation about that … or about CostCo … or about the Agavos Awards … or how much I paid Marissa to join me on a trip to 818 Tequila, this episode is for you!Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx

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00:47:42

Chuck Cowdery drinks Mexican whiskey

Agave Road Trip ·

2025/05/22

Chuck Cowdery was called “the dean of American whiskey journalism” by no less than Robert Simonson in the New York Times. So when I decided more than 250 episodes into this podcast to finally devote one to Mexican whiskey, I naturally invited my celebrated drinking buddy over. It’s (perhaps) the corniest 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

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