Agave Road Trip

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 A...

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! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com Agave Road Trip is Powered by  Simpl...

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! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip....

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 re...

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 Eis...

Mexican regulations require an agave spirit to fall between 35% and 55% alcohol by volume (ABV) to qualify for certification as mezcal. But in the USA, the TTB requires that same spirit to be a minimum of 40% ABV to qualify as mezcal. Why? Well, who knows? Not us! But that doesn’t stop us from blindly speculating! It’s another meandering episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related li...

Since mezcal is often around 50% ABV, that means it’s also around 50% water. Does that water help hydrate you? What about the water in beer, which is often around 95% of that pint. And coffee? That’s more than 99% water. So … what exactly is the deal with hydration? We’re under water in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com Agave Road Trip is Po...

Read almost any of those “differences between tequila and mezcal” articles, and they’ll tell you that tequila steams their agave, mezcal roasts it underground. But in the cover to this week’s episode, you can see Chava and me sitting in the skeleton of a century-old boiler at an even older mezcal fabrica in Guanajuato. So when exactly does tradition start? We get the purists hot under the collar i...

How many different kinds of agave can be used to make mezcal? Well, heck, that’s easy: the regulations allow you to use any of them. So why have there been so many articles saying it’s “more than 40”? When 159 species … species … have been identified in Mexico?! We take the media to task in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com HRN is home to tr...

If you hang around a certain crowd, they’ll tell you that mezcal needs to be at least 50% alcohol by volume to be true to the cultural heritage of the spirit. And while that is certainly true in some communities, Mexico is not homogenous. We geek out on some 28% ABV mezcal in this episode of Agave Road Trip! HRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts...

When I tell people about my trips to Mexico, it's not uncommon for them to ask how dangerous it is. Chava and I debate the relative threats of Mexico in this not-approved-by-the-US-Department-of-State episode of Agave Road Trip! Episode Art Courtesy of Jose Guadalupe Posada Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com Agave Road Trip is Powered by  Simplecast . See Privacy Policy at h...

All over Mexico, there are communities where they distill spirits from fermented agave. And in a lot of these communities, they call that spirit "vino de mezcal." But "vino" means "wine," and wine, when it's distilled, is called brandy -- has been for the Spanish since before they ever came calling. So ... why do they use the word "vino"? Chava's mind is blown in this speculative episode of Agave...

The cigarettes you smoke and the food you eat will kill you sooner than the alcohol you drink. But make no mistake: in the USA, alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of death. And yet, alcohol also brings people together, which has its own health benefits. So is there a healthier way to drink alcohol? Chava pitches Cocktail MD, Dr. Ryan Aycock, on agave spirits as the healthfu...

Last year, Chava and I recorded an episode titled “The Best Mezcal is the Most Highly Awarded Mezcal.”  We kind of panned the idea of spirits competitions as anything more than a guide for someone new to a spirits category. Then Chava was invited to serve as a judge for a competition, and now he’s a convert — both to judging and to spitting. Chava positions himself as a tremendously useful tool in...

It all began with Dr. Ryan Aycock telling us about “The Effects of Alcohol and Your Shrinking Brain.” Then we had an on-air therapy session for Chava, who both wants to drink agave spirits but also wants to maintain a fat brain. Now… Chava lands on his solution. We do a spit-take in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com. Agave Road Trip is Power...

A few weeks ago, Cocktail MD Dr. Ryan Aycock joined us for “The Effects of Alcohol and Your Shrinking Brain,” an episode so titled because … well, drinking alcohol causes your brain to shrink. This freaked out Chava (and apparently several of our listeners). So I made him talk about it “on air.” What do you do if you like to drink agave spirits but also like your brain? We strategize options for p...

Okay, we really liked our conversation with renowned food journalist Dan Saladino, author of Eating to Extinction . In last week’s episode, we talked about the importance of consuming a diversity of options. This week, we talk with him about the importance of that diversity coming from a specific place. And maybe that place should be where you live. We think about staying parked in place in this e...

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 relat...

Mezcal is good for the soul. But what about the brain? And especially the developing brain? Dr. Ryan Aycock, the Cocktail MD, joins us for the scariest episode that Chava never wanted to record. Grab a glass of water for this sobering episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com Image Courtesy of Carlos Palomares Agave Road Trip is Powered by  Simplecast ....

Maguey mutts! Palenque pups! Fido de mezcal! We did an episode about how much mezcal you can bring back from Mexico -- now we talk about how to get a dog back! If you’ve ever fallen in love with a four-legged furry friend in rural Mexico … or even a three-legged furry friend … we give you here the lowdown on how to head home with the ultimate bounty our neighbors to the south have to offer!  Find...

For years, I’ve heard that a glass of wine each day is good for you — makes you healthier, helps avoid heart problems. So will a bottle a day make you even healthier? We call in Dr. Ryan Aycock, Cocktail MD, to answer this question. Get set for the best health regimen ever in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com Agave Road Trip is Powered by  S...

The capon’d agave — the agave that is harvested after it’s begun reproduction, after its quiote has been cut, after it’s been left to develop and change in the field, healing its wound — is considered a special, beautiful, romantic source for making an especially delicious agave spirit. But not by maestro vinatero El Lobo de la Sierra in Los Jacales, Jalisco. Lobo breaks Chava’s heart by busting t...

We love Mexico! We love visiting, love eating the food, love drinking the drinks, love checking out the art! We love buying examples of all of these things and we love bringing those things back home to share with our friends, to encourage them to go love Mexico! But … are we loving it to death? We question our intentions and impact in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related...

Profeco, the consumer-protection agency of the Mexican government, ran an analysis of 36 certified mezcal brands. They flagged a bunch of them for various violations, including the claim that Mezcal Gusano Rojo doesn’t even qualify as mezcal. What?! We drag out the dead horse that is the mezcal denomination of origin for another beating in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and rel...

Chava got a bug. After consulting the Ebers Papyrus and an appointment with Pliny the Elder, he chose a mezcal shot over a flu shot. Cocktail MD Dr. Ryan Aycock joins us to get Chava back on the mend and to answer the burning question: can mezcal actually be medicinal? Join us for a booster episode of Agave Road Trip! Find extra photos and related links at  agaveroadtrip.com Are you a business own...