Podcast
Agave Road Trip
Hosted by Ten Angry Pitbulls, Inc · EN
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.
31episodes
Episodes
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The Raicilla episode featuring El Acabo and Asil
4d ago01:28:10Tap to summarize“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! Agave Road Show is an advertorial podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand specific brands of agave spirits. Sometimes other Mexican spirits. Really, whatever they pay us to profile. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto with tons of quotes from Alvaro Fernandez and Fausto Romero from Taberna Tres Gallos, makers of El Acabo Raicilla and Asil Raicilla de la Sierra! Episode Notes You can read the current NOM for Raicilla here. And to see the rules of all of the NOMs for alcohol in Mexico, click here!
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Gasoline & electricity: The science of Mezcal
2w ago00:22:20Tap to summarizeBefore 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 with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto. Episode Notes Read Scientific American, No. 1096,January 2, 1897, for the source of the epic quote in this episode: Not only does the maguey plant give the sap for the drink pulque, but its roots , distilled, yield much more powerful intoxicants, mescal and tequila. And the heart of another variety of the same plant is cut out, roasted and put through a process of distillation to make still another drink. Mescal is described as tasting like a mixture of gasoline, gin and electricity, Tequila is even worse, and is said to incite murder, riot and revolution. A very small quantity of tequila is a drink. Experts advise it to be taken with a grain of salt, literally — the salt to be placed on the tongue first. Several Michigan editors who lately visited the sister republic wandered into a "cantina" in the city of Puebla one evening and called for a drink apiece of the tequila. Each took a taste, felt his hair stand erect, his toes curl up and his skin wrinkle all over his body and was wise enough to leave the glass unfinished. Not one of them wished that time that Providence had endowed him with greater capacity. Shout outs this episode to Jeppson’s Malort, Vienna Beef hot dogs, Cocktail MD Ryan Aycock, and Metsal inventor, Enrique Martinez!
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The profound justification for Raicilla
3w ago00:47:31Tap to summarizeOkay, 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 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 Read “Built Right and Brought Right,” the white paper published by PKGD Group! Shout outs this episode to Binny’s, Mezcal Ultramundo, FOMO special editions, G4 Tequila, Marriott Hotels, Jose Cuervo, Diageo, Dan Kennedy, and tahonas. Ad Links If you want to taste 24,000 acres of wild desert, get yourself a bottle of Mezcal Ultramundo! Since 2005, Chicotona has been producing Mezcal with a focus on protecting wild agave and preserving the land for future generations! Head out on an Agave Road Trip with Finca 18! Greg Rutkowski will take you on his Agave Road Trip Route #2 - Raicilla de la Costa! Price includes a bottle of Paulo Rodriguez’s fabled, limited Tumbado batch! Order beautiful spirits to be delivered to anywhere in Mexico — beautiful or otherwise — through Agave Spirits Presents!
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The great rise of industrial Mezcal
4w ago00:30:16Tap to summarizeI 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! 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. Episode Notes Catch the 2025 Mezcal numbers from Comercam here and listen to Marissa and I talking the numbers in “Is Mezcal searching for mainstream success?” Shout outs this episode to Humboldt Park, Chava’s podcast, “Heritage Mezcal,” Jonathan McKinney, Tequila Arriesgado, the Wisconsin Old Fashioned, Fausto of Asil and El Acabo Raicillas, and Marsh Hen Mills grits. Ad Links Every time you drink El Acabo Raicilla, you’re helping to support the biodiversity of Jalisco — it’s a delicious way to help the environment! Since 2005, Chicotona has been producing Mezcal with a focus on protecting wild agave and preserving the land for future generations! Head out on an Agave Road Trip with Finca 18! Greg Rutkowski will take you on his Agave Road Trip Route #2 - Raicilla de la Costa! Price includes a bottle of Paulo Rodriguez’s fabled, limited Tumbado batch! Order beautiful spirits to be delivered to anywhere in Mexico — beautiful or otherwise — through Agave Spirits Presents!
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Palomo Mezcal: It’s better not to count
4w ago00:57:18Tap to summarize“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 Palomo.” That’s mezcalero Carlos Mendez Blas, owner and producer of Palomo Mezcal. We profile Carlos and Palomo in this episode of Agave Road Show! Agave Road Show is an advertorial podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand specific brands of agave spirits. Sometimes other Mexican spirits. Really, whatever they pay us to profile. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto.
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It’s a Tequila dust-up of epic proportions!
Jul 200:20:14Tap to summarizeI don’t know, maybe I’m just behind the curve on this one. But I had a conversation with Marcado 28 Tequilero Bruno Barba and, during that conversation, he brought up a subject that surprised me: the cleaning of the bottles. And it made me realize, there’s an “abocado con” Tequila I never imagined! 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 Paragano (AKA the eye-rolling, not-easily-offended, kind-of-5’2” Tequila Encyclopedia) of The TequiLadies Show and The Tequila That Cares Foundation and added wisdom from Bruno Barba at Marcado 28 Tequila. Episode Notes Marissa is a board member of Tequila That Cares, a philanthropic organization bringing positive change to the agave spirits industry! Shout outs this episode to Cava de Oro Tequila, chef Michael Voltaggio, Chef 28, and Nock Tequila! Listen to our bird poop and horse piss episodes! Ad Links Whatever you’re talking about when you’re talking about G4 Tequila, what it boils down to is Felipe Camarena! Head out on an Agave Road Trip with Finca 18! Greg Rutkowski will take you on his Agave Road Trip Route #2 - Raicilla de la Costa! Price includes a bottle of Paulo Rodriguez’s fabled, limited Tumbado batch! Order beautiful spirits to be delivered to anywhere in Mexico — beautiful or otherwise — through Agave Spirits Presents!
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What’s in a scientific name?
Jun 2500:43:05Tap to summarizeThere are scientific names and common names for agaves … or magueys, to use the common name. But the common names lack commonality: A papalometl in one part of the Mixteca is a potatorum. Less than 40 kilometers away, papalometl will refer to a Cupreata. And even the scientific names get screwy. So what’s a nerd to do? 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 evolutionary biologist Daniel Moen. Episode Notes Thanks to Google Books for the agave image on this week’s cover, which comes from El Maguey: Memoria Sobre el Cultivo y Beneficio de sus Productos (1901) by Jose Carmen Segura. Shout outs this episode to Michaela at Waffle House #431 in Tucson, the Agave Heritage Festival, mezcalero Ildefonso Macedas Ginez, mezcalero Amando Alvarado Alvarez, Jason Paul Cox and Cinco Sentidos, and Hidden Rose Apples.
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Is Mezcal searching for mainstream success?
Jun 1800:32:28Tap to summarizeA recent episode of the VinePair podcast, titled "Mezcal’s Continued Search for Mainstream Success,” feels to me like it was riddled with inaccuracies. And for some reason, it also feels to me like it stands in stark contrast to the recently released 2025 numbers from Comercam, the largest of the bodies certifying Mezcal. So I asked one of my favorite numbers gabbers, Marissa Paragano, to gab about that in this gabfest 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 Paragano (AKA the eye-rolling, not-easily-offended, kind-of-5’2” Tequila Encyclopedia) of The TequiLadies Show and The Tequila That Cares Foundation. Episode Notes Marissa is a board member of Tequila That Cares, a philanthropic organization bringing positive change to the agave spirits industry! Listen to The VinePair Podcast: “Mezcal’s Continued Search for Mainstream Success.” And do also check out The Cocktail College Podcast: “Mezcal’s Untold Past, Soaring Present, and Fragile Future”! Read Comercam’s 2026 report, covering Mezcal (and uncertified agave spirits) commercial numbers for 2025. Shout outs this episode to the national parks, Kegel pelvic-floor exercises, GameStop, Auburn, Alabama, Jelly Babies, and on-premise and off-premise popcorn sales!
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Agave straws and cactus plastic
Jun 1100:22:11Tap to summarizeWe’ve talked about agave straws in previous episodes, but I’ve been spending more time digging into them. And more than that, I’ve been spending time reading about – and now speaking with – Dr. Sandra Pascoe Ortiz, who has developed a plastic that is compostable and leaves behind no microplastics. So is this a solution for our plastics problem? 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 wisdom from researcher and chemical engineer Dr. Sandra Pascoe Ortiz. Episode Notes Listen to “Are agave straws really better than plastic?,” “Agave Road Trip,” season 4, episode 37. Read “Microplastics Everywhere,” Harvard Medicine magazine, Spring 2023. Shout outs this episode to D2W, CO2, and R2D2. Ad Links If you want a Tequila that reaches back in time, go check out Tequila Arriesgado! Head out on an Agave Road Trip with Finca 18! Greg Rutkowski will take you on his Agave Road Trip Route #2 - Raicilla de la Costa! Price includes a bottle of Paulo Rodriguez’s fabled, limited Tumbado batch! Order beautiful spirits to be delivered to anywhere in Mexico — beautiful or otherwise — through Agave Spirits Presents!
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Where can Mezcal geeks go to geek out?
Jun 400:24:52Tap to summarizeThere are places that have massive collections of beautiful, small-batch agave spirits, but having the bottles isn’t the same as understanding them. And having those bottles, which are often expensive, requires additional expense in training staff. Or, anyway, are most likely going to realize their financial potential with training. But … who does that? Where do agave geeks go to have the geekiest conversations? 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 evolutionary biologist Daniel Moen. Thanks to photographer Russell Lee (1903-1986) for this week’s cover photo, titled, “Proprietor of barroom near Crowley, Louisiana. This man is a Cajun.” Photo retrieved from the Library of Congress. Shout outs this episode to Michaela at Waffle House #431 in Tucson, the Agave Heritage Festival, Lamata Spirits, Mezonte, John Douglass of Pretty Decent, Fausto Romero of El Acabo Raicilla, and Ivan Vasquez of Madre.
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