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Agave 101 · Sips, Suds, & Smokes

• 0:00
  > Announcer>On the next episode of Sips, Suds and smokes.
• 0:04
  > >It is, uh, agave time.
• 0:14
  > >And this is our Agave 101 episode. Lots of things come from this plant, uh, which is a bit like aloe, but we're going to focus on agave plants, uh, used with alcohol.
• 0:28
  > >The short list is tequila and mezcal. But there are a few things maybe you did not know in this 101 discussion.
• 0:37
  > >I know that I've learned a lot of things just in the basic research for this episode.
• 0:43
  > Speaker C>The plant itself is grown all over the world with over 300 varieties and 200 of them grow in Mexico.
• 0:53
  > Announcer>We'll be right back after this break.
• 1:17
  > Announcer>Brought to you almost live from the dude in the basement studios.
• 1:21
  > Speaker D>Why?
• 1:22
  > Announcer>Because that's where the good stuff is. It sips, suds and smokes with your smoke and toast. The good old boys.
• 1:49
  > Announcer>And now it's sippin time.
• 1:53
  > Speaker C>Foreign.
• 1:59
  > >Welcome to this sips episode where everything good in life is worth discussing. We are the best thing on at 2am and we thank you for choosing to listen to us instead of pharmaceuticals with my guests. You're actually hearing my post production voice right now. But when we recorded this originally, I was fighting a very bad case of bronchitis. So you're going to hear the voice that you hear now as well as the the day of recording. So don't be alarmed if it sounds different or you're just bouncing between me being able to speak well or coughing through the whole experience.
• 2:35
  > >Well, I've got a boy, Mike. And joining me here at the table are good old boy Michael.
• 2:40
  > Speaker D>How's the ricola and the mezcal and.
• 2:43
  > >Good old gal Carrie Ann.
• 2:45
  > Speaker C>Hola.
• 2:47
  > >So fabulous to have you both join me again.
• 2:50
  > >Now, uh, Michael is the author of something like 14 cocktail books now a little bit less, but yeah, most notably the Garden to Glass, one of my favorites.
• 3:01
  > >Carrie Ann is always talking alcohol on her blog, which is called six one Straight up six hundred fifteen.
• 3:07
  > >And she has, ah, many other projects in the works as well.
• 3:10
  > >You can check out those details on our show notes as well. Our sip segments are all about wine, distilled spirits, tea and coffee. It is, uh, agave time.
• 3:31
  > >And this is our Agave 101 episode. Lots of things come from this plant, uh, which is a bit like aloe, but we're going to focus on agave plants, uh, used with alcohol.
• 3:44
  > >Now the short list is tequila, mezcal, but there are a few things maybe you did not know in this 101 discussion.
• 3:53
  > >I know that I've learned a lot of things just in the basic research for this episode.
• 4:00
  > >I'm just, uh, going to apologize in advance for butchering the pronunciation of these brands. All of these lovely towns and states in Mexico, all of these nice Spanish words that this good ol boy simply cannot hold my R's well enough. I flunked out a Spanish in the 9th grade and nearly all of the Spanish I know was acquired from working at El Chico as a bartender.
• 4:28
  > >Try El Chico's noisy new fajitas.
• 4:33
  > Speaker C>We're really cooking now.
• 4:37
  > >Well, let's get to some agave.
• 4:39
  > >Feeling rather wild and to, uh, get us going actually is going to be, uh, good old gal Carrie Ann.
• 4:57
  > Speaker C>So romantic. We're just going to dive into agave.
• 5:02
  > Speaker C>The plant itself is grown all over the world with over 300 varieties and 200 of them grow in Mexico. Some of those other, uh, global locations are Australia, South Africa and across the southwest of the United States. Agaves thrive in hot arid climates with well draining soil, making them suitable for regions experiencing drought or water scarcity. Agave can be used for biofuel, ecological Restoration and CO2 capture.
• 5:38
  > Speaker C>Here are the basic parts of this plant.
• 5:41
  > Speaker C>The four major edible parts of the agave are the flowers, the leaves, the stalks or basil, rosettes and the SAP. In Spanish they call that aguamiel, meaning honey, water.
• 5:56
  > Speaker C>One more important element is how this plant reproduces. All varieties of agave reproduce sexually. Agaves are monocarpic, meaning they flower once towards the end of their life cycle.
• 6:09
  > Speaker C>Uh, the primary pollinators of agave are nectar eating bats and then hummingbirds and hawk's moths also help them cross pollinate.
• 6:20
  > Speaker C>Upon flowering, the agave will send all of its sugars up into the quiyot, or flowering stalk to fuel its reproduction. Uh, once the plant has flowered, it cannot be used any longer to produce, um, mezcal of any sort, as all the good stuff goes to the flower and then it dies. So producers, um, are harvesting the uh, agave plant just right before it flowers and getting as much of the sugars as they can, uh, into those pinas.
• 6:58
  > Speaker C>So the heart of the plant is the pina. And this is what we use exclusively for producing the tequila, mezcal, sotol, riccia, uh, and bacchanora. Each of these various versions of alcohol also trace back to, uh, different parts of Mexico.
• 7:15
  > Speaker C>There have been concerted efforts to define label and production. The general. Here we go with pronunciations.
• 7:24
  > Speaker C>The General Directorate of Norms, uh, within the Secretariat of the Economy of Mexico is the ultimate Authority of the domain of origin. Certifying bodies and verifiers are authorized by the Mexican government to evaluate and certify do products. The most well known certifying body is the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal CRM. The compulsory standards and regulations for mezcal and tequila are defined in the Norma Official Mexicana.
• 8:03
  > Speaker C>So let's get a drink in. Yes, we're going to start off with a sotol, which is generally from the Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango regions. And this is a cousin of the agave plant.
• 8:19
  > Speaker C>It, um, was widely considered an agave for quite a long time until they did some DNA research and decided it was a cousin and not an exact, uh, species of it.
• 8:30
  > Speaker C>It's sometimes called desert spoon plant or the more technical term, Michael Dazzlerian. That one. So the one we're tasting today is La Pulga. And uh, side note, my friend Ali Ochoa put this brand together as their head of spirits and master blunder out of Texas.
• 8:55
  > >And it's fairly new. Uh, this particular sotol is, is near the market. Mike won't tell us all about this.
• 9:01
  > Speaker D>This is La, uh, pulga sotal silver, 80 proof. This is from the Chihuahua region, so central Mexico. The producer describes this as notes of earthy herbal tones blended with hints of citrus and a touch of smoky sweetness, creating a smooth and balanced finish.
• 9:22
  > Speaker C>I just think it's just such a beautiful example of the pure agave, just that crisp agave flavor.
• 9:30
  > >Yeah, I really thought it's a great on ramp and a really great place to start. I would almost say that, um, intentionally, if you are just getting into agave spirits, this is a terrific place to start. Um, you know, my tasting notes here for this particular sital is it's very sweet and floral on the nose. Um, it's very sweet up front.
• 9:53
  > >Uh, there's some pepper. It's very subdued. Um, and uh, I love this sweet pepper finish off this.
• 9:59
  > >How about you, Mike?
• 10:00
  > Speaker D>Yeah, I got some cool mint, uh, mint and celery, some herbaceous stuff going on. And I really liked how clean it was on the nose and how like you get like a lot of great agave, uh, spirits, the really clean ones. You get like notes of like the ocean and.
• 10:16
  > Speaker C>Mhm.
• 10:17
  > Speaker D>And it's like standing by the ocean breeze.
• 10:20
  > Speaker C>Terroir I think, comes across an agave more than any other spirit, personally.
• 10:26
  > >Yeah, no, I agree. Um, I actually made a margarita, you know, from scratch last night with this and I loved it. Um, I thought it was really, really cool. So well, our SIPs rating here, uh, um, for the Satal is actually going to be a 4.
• 10:44
  > Speaker C>That's classified.
• 10:47
  > >So really fabulous. Um, and a great buy.
• 10:51
  > Speaker C>Well done, Ali.
• 10:53
  > >We'll be right back right after this message.
• 10:59
  > >Hey, welcome back to Sip, Suds and Smokes. And this is our Agave 101 episode.
• 11:05
  > >And yet we started by tasting, not quite agave. Um, so the satol from, uh, La Puga.
• 11:15
  > Speaker C>It means the flea.
• 11:17
  > >Okay. All righty. We're gonna shift to, uh, two of the more popular versions of agave spirit, which are actually tequila and Mezcal.
• 11:25
  > >And, um, Michael's gonna cover, uh, all about tequila here for us. So.
• 11:33
  > Speaker D>Yeah, so we're gonna start with tequila, which is very popular, but I'm gonna going to toss in, uh, some things you probably don't know. Tequila is from the agave plant and one variety, blue Weber agave.
• 11:46
  > Speaker D>Tequila can only be legally produced in certain regions of Mexico, specifically Jalisco and parts of Guanajuato, Michoquan, Nayarit, and Tamalupas.
• 11:58
  > Speaker D>Tamalipas.
• 12:00
  > Speaker C>What he said.
• 12:02
  > Speaker D>Jalisco is the primary production area, particularly the area around Tequila Arandas and the highlands. Los Altos.
• 12:10
  > Speaker D>Agave plants mature slowly, taking seven to 10 years to develop the sugars in the pina, that is the heart or the core, which are essential for tequila production. The production of quality tequila involves several steps, each affecting the flavor and profile. Step one, cultivate the agave plant only in regions with a doctor.
• 12:34
  > Speaker D>Selecting quality agave, uh, plants. Cultivation begins with planting healthy huelos or baby agave plants, which take about seven to ten years to mature. Tequilas made from well tended, mature plants yield richer flavors.
• 12:50
  > Speaker D>Step two, harvest the agave plant. Once the pina is mature, agave plants are harvested only when fully mature, which is again, uh, seven to ten years. Selection process. Premium tequilas use mature plants, while younger agave may result in milder flavors.
• 13:11
  > Speaker D>For step three, we cook the agave plant, bake it, or steam it to caramelize the sugars. Use brick ovens or hornos, which is a traditional slow cooking method that produces caramelized flavors over 24 to 48 hours. Then there's the autoclaves, high pressure steam ovens that cut cooking time to 7 to 12 hours, preserving more green vegetal notes.
• 13:36
  > Speaker D>You have, uh, diffusers industrial method, where agave is shredded before cooking, rapidly, extracting sugars but yielding milder flavors. The application here can vary by distillery. Diffusers use water in high pressures to, to shred, uh, but they also use let's see, Let me go back.
• 13:59
  > Speaker D>Diffusers use water in high pressure to shred, but also to use some of that water at high temp to essentially boil the tequila, which softens the fibers enough to extract the sugars, but doesn't release as much sugar, as much flavor from the sugars.
• 14:14
  > Speaker D>For step four, you crush the agave plant where you're going to extract the juice right out of the pina using the tohona or a stone wheel, which is a volcanic stone wheel that crushes agave preserves all those complex flavors.
• 14:29
  > Speaker D>Uh, there's roller mills and mechanical shredders that shred and press agave quickly, resulting in lighter flavors.
• 14:36
  > Speaker D>Then step five, ferment the juice. The yeast.
• 14:39
  > Speaker D>Convert the juice into alcohol. They'll use open, uh, air fermentation is one way where the traditional method using open vats that encourages wild yeast growth, which adds complex terroir driven flavors.
• 14:53
  > Speaker D>Not exclusive to wild yeast, uh, but it increases evaporation. The increased evaporation can lead to lighter aromas and it's a more controlled environment for temperature.
• 15:07
  > Speaker D>They also use closed fermentation with added yeast. Quicker and more consistent way to do it. But less complex in flavor.
• 15:16
  > Speaker D>You get more concentrated aromas. It can sometimes overheat. And the closed fermentation tends to be less vulnerable to losing flavor in its controlled vats or tanks.
• 15:28
  > Speaker D>Can still be really complex in flavor.
• 15:30
  > >Really.
• 15:31
  > Speaker D>That depends on whether it's being fermented in oak or stainless steel. With agave fibers tends to operate similarly to a closed fermentation system. The fibers create a seal over the top of the fermented juices while also making it susceptible to nearby agriculture like fruit trees and flowers. Fermentation with agave fibers which adds earthy flavors and richness.
• 15:56
  > Speaker D>Variables in that are open or closed systems.
• 15:59
  > Speaker D>With or without fibers. Wild or natural yeast.
• 16:02
  > Speaker D>With all you can control the, uh, preferred aroma and flavor.
• 16:10
  > Speaker D>Distill the alcohol. The alcohol is distilled twice to produce clear silver tequila.
• 16:16
  > Speaker D>Copper pot stills are common in small batch production, providing rich and smooth flavor. Copper is a catalyst for chemical reactions that remove sulfur compounds and undesirable flavors from the distillate. This helps produce a smoother, cleaner spirit.
• 16:33
  > Speaker D>In stainless steel stills you'll get neutral, uh, flavors ideal for making really large batches. Commonly also a type of continuous distillation which can often be the reason the spirit ends up with a neutral flavor.
• 16:48
  > Speaker D>Each column holds panels which are placed intentionally to correct an undesired characteristic which is subject to the master distiller's preference Double distillation standard for tequila, which ensures purity. Some tequilas undergo a third distillations for extra smoothness.
• 17:09
  > Speaker D>Step seven. That's the aging process. Tequila is aged in oak barrels to develop flavor and color.
• 17:16
  > Speaker D>The containers can vary from as small as 200 liter barrels, which is more commonly used for craft tequila producers, to 20,000 liter Pepones, aka large oak vats, often used by mass producing companies.
• 17:33
  > Speaker D>Okay, here are those very common terms that you usually need when describing a tequila product. Blanco that's unaged or lightly rested. For pure agave flavors, they can technically be aged up to two months. Anything over two months would be a reposado. Most companies just don't find it necessary to even use the term blanco.
• 17:55
  > Speaker D>Reposado, which has aged at least two months.
• 17:58
  > Speaker D>Adding mild oak notes, you also have anejo. Anejo is aged at least one year, yielding richer, uh, more complex flavors. There's also extra anejo which is aged three years or more, resulting in deep, nuanced flavors. Authentic tequila must adhere to strict Mexican regulations to protect, to protect its quality and consistency. Denomination of origin or do. Only tequila produced in designated regions. Jalisco and parts of Guanajuato, Mishoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas can be labeled as tequila. The Tequila Regulatory Council, the CRT ensures standards for authenticity and quality are met.
• 18:48
  > Speaker D>CRT regulation limits all tequila production to the use of additives. A max of 1% of total volume can be added. Any more would need to be stated on the bottle.
• 19:00
  > Speaker D>The CRT recently began to provide additive free tequilas with the seal, but that's still in the very beginning stages. Tequila Norma Official Mexicana or nom. Each certified tequila has a NOM number on its label guaranteeing its origin and quality.
• 19:18
  > >Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate going over, um, uh, a lot of the process, you know, for creating tequilas because, you know, it's really these regimented steps that really, you know, a lot of people count on.
• 19:33
  > >Um, and a lot of those modern techniques are probably the most dominant, you know, characteristics, whether using autoclaves or shredders. So hey, we'll be right back right after this message.
• 19:59
  > >Hey, welcome back to Sip Suds and Smokes.
• 20:02
  > >Uh, today's episode is an Agave 101 episode and we just went over some background about tequila and all the production techniques, um, that are, ah, regimented, you know, as part of the process of uh, producing tequila very consistently.
• 20:18
  > >So Carrie Ann's going to tell us about the product we're going to go over, which is A Punta Agave.
• 20:22
  > Speaker C>Punta Agave. Um, but first I wanted to mention that, ah, one of the types of tequila we didn't mention is a Crystallino. Um, and more of those are coming out on the market now. And that's basically an agave tequila that's been filtered, ah, to remove, ah, that color from the barrel, um, and just put back out as clear spirit. But it'll be labeled Crystallino so that, you know that it actually has been aged. It's just removed the color, uh, from the barrel, FYI.
• 20:56
  > Speaker C>Um, so this tequila that we're tasting, uh, is punt agave. And tequila is a very regulated product where, um, everything that goes into it is very defined. So all of the conforming elements make it easier for consumers to navigate those labels. The nom or nom on the label is the key to unlock specifically who distilled that product.
• 21:21
  > Speaker C>Uh, there might be a nom that is producing 86 different labels. So you can kind of trace back and find out where your, ah, specific brand is coming from. Um, so now it's time for more drinking, less teaching.
• 21:36
  > Speaker C>We have gone for a craft producer, punt agave. And, um, this is just a, ah, 100% blue agave tequila. It is a gorgeous little example of that agave. Uh, this one is produced, uh, out of jalisco. It is 80 proof. It is 100% agave. It is, um, baked in an autoclave and the juice is extracted via, uh, a roller mill.
• 22:08
  > >Crushed.
• 22:10
  > Speaker D>Crushed.
• 22:11
  > >Uh, what are your tasting notes on this?
• 22:16
  > Speaker C>I, I would, I would go back to saying this is just a really great example of the agave. You can really taste the difference between what the soto brings into the spirit and what blue agave brings into the spirit with these two.
• 22:28
  > >So, you know, um, a lot fuller body. You know, I think in, uh, in tequila itself. And, uh, the intensity of the peppers are definitely a lot more pronounced. Um, it's a very sweet nose. Um, I wrote the. Actually, it's a lot of sugar and peppers in the mid palate.
• 22:48
  > >Um, you know, it's, uh, it's just super squeaky clean is the way I would describe it more than anything. There's just like, it's got such a beautiful nose getting in the way. You know, it's literally a blank canvas is the way I would describe it.
• 23:02
  > Speaker D>Yeah, a great example of a really pure expression of agave from where it comes from.
• 23:10
  > Speaker C>I mean, there are some tequilas that they add the glycerin and it really fills up your mouth. This has such a beautiful mouth feel, knowing that it's not glycerin, and it's just. It's gorgeous.
• 23:21
  > Speaker D>Yeah, I got some nice sage, uh, citrus rind notes, and then a little bit of olive towards the end, which was really cool.
• 23:30
  > >Tequila martini sips rating here for the, uh, Punta Gahe is going to be a four.
• 23:36
  > Speaker C>That's classified.
• 23:40
  > >All right, so, uh, we're going to swing around and talk about one of the more another popular, uh, style of agave spirits, which is mezcal.
• 23:49
  > >Uh, so, uh, I'm going to share with you, you know, some of the, uh, background here on this as well.
• 23:55
  > Speaker C>I'm just going to argue for a minute that everything we're tasting is a mezcal, and tequila is a type of mezcal, and move on.
• 24:02
  > >That's okay, I guess.
• 24:05
  > >Nothing wrong with that.
• 24:11
  > >One of the issues that frustrates consumers is navigating such variety with mezcal. I think one of the most common misconceptions is that all mezcal is smoked, and that is just simply not true. The best way I can tell people to approach mezcal is akin to wine. Every season brings a different harvest, and the terroir, or the slope of the land alone can heavily influence flavor profiles. That means that things taste different at the bottom of the hill than they do at the top of the hill. So mezcals are typically blended in a batch, and there are huge variations with each b.
• 24:54
  > >So if you think about wine where the terroir, the harvest, and the blend all create a designation of that winemaker's blend, um, and, um, for mezcal, it'd be called a maestro, and then all of that moves to be called a vintage.
• 25:13
  > >Now, to make it even more challenging, some of the yields are very small, meaning that you'll taste a mezcal to find that.
• 25:19
  > >Hmm.
• 25:19
  > >I really love this. And yet there's very little of it. And you'll likely not find another bottle of it after that as well. I also think it's why most restaurants don't put mezcal on the menu because of this variation, which doesn't always make for a good dining experience. And yet it is, oh, so worth the chase, just like wine. Now, oddly, the first thing I lean into, uh, with mezcal when I talk about it is the production process. You know, there's only a handful of things to remember, and there's basically only three designations. So the first one is just called mezcal, uh, which means it's actually coming from a domain of origin designated, uh, for mezcal. Now, I'm going to butcher, um, at least half of these towns, uh, so, um, feel free to get a good laugh going. Well, the first one I got Oaxaca. Then there's Guerrero, uh, uh, Guanto Michikan, uh, Zakatis. Boy, I butchered that one. Really good. Saint, uh, Louis Potosi, uh, Tama, La Paz, Durango, and Pueblo. Go ahead, laugh it up. You can, um, I'll wait here.
• 26:40
  > >The next one is called Mezcal Artisanal. This means that mostly the process is actually not using modern technology or methods. Now, the cooking, the pina can be with an autoclave, uh, but the still has to still be with copper, uh, or clay. And the maceration of the cooked pena itself can be with the maceration mill.
• 27:07
  > >And then the final designation is called Mezcal Artisanal.
• 27:13
  > >I'm sorry. Mezcal Ancestral.
• 27:15
  > >Wow.
• 27:16
  > >Um, now I call this the donkey walk version, uh, because you're going to strip away nearly anything modern.
• 27:26
  > >Uh, a donkey actually pulls a tejona to crush the pina. And all of the heat is with firewood or some other natural fuel like peat. Uh, think of this as making alcohol in the middle of a field, close to some water source at best.
• 27:43
  > >And that should paint the picture of just how low tech this method would be.
• 27:49
  > >Now, I know you begin to think that the old ways are the best ways, and probably not. I've seen the donkey droppings getting mashed into the pinion itself. So while it has lots of. How would you describe this character? So, um, listen, there's no FDA in the middle of the field, uh, to declare what is. Ah, that looks sort of sanitary.
• 28:14
  > >Um, and I think the quality of the ancestral version changes from one donkey to the next. You know, is it Juan's donkey or Pepe's donkey? There are, uh, three designations for age as well. So, um, they're a little bit different than, uh, tequila. So, uh, here they are. First one is havan, um, which means young or unaged. The second one you recognize really quick because it's nearly the same, which is reposado, um, which means that it's been aged for at least two months and sometimes called rested instead of aged. And the final aging, uh, designation is for anejo mezcals. And those are aged for more than, uh, 13 months.
• 29:07
  > >So, you know, I think the one thing that I'd like them to add, you know, to the label would be actually, you know, the designation of the terroir. Um, you know, it's kind of difficult to trace whether you're harvesting like from the top of the hill or, you know, the bottom of the hill. So I get that you know, why it's kind of difficult to keep track of those kinds of things, but it would be some good information as well.
• 29:33
  > >Well, we're going to, uh, taste some Nescal, um, and, um, you know, I've picked this one, um, because they've partially solved a lot of the variation in the branding. So what's in the bottle? And so that product, uh, is going to come up right after this break and it is called Elegant.
• 29:54
  > >Hey, we'll be right back after this break.
• 30:01
  > >Hey, welcome back to Sip Suds and Smokes. And on today's episode, we are going over Agave Spirits 101. And I just covered some background on Mezcal and we're actually going to go over a product Carrie Anne is going to introduce.
• 30:15
  > >Illegal for us.
• 30:18
  > Speaker C>Iligao is probably the most widely available of Mezcals, uh, across this country for sure. Uh, and even really popular in restaurants. So, um, this is one you should be able to find locally no matter where you are. Um, it is 100% espadine agave and sourced near the Tiacula de Matamoros.
• 30:46
  > >Sounds good.
• 30:46
  > Speaker C>That's great.
• 30:49
  > Speaker C>The, the brand describes exactly. The brand describes this as full bodied agave flavor, light smoke and lingering heat with eucalyptus and mineral aromas. Complements of green apple, fresh citrus and red chiltepe. I don't know what that tastes like since I don't know what it is. Um, I would say it's, it's, it's lightly smoky. And if you ever taste a super smoky Mezcal, it's probably because they're covering up some bad production practices.
• 31:22
  > Speaker C>Um, it shouldn't taste like smoke.
• 31:24
  > Speaker C>It should have. Should you. You might know that it's in there, but it shouldn't be. The number one taste, shouldn't be the.
• 31:30
  > >Dominant thing that jumps out at you. Mike, what'd you think about this?
• 31:33
  > Speaker D>I thought it was good. I got a lot of cool, um, grassy notes and some rosemary. I like that the, the brand calls out eucalyptus. Um, I got more of a rosemary and some like, orange.
• 31:47
  > Speaker D>So super complex, really cool.
• 31:50
  > Speaker C>I mean, espadine in general is going to be the, um, the type of agave most Mezcals on commercial market are. Although you can find some of the other ones we'll talk about later. But this one's everywhere.
• 32:03
  > >Quick, uh, run. In my own tasting, it's very peppery and floral on the nose. Um, I got a lot of Pepper and earth, you know, uh, up front as well.
• 32:12
  > >I couldn't describe anything other than the mid palate is like tasting silly Putty. I don't know. Um, there's.
• 32:21
  > >I'm sure there's a better description of it, but, um, that peppery finish definitely, you know, stayed around, you know, there for sure. All right.
• 32:29
  > Speaker C>Picking up a little bit from the oak from being rusted, but it's, um.
• 32:33
  > >It'S not nothing that's slow, you know, slamming you over the head in this at all.
• 32:39
  > >Well, our SIPs rating here for illegal reposado is going to be a three.
• 32:44
  > Speaker C>Interesting.
• 32:46
  > >Mike's going to tell us a little bit more about, um, the, uh, elements of Mezcal and, uh, talking about some of the various agave plants that also. That can be.
• 33:02
  > Speaker C>Yummy.
• 33:05
  > Speaker D>Vader. So there are these designations we've been discussing, but even then each producer is doing something a little different, like putting the type of agave, uh, agave on the back label or the nom also on the back label instead of on the side of the bottle. Let's break this down to some categories. Where is this distilled? This is usually the nom designation. Uh, you might see city of origin, variety of agave, Agave maturity, older is better. Most of the time, time in the oven. That depends on weather, season, method. This is about not under or over cooking. And then you might see some of the grinding method.
• 33:43
  > Speaker D>Usually this aligns with the designation of the Mezcal, artisanal or ancestral. And then you might see the batch number as well. If I had to add something to mix it up, it would be maestro. I have the same beef with wine. Who made this? Who blended this?
• 34:00
  > Speaker D>One topic we should cover is the huge range of agave used with Mezcal. Espadine is the most widely used with about 80% by volume.
• 34:09
  > Speaker D>That 20% can mean a lot of variation.
• 34:12
  > Speaker D>If I had to use a comparison, it would be Scotch. With these huge ranges from the highlands to the Islay 0 Pete to tons of Pete. To make this just a little more fun, there's the scientific name and then maybe several common names. There are more than 30 different agave varieties used with Mezcal. Don't panic. We're only going to talk about a few.
• 34:32
  > Speaker D>All right, so Mexicano, the scientific name. Agave, rhodocantha. Other common names, Espadillon, Xtero, Amarillo and Quiche. Mexicano agave is revered for its large size, relative scarcity, vivid green hue and kaleidoscopic spray of rigid, tightly spaced leaves.
• 34:53
  > Speaker D>In some Oaxacan towns, it's called quiche, a name otherwise reserved for agave.
• 34:58
  > Speaker D>Karwinsky Mexicano makes full bodied mezcals, fruity and smoky as well.
• 35:04
  > Speaker D>Mexicano is very special. They make very smooth mezcals with the touch of anise. We also have Aroquino, scientific name Agave Americana. Other common names being Sierra Negra, Serrano, Cerruto and coyote. There are many subspecies of Agave Americana that vary in appearance but share certain qualities.
• 35:25
  > Speaker D>Araqueno usually refers to the oxykensis variety, but terminology can differ depending on the region. These huge agaves can be 8ft tall and 11ft around, with pinas ranging from 200 to more than 450 pounds. For producers, this can mean as many as 30 bottles of mezcal per plant.
• 35:44
  > Speaker D>The strong cooked agave flavor shows through with layered herbs and spices. Now, these can be intense, but compared to espadine, their sweetness is much less obvious.
• 35:55
  > Speaker D>Karwinski, we talked about that one a second ago. The scientific name is Agave Karwinski. Other common names being Madraquish, Biquish, Quiche, Tobaziche, Baril cereal. Karwinskis are easily identified by their pinas, which resemble long narrow logs of hardwood rather than plump pineapples. There are several subspecies used for mezcal whose common names vary, but all fall under the distinctive Karwinski umbrella. These mezcals have flavors of herbs and roasted vegetables, often with a prominent note of peanut butter.
• 36:31
  > Speaker D>Baril, for example, an especially large and long lived Karwinsky, is a very complex, dry and elegant, with notes of citrus peel.
• 36:40
  > Speaker D>We also have tepestate, the scientific name Agave marmorata. Other common names include Pichamel and Pichameto.
• 36:52
  > Speaker D>Tepestate has an almost mythical reputation being that agave that takes the longest to reach maturity, up to 35 years in the wild.
• 37:01
  > Speaker C>Wow.
• 37:02
  > Speaker D>It also has very low yield. More than three times the amount of tepestate is needed to make the equivalent amount of mezcal as aspedine. It usually has a rich, earthy aroma, but with notes of ripe tropical fruit as well. Tepestate is the most aromatic of all mezcals. It absorbs so much character from the soil and even the other plants around it.
• 37:23
  > >Carrie Ann is going to tell us about our last product real quick and we're probably going to rate it as we are playing off here. Go ahead.
• 37:30
  > Speaker C>It's Corte Vettitust.
• 37:33
  > Speaker C>No, Vatusto. Vatusto.
• 37:36
  > Speaker C>Here we go. Um, so this is a 94 proof artisanal mezcal. It is the ensemble. Um, 4A. Ah, premium small batch Mezcal.
• 37:46
  > Speaker C>Meticulously handcrafted by maestro mezcalero Juan Carlos Gonzalez. The unique blends. Com.
• 37:55
  > Speaker C>This unique blend combines equal parts of maguey, espadin, tobala and tepestate.
• 38:02
  > >Well, we're going to leave it right there with our SIPs rating for this is going to be actually a five. So great, uh, product.
• 38:10
  > Speaker C>Oh my goodness. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
• 38:15
  > >Well, hopefully everybody learned something about agave today and the various, uh, versions of agave. I really hope you enjoyed this 101 episode. I want to thank my co host for being here today. Carrie Ann, tell us all about your blog and how people can catch up with you.
• 38:33
  > Speaker C>Less blogging these days. Um, but have some really big news dropping soon, so catch me at straightup615 on insta.
• 38:42
  > >Good old boy Michael, tell us about Liquid Gold, your books and everything else you got going on.
• 38:47
  > Speaker D>Yeah, my books you can find@mikewolfbooks.com. uh, just did a really fun project with chef Brian Baxter, the catbird seat. Uh, commemorating 10 years of the catbird seat here in Nashville.
• 38:58
  > Speaker C>So beautiful.
• 38:59
  > Speaker D>Um, yeah, you can find, uh, liquid Gold at Liquidgold show.
• 39:03
  > >Thank you so much for being here. Well, thanks for joining this episode. I'm going to ask you to keep on sipping.
• 39:12
  > Announcer>We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor and tap. Just tap the subscribe button.
• 39:20
  > Speaker C>Give it a little tappy, tap, tap, taparoo.
• 39:24
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• 39:58
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• 40:24
  > Announcer>This has been a one tan hand production of Sips, Suds and Smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation of some of the finer slices of life from the dude in the basement studios, your host, the good old boys. We'll see you all.
• 40:39
  > Speaker C>Next time, Sam.