Even though Baijiu is the most popular spirit, by volume consumed, in the world, Americans don’t really understand the category. Bill Isler, founder of Ming River Baijiu, took an interesting turn after studying in China for law. Setting out to work on business opportunities for folks coming into China, a shift into the hospitality industry came about. First starting as a volume bartender, a shift to focus on the tastier marks of Baijiu, led to a new bar project and the eventual creation of Ming River. This episode is a great deep dive into the category, where up is down, and left is right. The production details of Baijiu are…
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Ep 301 – Khrys Maxwell: It’s Always Tequila Time
Khrys Maxwell is well known in the agave world. His dedication to production transparency, science, and digging into the details is bar none. But many people don’t realize his dedication to music and education help fuel his passions. How’s shutdown life? And where do you go when you’re paving your own road? We chat KISS, teaching, love, and loss.
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Ep 300 – Jorge Gaviria: From the Land to the Lips
Jorge Gaviria has devoted years to understanding the culture, the people, and the logistics around corn production. The resulting project, Masienda, is now the industry leader in providing quality masa, heirloom corn, and tortilla cooking accessories. The journey to this amazing project is steeped in deep analysis, introspection, and travel. What started as a moment of translation, turned into a massive corn movement. We chat mezcal, NYU, civil unrest, and how we learn.
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Ep 293 – Leslie Cobos: A Rebel With a Cause
It has been a very serpentine road for Cinco Sentido’s Leslie Cobos. Spending much of her youth in Ciudad de Juarez and El Paso, her Mexican heritage paired perfectly with her affinity for hospitality. With a formative move to Fort Worth, the challenges of understanding American culture, learning English, and fitting into the new environment met her head on. After leaving the world of politics disillusioned by the system, an agave opportunity changed her life forever. We chat Mezcal, travel, cultural heritage, and that DJ life….
