Portland native Clayton Szczech leveraged writing, music, and civil service to the help the community around him. But as many stories twist and turn, (add disappointment with bureaucracy and a need for new horizons into the mix) Clayton found a new sense of purpose in agave spirits. Now the founder of such great curated tours like Experience Mezcal, and Experience Tequila, he is able to help invite people into the rich culture of Mexico. And to top it off he has also founded one of the only Tequila tasting bars in Jalisco, La Cata. We chat liberty, punk rock, agave sustainability, and more.
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Ep 236 – Francisco Quijano: Humanity in the World of Tequila
Download Francisco Quijano, master distiller for Lunazul, has dedicated much of his life to the world of Tequila. He served as the President of the National Tequila Chamber of Producers where he worked tirelessly to promote and protect authentic Tequila values around the world. He succeeded in designating the Tequila fields of Jalisco a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, making it one of the few cultural landscapes in the world with this distinction. It is this relentless passion that makes Francisco one of the best in the business. His vast experience with production, business, and agave ultimately made him the perfect match to craft the beautiful flavors of Lunazul.…
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Products Assigned a Mexican Denomination of Origin
One of the most riveting conversations at the San Antonio Cocktail Conference 2018 was a class focused on the DO’s of Mexican spirits and how those should/could be protected. The class was hosted by Ricardo Pico, Dr Ivan Saldana, Sergio Mendoza, and Miriam Pacheco. I was unfamiliar with many of the other artisinal and agricultural products protected in Mexico. Here’s a helpful list provided by the panel. Tequila (1974) Agave Spirit produced in Michoacan, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, and Jalisco Mezcal (1994) Agave Spirit produced in Oaxaca, Michoacan, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, Durango, Guerrero, Puebla Olinala (1994) Craft Talavera (1995) Pottery Café de Veracruz (2000) Coffee Bacanora (2000)…
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The Desert Spirits
The world of Agave (and non-agave) can be a quite convoluted one when you start to bring all of the other beautiful Mexican spirits into the mix. Here is an infographic that I created to disambiguate some of the major Mexican spirits categories.