Agave is the fastest-growing corner of the global drinks world — and the graveyard of more well-funded launches than almost anywhere else. The rulebooks that build whiskey and wine brands quietly misfire on this shelf. Celebrity backing, once a guaranteed multiplier, is losing its power. And a wave of adulteration lawsuits has made trust — not flavor, not price — the deciding factor in whether a young agave label survives its first year.

Agave Marketing 101 is the field guide for the people building brands in exactly this moment. Written by Lisa Pietsch, publisher and editor-in-chief of Agave Today, it draws on years spent across the table from the maestros of Jalisco and Oaxaca, the importers who move the bottles, and the bartenders who decide what a city pours next — an independent vantage that a brand-owned channel simply cannot offer.

The book carries you from category foundations to a complete go-to-market. You will learn to find the origin story hiding in plain sight and turn technical facts into an emotional hook; to position against a crowded field and read the price tiers your packaging signals before a single word is read; to survive the compliance maze of TTB and COFEPRIS and build a transparency posture before a crisis ever arrives; to win distribution and treat bartenders as an audience rather than a channel; to structure sampling, ambassadors, and a launch timeline that actually converts. A full, standalone chapter is devoted to social media — because so much of this category's trust, and so much of its risk, now lives there — followed by paid digital, consumer media, and the ready-to-drink formats driving the category's only reliable growth. You will learn to compete on story and craft when you cannot compete on star power, and to expand market by market across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. It closes with case studies of the acquisitions and launches getting it right, and the common threads that separate them from the failures.

And you will not merely read it. Every section ends with a prompt meant to be answered in writing, so that by the final page you have drafted the working bones of your own brand strategy — in your own words, section by section.

For founders, marketers, importers, distributors, and the bartenders who move this category — and for readers of This Is Marketing, Building a StoryBrand, Obviously Awesome, and Blue Ocean Strategy who want those ideas translated into the one shelf where the usual playbooks fail.

How to Get Paid to Drink Tequila, by Lisa Pietsch, one of the owners of TequilaAficionado.com and Publisher of Tequila Aficionado Magazine, is the only book on the market that gives you a step-by-step plan for building a profitable tequila blog, vlog, podcast or author career.

With this book, you’ll learn how to build your platform, grow your social channels, work with tequila brands, and monetize your business in a sustainable manner that the industry can support.

Not your average influencer marketing book, Lisa gives you her unique insight into the agave spirits industry and the exact recipe used by Tequila Aficionado, distilled to its 110 proof essence, so you can do exactly what she’s done, only in a fraction of the time and without the expense of trial and error.

Readers are also invited to fast-track their success by joining the Tequila Aficionado Media Network for syndication, publication, addition to Tequila Aficionado’s Influencer Referral List for Brands, VIP admission to tequila shows around the world and much more!

If you’re ready to start getting paid to drink tequila, this book is for you!

You have had agave spirits. You have almost certainly never tasted them.

Most of us are introduced to tequila at the worst possible moment — late, loud, salt on the rim and citrus standing by, the whole ritual built to rush the liquid past the tongue before anyone notices what is in the glass. The years the plant spent in the ground, the fire of the oven, the hand of the person who made it: none of it ever reaches you.

Agave 101 is the book that changes that. It rests on a single, freeing idea — that the difference between drinking these spirits and truly tasting them is not money, not access, and not some rare inborn gift of the palate. It is literacy. And literacy can be learned.

Written by the publisher of Agave Today, this welcoming, jargon-free companion walks you from the living plant to the finished pour and teaches you to understand every step in between. You will meet the whole family — not only tequila, but mezcal, sotol, raicilla, bacanora, and the fast-growing world of agave spirits now made far beyond Mexico. You will learn why terroir, roasting, fermentation, and distillation each leave a fingerprint you can find on the palate, and why two bottles that look identical on the shelf can be worlds apart once poured.

Then the book puts a glass in your hand. In clear, unhurried language you will learn to read a label the way a professional does, to tell honest bottles from clever marketing, to nose and sip with intention, and to describe what you find with words that finally make your notes mean something months later. You will discover how to assemble your first tasting flight, how to bring agave spirits to the table with food, and how to keep growing long after the final page.

The timing has never been better — or stranger. As the category moves through oversupply, price corrections, and a wave of lawsuits that have put the very meaning of “100% agave” on trial, the ability to judge for yourself is no longer a luxury. It is how you navigate a shelf where the words on the front can no longer be taken at their word.

Whether you are pouring your first reposado or quietly building a collection you are proud of, Agave 101 hands you the confidence to slow down, pay attention, and finally taste like you mean it.

For readers who loved Tasting Whiskey by Lew Bryson, How to Drink by Victoria Moore, Proof by Adam Rogers, Divided Spirits by Sarah Bowen, and the great wine-and-whisky appreciation guides — now turned, at last, toward agave.

A New York Times Editors’ Choice

"A dizzying tale.… Mexico should be grateful to Mr. Genoways for bringing [José Cuervo] back from the dead." ?Tunku Varadarajan,?Wall Street Journal

A revelatory history of the vast tequila empire born from the fires of the Mexican Revolution.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, José Cuervo inherited his family’s humble distillery, La Rojeña, in the Tequila Valley. Within a decade, he had transformed it into a complex national enterprise that would become Mexico’s leading producer of tequila. Cuervo grew his kingdom of agave by acquiring thousands of acres of estates throughout the valley; he brought electricity and a railroad line to Tequila, so he could reach drinkers across the country. But when the Mexican Revolution erupted, a charge of treason and a death threat against him by Pancho Villa forced Cuervo to flee. His disappearance turned him into an obscure, shadowy historical figure—despite having one of the most famous names in Mexican history.

In Tequila Wars, award-winning author Ted Genoways restores Cuervo to his place as a key player in Mexico’s formative period. Before the revolution, Cuervo’s acclaim spread worldwide, and once war broke out, Cuervo remained an impresario, kingmaker, and cultural force. In the face of his own government’s corruption and the nationalism of his northern neighbors, Cuervo reached American drinkers by establishing Mexico’s covert form of cross-border commerce with the United States. As the largest and most important distilleries in the Tequila Valley recognized the threat posed by Mexico’s unraveling, Cuervo also lobbied for suspending normal competition in favor of “a union of tequila makers”—what would become the first Mexican cartel.

With extensive original research, including access to the secret archives of the Cuervo and Sauza families, Genoways follows the violent, unpredictable, and hugely profitable world of tequila through the story of its most successful maker. The first biography of Cuervo, Tequila Wars uncovers the history of the man who would forever change not only the business of tequila, but international relations between Mexico and the United States.

"As comprehensive as it gets" The New York Times

An A-Z compendium of everything you need to know about tequila and agave spirits, from history, ingredients and the latest craft tequila techniques to tasting notes and the many regional variations and specialities.

A tequila revolution is taking place, with more and more people learning to appreciate the rich culture, craft and flavor to be found in this unique spirit. The Tequila Dictionary is the drinker's guide to this wonderful world. With hundreds of entries on tequila and agave spirits covering everything from history, culture and ingredients to distilling techniques, cocktails and the many varieties of the drink, spirits expert Eric Zandona explores the truth behind this truly captivating drink.

Once little more than party fuel, tequila has graduated to the status of fine sipping spirit. How the Gringos Stole Tequila traces the spirit's evolution in America from frat-house firewater to luxury good. But there's more to the story than tequila as upmarket drinking trend. Chantal Martineau spent several years immersing herself in the world of tequila--traveling to visit distillers and agave farmers in Mexico, meeting and tasting with leading experts and mixologists around the United States, and interviewing academics on either side of the border who have studied the spirit.

The result is a book that offers readers a glimpse into the social history and ongoing impact of this one-of-a-kind drink. It addresses issues surrounding the sustainability of the limited resource that is agave, the preservation of traditional production methods, and the agave advocacy movement that has grown up alongside the spirit's swelling popularity. In addition to discussing the culture and politics of Mexico's most popular export, the book takes readers on a colorful tour of the country's Tequila Trail, as well as introducing them to the mother of tequila: mezcal.

An indispensable and accessible guide to Mexico’s treasured agave spirits.

Packed with information, tips, resources, and 300 tasting notes and accompanying producer profiles, The Essential Tequila & Mezcal Companion is a crash course on the fastest growing spirits category in the United States. Lampert provides insights on the history and production of the spirits, plus guidance for how to stock your bar, organize a tasting with food pairings, and create infused syrups that will complement craft cocktails.

Lampert includes more than 30 cocktail recipes that highlight the complexities and bold flavors of agave spirits. Plus, the book contains transportive photography throughout and a thorough reference section for readers who are thirsty for more.

Sample the country’s most tantalizing taco recipes paired with equally inventive tequila and mezcal cocktails—from seasoned food writer and libation enthusiast Katherine Cobbs.

Tacos have been trending for years, and finally tequila is having its taco moment. While a crunchy, savory beef taco washed down with a frozen margarita is always acceptable, today the inspired options for what can be stuffed in an edible wrapper or blended with agave spirits are infinite.

Behind the bar, the burgeoning array of top-shelf tequilas and mezcals available hold their own—and even outshine—liquor mainstays like vodka, gin, and bourbon. The ubiquitous tequila shot with requisite salt and lime chaser can’t compete with the complex, nuanced flavors of the finely crafted blanco, reposado, and añejo tequilas and smoky mezcals that deserve sipping and savoring.

Featuring authentic classics like Tacos Al Pastor and Baja-style fish tacos, Tequila & Tacos also includes entirely new spins on the taco—such as fried Brussels sprout tacos, spicy cauliflower tacos in Indian paratha shells, or tempura-battered seaweed tacos cradling ahi tuna—paired with uncannily delicious cocktails crafted with the finest agave spirits, like a traditional tart Paloma cocktail rimmed with spiced salt or an eye-opening Mezcal Manhattan. Curated from bars and taco stands around the country, this taco and cocktail recipe book is a must-have for the taco and tequila aficionado.

WINNER of the Drink Book category at the 2026 Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards.

Learn all about the proud heritage of agave-based spirits from master mixologist, entrepreneur, award-winning bar owner, and bestselling author of the Curious Bartender series of books Tristan Stephenson.

This book is an account of Tristan’s remarkable journey through six Mexican states and into the heartlands of agave spirits production to discover the spirit of Mexico in every sense.

It is a physical, geographical journey, but also a historical, cultural and spiritual one. Along the way Tristan explores different producers, tell their stories and shares their philosophies, as well as the story of Mexican spirit: its food, cocktails, music, geography, and politics.

By the end he has provided the reader with a strong taste of what makes this country so special and what makes agave spirits one of the most exciting of all the world’s spirit categories today. Also included are perfected recipes for Tristan’s pick of the finest agave spirit drinks there are, including the legendary Margarita, Paloma, and Batida as well as modern classics Tommy’s Margarita, and Tinglet.

You've tasted mezcal and felt the shock of its smoke, the sting of alcohol, and the lingering question: where does this character actually come from?

Maybe you've heard conflicting claims about the infamous worm, how long it should be aged, or what constitutes "real" agave, and you want a reliable way to connect what is in your glass to the vibrant world that made it.

In Mezcal, author Matt Trifiro takes you on a documentary-style journey following the drink from the regional weather and agave fields straight to the copper still and the bottle label. This book pulls back the curtain on the magic and mechanics of Mexico’s most captivating spirit, showing you exactly how production choices shape aroma, why certain myths refuse to die, and what mezcal means in social life far beyond the tasting room.

What You Will Discover Inside:

• The "Thunder" Effect: Learn why mezcal's signature smoky aroma hits your nose like a lightning bolt, combining wood smoke phenols with heat-caramelized plant sugars to create one massive, complex sensory event.
• The Four-Stage Copper Chain: Trace the fascinating transformation from a tough, cooked agave heart to a fermenting mash, and finally into a clear distillate through the precise timing and physical separation of traditional copper stills.
• The Truth About the Worm: Unpack the history of the gusano to see why this tiny insect evolved into a giant marketing shortcut for authenticity rather than acting as a true engine for the spirit's flavor.
• Agave Taste DNA: Go beyond terroir buzzwords to understand how different agave species, like Espadín and Tobala, inherently tilt the balance of sweetness and minerality before fermentation even begins.
• The Terroir Smoke Equation: Discover how a region's climate, soil, local wood fuels, and pit-cooking airflow lock together to create a repeatable, signature smoke profile.
• A Label-to-Liquid Decoder: Learn how to read between the lines using the NOM, aging terms like joven, reposado, and añejo, and subtle additive clues to accurately predict the flavor and texture in your glass.
• The Real Science of Aging: Break down the myths of resting mezcal to see how interface chemistry, wood extraction, and oxygen exposure shift the spirit's texture, color, and aroma.
• The Mezcal Circle Framework: Explore the deep social life of mezcal and how rituals, music, and genuine hospitality turn a simple beverage into a shared cultural map and a living archive.

Whether you are a casual enthusiast trying to make sense of a bar menu, or an aficionado looking to deepen your palate, this book proves that flavor is often the record of contact between land, labor, and history.

Stop guessing at the tasting table. Pick up your copy of Mezcal today and learn how to read the story inside every pour.