The word ‘land’ does a lot of work in the agave world. It shapes flavor, determines which species can grow where, and anchors the cultural identity of communities that have been tending these plants for generations. But land is also a legal and economic reality, and for tens of thousands of agave-farming families across Mexico, the right to farm their traditional territories is under pressure from multiple directions at once.…
Wood aging is the most argued-about topic in agave spirits, and the argument is not unreasonable. The agave plant takes years to mature, sometimes decades, and the distillate that comes out of it carries something specific and irreplaceable: the taste of the land, the variety, the roast, the ferment. Put that in a barrel and you risk covering the whole story with wood tannins and vanilla and a kind of…
The Boulder-born craft brand follows its CU Blanco with a second officially licensed bottle, and eight percent of proceeds from every bottle goes to the University of Colorado’s NIL Fund. Suerte Tequila, the independent craft brand that calls Boulder home, is adding a second bottle to its collection with the University of Colorado. Colorado Athletics and Suerte have announced the Suerte Reposado CU Edition, an officially licensed, co-branded tequila that…
Walk into almost any serious cocktail bar in the United States today and you will find a back bar that tells a story twenty years in the making. Mezcal holds court alongside bourbon. Sotol commands its own shelf. A tequila flight sits waiting next to the whiskey options. The cocktail list devotes an entire section to agave. This is not an accident, and it did not happen overnight. It is…
Walk into any spirits shop these days and you will find shelf talkers boasting 94 points, gold medals, and “best in class” designations on bottles you have never heard of. The brand launched six months ago. There is no producer named on the label, no NOM number in plain sight, no story beyond a few sentences of lifestyle copy about “the heart of Jalisco.” But there is a score. A…
A cask-strength, one-time release from Maestro Tequilero José Valdez Reynoso is exclusive to Southern Spirits in Indian Land, South Carolina. Tequila Partida and Southern Spirits have announced Partida Roble Fino Single Barrel, an exclusive Añejo crafted by Partida’s Maestro Tequilero, José Valdez Reynoso. Just 138 bottles were produced for the one-time release. Two casks, two stages of maturation The tequila was first matured for 26 months in an American oak…
If you have tasted a well-made tobalá mezcal, you probably remember the moment. There is something about the spirit that stops you mid-sip and asks you to pay attention. The aromatics are layered and unusual. The palate has a mineral backbone that most agave spirits never reach. The finish lingers in a way that rewards patience. And the price tag, which can easily run two or three times the cost…
The Los Angeles producer pairs the debut with a New York distribution deal, aiming at bars and restaurants that don’t hold a full liquor license. Los Angeles-based Ola Sol announced on October 7 the launch of Humo, which the company describes as the first 100% agave wine built around the smoky character of traditional mezcal. Humo is available now at olasol.com and wholesale in California and New York, where Ola…
Most tasting notes are useless. Not because the writer lacks a palate, but because the writer forgot who they’re writing for. When you describe a blanco as tasting like “a sun-drenched agave field kissed by morning dew and a whisper of citrus,” you have told the reader absolutely nothing. You’ve written a postcard from a place they’ve never been and given them no directions to get there. Writing a tasting…
Mexico is a big country. From the highland pine forests of Oaxaca to the volcanic lowlands of Colima to the thorny Sonoran desert, the geography alone is staggering. Agave spirits map onto that geography in ways that are both logical and surprising. The plants, the soils, the altitude, the water, the people, the traditions — all of it shapes what ends up in the bottle. This guide is meant to…
