PODCAST · arts
Heritage Mezcal
by Chava Periban, Roy Sierra
A podcast about all things agave that ventures into baseball, marble, tlayudas and other delights.
Episodes
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Maguey de Aquí y de Allá
Este episodio lo pensé originalmente como un espejo del artículo "Unexpected reveals about Mexico’s role in the global expansion of agave" escrito por Joahna Hernández. Pero ya metidos en la plática y en lo mucho que hay decir acerca del maguey, el México amplio y los muchos posibles futuros, ya…
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Global Tuba
I think we Mexicans tend to be proud and protective of our heritage, as we should. At the same time, many of our traditions have been formed and informed by outside forces that decided to enrich our already very baroque culture. In this conversation with @mennlay we explore how tuba is both…
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Querida Charanda ~ Spanish Spoken / Hablado en Español ~
La Charanda es quizás es el aguardiente mejor conocido de nuestro país. Y si bien tiene una historia que se remonta a los orígines de la destilación Mexicana, por alguna razón la mayoría de nosotros conocemos poco de su origen y especificidades. En esta conversación con Arturo Silva Pacheco, de...
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Querido Aguacate ~ Spanish Spoken / Hablado en Español ~
El aguacate para los mexicanos es salud, lujo y alegría. Practicamente todas las gastronomias del páis lo incluyen, ya sea embarrado, partido, en salsa, y yo lo he visto hasta en licuado. Pero pese a su popularidad, rara vez encuentro algún libro o docuento que explore a detalle esta fruta que…
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California Agave
In this episode with Doug Richardson, we talk about all things agave. From how to choose the right species if you are working in California, to naming some of the most extravagan agaves that nobody has yet distilled but that may yield some delicious spirits. For some, planting agaves outside of...
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Cacao Para Todos ~ Spanish Spoken / Hablado en Español ~
Quizás sea un vicio de los malos, pero siempre me han encantado los productos que son casi invisibles. Por suerte algunos de ellos ahora empiezan a concentrar fama y atención, como el mezcal, pero otros siguen ninguneados. A mi parecer ese es el caso del cacao mexicano, si bien todos hemos comido…
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Cuatrociénegas' Sotol
One of the most extravagant expressions I've had in a long time is Mauricio Cantú's Sotol, produced in Cuatrociénegas, Coahuila. I had the privilege of visiting this territory, and I can testify that everything up there is unique, from the soil to the technologies they have used over time. I...
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Vino del Norte ~ Spanish Spoken / Hablado en Español ~
Bienvenidos a Heritage Mezcal en Español. En este episodio con Alan Schubert y Enrique Cesard nos acercamos a la muy improbable historia de los vinos del Norte, específicamente a la de aquellos producidos en Nuevo León. Si no ha tenido el gusto de probarlo, recomiendo ampliamente pedirse una...
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From Bleak to Lush Pt 2
I think a lot about agriculture, in my mind it was the first way in which humans expressed themselves. They planted for survival, but also to meet and expand their desires. They were able to create more deliciousness and more complexity hand in hand with the territory they worked. The land was...
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Coahuila's Sotol
Coahuila is the third-largest state in all of Mexico. But in many ways, it is a discrete, unknown territory. I personally know very few people who have traveled to Saltillo or who have roamed around the state. Happily, a few months ago, I had the chance to visit Casa Sotol, a project led by...
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Mecenas ~ Spanish Spoken / Hablado en Español ~
La totalidad de México me emociona y me entusiasma, pero siempre tengo algún favorito de temporada, y ahorita Guadalajara trae a mi corazón latiendo fuerte: sus calles, sus museos, la gran oferta de destilados, los infinitos remedios para la cruda. Entre todos los lugares que me encantan en esta...
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Agave Science Popurrí Pt. 2
In this conversation with my dear friend Fabio Raya, we explore many of the ideas we were exposed to at the "VI Simposio Internacional de Agave". This episode includes everything from using agave as livestock silage to developing a comprehensive strategy for using 2 million hectares of Mexican…
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Mexican Wine
Wine has a long history in Mexico, with its introduction arguably dating back to the 16th century. However, it was never massively consumed in the same manner as pulque, beer, or vino de mezcal. There are even annecdotes about communion wine was spiked with coconut spirits (vino de coco) to give…
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Querido Sotol ~ Spanish Spoken / Hablado en Español ~
Este es el primer episodio que se graba en español y estoy tremendamente orgulloso de eso. Para esta nueva realidad paralela bilingüe del podcast, quise empezar con un episodio que resolvió muchas de las dudas que llevaba cargando desde hace tiempo. El sotol, o los sotoles, o los dasylirion, para...
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Flavour Hunting
There are so many things that you could do with your life. You could dedicate decades to science, get into politics, and figure out how to reach world peace, and then there are flavors and pleasures. Which seems less important, a luxury amongst needs. Yet, there are companies paying millions of...
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Rethinking Oak
Aging agave spirits (with the exception of tequila) is still a taboo, something you talk about using your softest voice not to gain some pretty vocal enemies. Yet, the influence of barrels (and clay vessels) has been critical to the evolution of spirits, wine, and beer for at least a few thousand...
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Mezcal From the Heart
Mezcal is equally fascinating and terrifying for those who may not be familiar with it. Some are curious but too shy to venture beyond a cocktail, while others can take significant chances, to the point that one day, they may even become fellow agave nerds. To promote the right environment where...
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From Bleak to Lush
The agave spirits multiverse is as exciting as ever. The conversation has been expanding year after year, bringing to light new regions, agaves and production techniques. But, at least personally, certain places have been more prolific than others. As I've stated in previous episodes, I have an...
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Inaccurate Regulation
Lately, I’ve been in a little bit of a conundrum. I’ve been asking myself what the most important aspect of mezcal is that I should be talking about. Should I focus on the history, the culture, the market, the flavors, or the technicalities? After much thinking, I realized that I should attempt…
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Neverending Chihuahua
Chihuahua is not only Mexico's largest state but also full of neverending stories. The first episode I ever recorded about this state was more of an ode: two people who had recently found Chihuahua and had become hardcore fans overnight. But, after that, I wanted to record with someone that had...
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Vital Water
More and more I've been thinking that we could summarize agave as the lovely culmination of three main variables: agave, yeast and water. In this podcast I believe we've explored in great depth agave and yeast, but we had only superficially touched on water. There are plenty of themes to explore...
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Rephrasing Spirits
There are so many things that we just do. We don't know where did they start or why do we do them . Pure social inertia. Sharing drinks at a bar, at least for me, is one of those things. Many people in other places socialize or party differently. But in the West, cheering over cocktails, beers…
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Mezcal Beyond Commerce
In this episode with Fabiola Santiago, President and Executive Director at Mi Oaxaca (an NGO which aims to “preserve Oaxaca’s indigenous food and beverage cultures through narrative change, education and collaboration with compatible organizations across borders”) we talk about so many things…
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Sharing Mezcal
It is undeniable that mezcal has become a poster child in the alcohol world. A spirit that in a way brings us hope, because it is a reflection of many biocultural legacies. , Those beautiful relationships that are slowly formed between humans and their environments if both sides decide to respect...
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Scary Methanol
Methanol is one of the scariest things I can possibly imagine. We’ve all read stories about people getting intoxicated. Losing their sight and sometimes even their lives. And with all of that as a backdrop I’ve always wondered: why is it that after sampling hundreds of agave and dasylirion…
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¡Viva Chihuahua!
Spirits are quite a weird thing. They are everywhere; you engage with them constantly at bars, concerts and restaurants and yet, it is rather difficult to share your thoughts and ideas about them. People get shy and weird when you try to dissect the origin, flavors or implications of a spirit. -...
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Agave's Biocultural Heritage
In this episode on Heritage Mezcal, I had the opportunity to have a delightful conversation with Eric Zandona. He is an incredibly booze-informed gentleman, and the organizer of the ADI’S International Spirits Competition, which, if you were to ask me, offers a great chance for brands of all…
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10,000 Years of Agave History
Agaves and humans have always had an intimate relationship but, believe it or not, a significant part of if has nothing to do with booze. As we've discussed before in this podcast agaves provided to our ancestors with many charms; from clothing to nourishment. But given the fact that many of…
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Drink More Pox
Pox, the quintessential Chiapas spirit, is probably the most mysterious Mexican drink that I've encountered in my life. It was a big part of my early 20's, but I never truly understood its technicalities or cultural relevance. Happily, thanks to Javier Oroz, who I just interviewed a few weeks ago...
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Tahona Mezcal Room
This is the beginning of a series where both Roy and Chava go around the many venues that hold agave collections that they think are pretty and tasty. Some may be the usual suspects but others may be hiding in plain view, just like Tahona Mezcal Room. Join Chava and Julie Mann Wharton in a...
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Titanium Dioxide Against Vinasse
Vinasse, which are maybe the most offensive byproducts when making mezcal or tequila, can be neutralized in a number of ways. Scientists are always trying to offer more efficient and cost effective options to neutralize this nasty stuff, and one of those experiments was brought to our attention…
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Bacanora is Sonora
As most things that have been created in Northern Mexico, Bacanora tends to create more questions than answers. It may have an active Denomination of Origin and there are some really awesome brands out there bringing delicious juice, but many of the stories linked to its origins are still…
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Scale Matters
How big is it too big? When does a mezcalero stops being "small batch" and migrates to something that could be labeled as not truly artisanal? In this conversation with jóven Jon Darby (patrón at @sin_gusano) we dabble around some some of these questions, while sipping some rarities, that…
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Agave Science Popurrí
A popurrí is the ultimate mix, an intense collage of songs merged together to accelerate enjoyment. I am sure that the term has been confined to music because if someone were to create the "taco popurrí" it would be too much for humanity to withstand. But jokes aside, this episode is exactly…
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Stable Pulque
So many of the most valuable Mexican products are tremendously fragile. A perfectly ripe zapote, a prime "lechón", a fresh habanero salsa and my always beloved pulque. In this episode with Cesar Ojeda, aka @intergalacticyeastieboy, we talk about some of his most recent experiments regarding…
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Amasijo
There are many ways to access the very vast diversity within Mexican food and drinks. Some love spirits, others honey or tea. But Martina ( from @colectivoamasijo) has been working with many different producers from around the country trying to showcase milpa-based agricultural products. We hope...
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Lamparillo Puntas
If there has been an agave that I've been aggressively celebrating for the last few years, it definitely has been Lamparillo. I still remember the first time I tried and I was so confused.I just didn't know that an agave could create that specific set of flavors and aromasBut most importantly I...
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Pulque "Aristocracy"
Arguably the first person to coin the term pulque aristocracy was Jose Vasconcelos, one of Mexico's most famous intellectuals. Using this term he was referring to the many families that recognized in pulque a profitable industry that fueled both exceptional festivities and everyday work. But now...
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Dancing Booze
Different places ask for different drinks, even certain music styles, in my opinion, need specific booze pairings. And even though I am always the first to complain when I can't find delicious complex spirits in the middle of the night. I am starting to understand that calibrating which booze is...
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Your Mezcal Brand
There are so many reasons why people may start a mezcal brand. Some do it for the money, some for love and some others because the craft has been in their families for generations. But regardless of how you started, nobody, to my understanding, has found a perfect formula to maintain exceptional...
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Spiky Agave
Like many agricultural products, agaves have developed a complex relationship with humans over millennia. Some agaves were chosen to make rope, others to extract pulque and maybe the luckiest of them all to create mezcal. But there've been many other more subtle ways in which people have chosen...
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For the Love of Dogs
For a while I was not sure if I wanted to publish this episode. But I think there are quite a few things hiding in the middle of this conversation that somehow relate to the clash of cultures within mezcal. Without further adieu please welcome Dalton Kreiss and his impressive affection for dogs.
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Mezcal Puritans
This episode is not about a new religion, so don't you worry. This episode is about trying to better understand some of the people in the tequila, mezcal and agave spirits multiverse that I would say have a very clear and unmovable set of ideas of how these categories should behave. So I decided…
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Glorious Herbs
I've been thinking so much about the things that are so close to us, so ubiquitous, that we decide to erase them completely. Octavio Paz, our literature nobel prize, explores this intensively in his famous book "The Labyrinth of Solitude". He talks about "Ningunear", which is the act of making...
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Rural Chilango
Having a conversation with Vinik is never a straight line. We always allocates the unexpected crevices, he finds ways of expanding what may seem bland and inoffensive. He may even be a spy, considering his very avid interest on maps, borders and the rivers that run through them. But the most...
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Cacao Genetics
Welcome to the longest episode I've ever recorded. And usually I would say this as a warning, but while listening to it I realized that this conversation touched on so many things that I believe are critical not only to cacao but to all Mexican craft, including agave spirits. Without further…
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What is Tuxca?
There are a multitude of different names that people use to call agave spirits around Mexico. The most prominent ones are obviously Tequila and Mezcal. But if you travel a bit more you'll find names like Tepe, Ixcateco, Minero, Bacanora, Raicilla and so on and so on. Tuxca is one of those names....
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Translate and Expand
I've always been fascinated about how things travel and get to be transformed. One of my favorite stories on the matter is how Jose Luis Borges decided to learn Icelandic just to have access to language that has been frozen in time within a very cold and isolated island (excuse the pun). Mexico…
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Can DOs work?
The controversies around who gets to use the words tequila or mezcal are never ending. All of which are linked to how the PDOS, or Protected Designations of Origin, for each one of these products were written. That is why I decided to invite the man I call the “Cheese Superman” to this podcast. I...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Heritage Mezcal have?
Heritage Mezcal currently has 78 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Heritage Mezcal about?
A podcast about all things agave that ventures into baseball, marble, tlayudas and other delights.
How often does Heritage Mezcal release new episodes?
Heritage Mezcal has 78 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Heritage Mezcal?
You can listen to Heritage Mezcal on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Heritage Mezcal?
Heritage Mezcal is created and hosted by Chava Periban, Roy Sierra.
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