In partnership with

Since January of this year, Felisa Rogers has been on top of allegations of illegal use of sugar cane against large tequila producers (and here). She had already been pursuing a story about agaveros in Jalisco and the impact of the huge drop in the price of agave on their communities when the protest in Tequila took place in mid-January and where the allegations were made public. So when we got rumblings of more news coming, Felisa was on it. Little did we expect a class action lawsuit against Diageo for allegedly labeling their tequilas Casamigos and Don Julio tequilas as 100% agave when they weren’t!

For folks who may not know, tequila has two groups/classifications: Mixtos, which allow for up to 49% of sugars other than agave as well as other additives allowed in the tequila and 100% Agave which is what it says it is - only agave. In mezcal, it must always be 100% agave and if you distill it with anything else (pechugas as an example) or infuse it with anything like herbs or spices, etc, you need to identify them as either a destilado con or abocado con and list the ingredients are on the bottle.

But this case is not so much about additives, it’s about companies allegedly cutting corners to produce more product for less money, labeling it as something it is not and then selling it for a premium price. It’s the first time a legal step has been taken to prove what has been whispered about for years in the category. And what has changed to make that happen? Apparently a new lab test that can distinguish agave and cane sugars from one another, something that had not been fully possible before. We are working to have more information about that in the next week so stay tuned.

So what does it all mean? This comes at a time when tequila has become even bigger business here in the US. Sales are eclipsing other spirit categories in price and volume. If the charges are proven true, not only is it a big black eye for Diageo which it should be, it also shatters trust and will have people wondering if there are other brands engaging in the same practice, especially if the Consejo Regulador de Tequila (CRT) ends up being implicated as well. They are the supposed watch dogs after all.

Finally, some sad news from the coastal mountain town of Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco. The great raicilla master Don Hildegardo “Japo” Joya passed away at the grand age of 92. His raicillas were introduced to the US through the non profit project Mezonte and are absolutely delicious.

Be sure to check out more mezcal news below including an interview with Dr. Ronda Brulotte, a perfect pairing for Caballito Cerrero, a new encyclopedia term and more.

Saludos,

MEZCAL NEWS

MEZCAL EVENTS

• May 31st, Sabor y Cultura Fest, Chicago

• June 10th-11th - Bar Convent Brooklyn, Brooklyn

• June 27th-30th, Mezcal Culture Fest, Miami

• July 12th-13th, Barra Mexico, Mexico City

• July 20th-25th, Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans

• SAVE THE DATE: October 5th, Mexico in a Bottle San Diego

• SAVE THE DATE: November 16th, Mexico in a Bottle San Francisco