Well Chicago, that was fun. This time of year in Chicago promises the possibility of experiencing four seasons in one weekend. The city did not disappoint, and while it did not snow, there were definitely a couple of cold days for us non Chicagoans. It is safe to say that we painted the town agave with the number of happy hours, tastings, dinners, lotería game night and more. We can’t wait to return so put April 26th, 2026 in your calendar.

This spring has been a whirlwind, between our events and other events and I am not going to lie, I am ready for a breather and was able to put the suitcase away for a while. The nonstop travel and conversations with various people have given me the opportunity to reimagine our events. We have decided to cancel our Phoenix event this year as we transition to a new and exciting opportunity in 2026. We will have more news in the coming months about this but suffice it say, it is a huge positive for everyone and very exciting for us.

Personally for me, this breather will give me some much needed time to write the five or so articles that have been sitting in limbo and to catch up on reading. It has been interesting to see the recent stories from mainstream publications about the world of non-Mexican agave spirits, particularly the NY Times and the industry focused 750 Daily, links below. Not only do I want to tout our “ahead of the curve” coverage (see this, this and this), but also say from the experience of publishing those stories a few years ago, point out what these publications are missing with their coverage. Both recent stories focused on the what and where but neither touched on a bigger issue that has emerged when writing or talking about these spirits - biopiracy.

The rise of the category Destilados de Agave from Mexico (and the TTB acknowledging this category) within the market created an understanding that these spirits are mezcal and tequila in everything but name. This had the unintended consequence of opening the door to non-Mexican Destilados/Agave Spirits that resulted in Informed consumers recognizing this terminology as meaning they are mezcal or tequila and folks have definitely taken advantage of that. Personally I think the deliberate (and/or ignorant) muddying of the waters on the part of non-Mexico agave farmers, distillers and publications focused on SEO is pretty shady and shitty and they should be called out for it.

The world moves at hyper speed these days; India is exporting an agave spirit to Europe, Australia and South Africa are poised to export on a larger square, Israel has jumped in, and I received an email about an agave spirit from Ireland. And while much of the ire is focused on California, it is at least five years behind on making any significant market splash. To be clear, I am not anti non-Mexican agave spirits, but I do think they need to find their way forward in the market without all the nudge nudge wink winks, that really, at the end of the day they are just another mezcal or tequila.

Be sure to check out some great new stories below, including the wine scene in Queretero by Leigh Thelmadatter, where to drink mezcal in DC according to Tess Rose Lampert, a solid review of Ronda Brulotte’s Mezcal in Oaxaca from Felisa Rogers and an interview with Lucas Assis by Tess.

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