Spring 2021 Tour Update
What a year it has been. The human losses have been incalculable, and the economic ones staggering. Experience Agave has been shut down de facto since the second week of March, 2020.
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As Global Thirst for Tequila Grows, Who Benefits? (Wine Enthusiast, February 2021)
“The best way to support the Mexican countryside from the U.S. is to actualize trade and immigration policies that are fair and would allow people to work with dignity and living wages on both sides of the border.”
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2020 Tour Update
July 20, 2020 Dear friends of Experience Agave, We are currently working with a public health consultant and our partner distilleries, hotels, and transportation providers to ensure that when our tours resume, Experience Agave will have effective safety protocols built into every aspect of our tours. We are preparing to implement social distancing, temperature checks, mask…
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Oaxaca Travel Guide: Get an education in mezcal with Experience Mezcal
“Oaxaca is mezcal country. Both industrial and artisan palenques dot the countryside and if you’ve developed a taste for this spirit then a day visiting some of these palenques with Experience Mezcal is a must. Accompanied by a passionate local guide you’ll discover the process of making mezcal from the roasting of the agave hearts,…
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Mezcal’s meteoric rise continues, but not all industry insiders are ready to toast (The Guardian, October 2016)
“Mezcal, tequila’s stronger and smokier relative, has become a staple spirit in trendy bars across Mexico and the United States in recent years, and the agave-based drink has inevitably attracted the interest of global alcohol giants. In the process local growers are worried a unique spirit is under threat… Mezcal has been made for centuries…
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5 Of the World’s Best Tequilas You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of — And Where You Can Find Them (Forbes September 2016)
“Clayton Szczech – A widely respected ‘Tequila Geek’ and owner of Experience Tequila recommends Casachuín Blanco, Real Mexicana “Extra Dry” Extra-añejo, and 7 Leguas Single Barrel Extra-añejo.”
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7 Unique Group Tours in Mexico (Travel Age West, September 2016)
“Designed by owner Clayton Szczech as ‘group tours for people who don’t do group tours,’ Experience Tequila offers hands-on tours around Mexico’s eponymous region to acquaint guests with the spirit. Clients will learn about all the parts of the tequila production process, from agave cultivation and harvesting to distilling. Guests will also imbibe in the…
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Heart of Jalisco – Authentic Experiences in Guadalajara (Alaska Beyond September 2016)
“We opt for a tour with Clayton Szczech, a self-styled tequila connoisseur. He guides us around the area, where we watch a jimador harvest the agave plant from which tequila is made.”
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The Rise of Mezcal: Great for Cocktails, Better for Oaxaca (AFAR Magazine, April 2016)
“Oaxaca is the second-poorest state in Mexico and its most indigenous, two braided facts that owe much to geography. When the Spanish plowed through in the 16th century, they found a rugged terrain dividing Oaxaca into isolated village-states. In some ways that’s still the case: Many communities have maintained their own dialects, their own traditions—and…
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Blue Agave Endangered by Highlands Snow
Blue Agave Endangered by Highlands Snow by Clayton J. Szczech, March 11, 2016 Residents of Jalisco’s Highlands region awoke Thursday to a substantial blanket of snow and ice covering the ground and local crops, including the emblematic Highland blue agaves. Online social media quickly filled with stunning and beautiful images, and alteños young and old took…
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Opposition to NOM 199 – An Update
As reported here in December, the Mexican Secretariat of the Economy has proposed legislation – NOM 199 – that could extinguish traditional mezcal production in areas outside of the Denomination of Origin (DO) regions. While presented as an effort to increase consumer protection, these rule changes would in fact result in less clarity for consumers. Non-DO…
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The Latest Affront To Traditional Mezcal: NOM 199
The Latest Affront To Traditional Mezcal: NOM 199 by Clayton J. Szczech, December 4, 2015 Half of Mexico’s population lives in poverty, and yet the country’s Secretary of the Economy is making it a priority to clarify the definitions of frozen shots and Slivovitz. No, really. Oh yeah, and at the same time, renew its attempts to…
