What Next for the Mezcal Norm? by Clayton J. Szczech, December 8, 2014 This is an addendum to a three article series on proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm. Please read the third, second and first parts for background. The first Encuentro Nacional de Mezcal took place in Morelia, Michoacán on the last weekend of November. Dr. Hipócrates Nolasco, President of the…
Solidarity with the Future of Mezcal Experience Mezcal is working with Sanzekan Mezcal to support their program of mezcal “Solidarity Bonds.” Sanzekan Tinemi (“Onward Together,” in the Nahuatl language) is a 24-year old cooperative of indigenous people from Guerrero state’s central foothills region around Chilapa de Álvarez. They are dedicated to their people’s economic and social development…
“Clayton had been leading private tasting trips on his own since 2008, but recently he teamed up with an established tour operator out of Los Cabos to help handle the million and one logistical challenges of running vanloads of day-tasters through a foreign country. His Spanish was crisp and flawless, almost lyrical, and his tight…
Experience Tequila launched in December, 2008. To commemorate our fifth anniversary, we asked friends and colleagues for their comments or reflections on our first five years. We will post the comments over the course of several months. Germán González needs no introduction to tequila aficionados. His family is the reason the state os Tamaulipas is included in…
“So what does a rookie to the world of good tequila need to know before leaving behind the world of salt, lime, and slamming a shot, for the high-quality sip? After listening to tequila expert Clayton Szczech of Experience Tequila preview his Tequila 101 class…and drop some additional agave knowledge, here is a taste of…
Experience Tequila launched in December, 2008. To commemorate our fifth anniversary, we asked friends and colleagues for their comments or reflections on our first five years. We will post the comments over the course of several months. In three short years, the Northwest Tequila Fest has established itself as a top-flight event that attracts tequila aficionados…
Experience Tequila launched in December, 2008. To commemorate our fifth anniversary, we asked friends and colleagues for their comments or reflections on our first five years. We will post the comments over the course of several months. Tales of the Cocktail kicks off in New Orleans this week. Tales is arguably the largest and most important bar industry and…
Mezcaleros Unify Around Improved Norm by Clayton J. Szczech, June 26, 2014 This is the third article in a series on COMERCAM’s proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm. Please read the first and second parts for background. An elderly indigenous man with sun-wizened skin and a big cowboy hat stands next to a dapper urban lawyer in…
“And their tour guides are not paid actors reading a script; rather, they are impassioned individuals who have dedicated their life’s work to tequila and its preservation. Led by Clayton Szczech, who is the only non-Mexican to earn the prestigious “Double T” certification for excellence in tequila tourism and education from the Tequila Regulatory Council,…
Battle Lines Drawn Over Mezcal Rule Changes by Clayton J. Szczech, June 18, 2014 This is the second article in a series on COMERCAM’s proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm. Read the first part here. While the leadership of COMERCAM seeks to build consensus around a modified version of their proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm,…
Experience Tequila launched in December, 2008. To commemorate our fifth anniversary, we asked friends and colleagues for their comments or reflections on our first five years. We will post the comments over the course of several months. I first met David Grapshi at the Spirits of Mexico festival several years ago. Since then, I have had the…
COMERCAM Proposal Would Recognize, Define Artisanal Mezcal by Clayton J. Szczech, June 1, 2014 For years, artisanal mezcal producers and their advocates have critiqued the mezcal Norm as biased in favor of large, industrial producers, and out of touch with mezcal culture, tradition and the reality lived by small mezcaleros. Specifically, it seemed to many…