Skip to content

Who we are

Experience Agave is a labor of love for Mexico and its traditional beverages.

Experience Agave is the first boutique brand dedicated to promoting the history and tradition of agave spirits—tequila, mezcal and raicilla—through immersive, educational tour experiences.

Our unique itineraries are curated through an anthropological lens. To convey the deep folk knowledge behind agave spirits, we take a holistic approach to their exploration. Experience Agave tours are about the people, the food, the music, and the history. Our personal relationships with distillers allow us to bridge the gap between beverage and culture — to create experiences that otherwise would not exist. 
 
Through our unmatched expertise, professionalism, hospitality, infectious enthusiasm, and laid-back ethos, we cultivate unforgettable cultural experiences that are the best way to truly experience agave.

HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT

Highly Professional

FIVE STAR TRIP ADVISOR RATINGS

We created this category of tourism over a decade ago. We offer access, depth of knowledge, and hospitality that is second-to-none. This is not a hobby, side project, or way of promoting a spirits brand. This is our profession, and our record speaks for itself. Experience Agave remains the best option for anyone looking to gain access into the world of agave spirits distillation.

We are fully insured. Our tour operators policy is underwritten by AON Affinity. While we carry a one-million dollar per incident Tour Operator insurance policy, we do require guests to purchase a travel insurance policy for the duration of your experience. This may come in handy for any minor medical needs, including reimbursement for medication.

Safety and hospitality are our top priority. We are intuitive and strategic, anticipating needs and proactively offering solutions. We create comfort and warmth in inhospitable environments and remove the stress and safety concerns of organizing foreign travel so guests can stay fully engaged. In over a decade of operation, we have never had a single incident.

Every experience includes a professional driver and a comfortable, air-conditioned, insured, late-model vehicle. Most four-day experiences feature a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. The vans are stocked with beverages and snacks. Vehicles used for day and custom tours vary according to group size.

Accommodations are safe and comfortable. We have longstanding relationships with our boutique partner hotels. Most feature a pool, restaurant, bar, and the amenities you are used to at home.

Seriously Fun + Engaging​

BILINGUAL GUIDES

Our founder respectfully interprets the stories of agave spirits for a global audience. Clayton Szczech believes that agave spirits should be sipped and savored, their history and culture absorbed and appreciated, and their regions of origin explored. This ideology led him to create a new category of agave spirits tourism in Mexico.

Our team is comprised of bilingual experts who live in Mexico and have strong roots in the communities and cultures that our tours explore. We pride ourselves on high-principled, lively interactions and a warm spirit that creates a safe, inclusive space to explore and immerse oneself in the world of agave. 

We have invested decades in understanding agave culture and spirits. Our enthusiasm is big and our thirst for knowledge is contagious. We are dedicated to sharing the history of agave spirits through immersive learning experiences that reveal the rich culture of transforming the agave plant into complex spirits.

Customizable TOURS

DESIGN YOUR EXPERIENCE

All of our experiences can be made private or customized to anything you can imagine. We’ve have curated custom experiences for groups as small as two and as large as 40. Whether you have a single day to spare, or want a week-long immersion, we can customize distillery visits, restaurants, hotels, and other experiences that meet your standards and exceed your expectations.

Exclusive Access

US OWNED, MEXICO BASED

We provide coveted access to people, places, and information that are otherwise unattainable. A permanent resident of Mexico, our founder Clayton Szczech is accepted and respected in the regions where he lives and works. This linguistic and cultural fluency opens doors for our guests, who gain a genuine experience of Mexico and a deeper connection to the tradition that fills every bottle.

 

Our guests explore all facets of agave spirits distillation, from the cultivation and harvesting of agave, to the private tasting rooms of the oldest and best distilleries in Mexico. We explore a wide range of production methods—from the most traditional and artisanal to modern facilities where efficiency and quality are found in balance. Guests will learn from master distillers, look behind the scenes, and taste directly from the still. 

We remain brand independent in order to focus solely on the interests of our guests. We enjoy thriving relationships with distillers in various regions, and strive to maximize your exposure to active production in different regional traditions and techniques. Beholden to none, we maintain maximum integrity and flexibility.

Small Inclusive Groups

ALL ARE WELCOME

We believe the best way to learn about the world is to experience it firsthand. We limit the size of our experiences to ten guests (maximum) to ensure everyone can hear, see, and participate in each moment.

We  do not align with group tour mentality and therefore have created experiences that afford traditionally individual travelers the opportunity to enjoy intuitive hospitality, unmatched professionalism and the highest standard of expertise within the framework of a laid-back environment.

We welcome and celebrate human diversity to create an inclusive experience. Our groups quickly establish a comfortable social dynamic, due to the intimate nature of our experiences, the social skills of our staff, and a shared interest in Mexican spirits.

FEATURED PRESS

Ready To Experience Agave?

You’ve been redirected to Experience Agave

The new home of Experience Tequila/Mezcal.

After ten years, we’ve rebranded and moved all of our tours to one website for clarity and ease of booking. Welcome!

Clayton Szczech

Origin:
Bakersfield, California

Languages spoken:
English, Spanish + beginning Nahuatl

Agave spirit of choice:
High proof Blancos

Clayton Szczech

Founder + Tour Leader

Equal parts scholar, evangelist, and nerd, Clayton is a full time agave spirits culture specialist who believes that agave spirits should be sipped and savored, their history and culture absorbed and appreciated, and their regions of origin explored. This ideology led him to create a new category of agave spirits tourism in Mexico. He set the benchmark for the highest standard of professionalism in his industry and continues to expand his access, connections and influence into all facets of the agave spirits world.

Fluent both linguistically and culturally, his dedication to Mexico has flourished over the past 25 years. It began as an affinity for the Spanish language and developed into an active exploration of culture where he discovered that agave spirits are not just a beverage—but a place, history and tradition.

Growing up in Bakersfield, California, Clayton pushed against social norms and embraced the marginalized. As a high school punk rocker and wannabe cholo he became obsessed with learning Spanish, sparking his interest in all things Mexico. At age 17—accompanied by a machete and a friend—he crossed the border on foot and never stopped going back to Mexico, eventually relocating there permanently.

As a recent immigrant to Mexico, Clayton began exploring and tasting tequila at home, noting the wide range of flavor and quality. He read everything he could find about tequila, in both English and Spanish and with piqued curiosity traveled to the village of Tequila, Jalisco. He was immediately compelled to create an experience to share Tequila and its traditional elixir, with the world. In 2008, rooted in his personal exploration, he combined the best of what he had discovered with his love of storytelling and hospitality into a tequila tasting tour and founded Experience Agave. He continued to explore all agave spirits and their culture, leading him to very quickly add mezcal tours in Oaxaca and more recently raicilla tours in Jalisco.

Clayton is proud to be a global interpreter of and voice for agave spirits. He is certified as an Experto en Tequila and the only non-Mexican national to earn the Tequila Regulatory Council’s prestigious “Double-T” certification.

When he’s not traveling the world speaking about, consulting on or tasting agave spirits, he can be found hosting custom experiences for Experience Agave guests, curating the spirits selection at La Cata, or serving as a tasting judge or consultant for agave spirits festivals.