More Than Tequila – Agave spirits around the world. Review

More Than Tequila - Agave spirits around the world

More Than Tequila – Agave spirits around the world

Tequila Afficionado led by Mike Morales and Lisa Pietsch  is a journalism/marketing company with an absolutely stunning productivity. They publish the “Tequila Afficionado Magazine”, run the multitude of channels on Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and about every thinkable other SoMe channel. They have recently, in super rapid speed published an entire series of books  Profiles in Agave Spirits featuring a lot of the “mover and shakers” in the industry.

More Than Tequila – Agave spirits around the world” is a book about all the other agave spirits which are not mezcal or tequila.

Over 86 page and 7 chapters the author takes a closer look into all the other agave spirits around the world.

Content

1: introduction:

Tequila, Mezcal, Sotol, Bacanora, Raicilla, Pulque, Comiteco, Sikua, Tuxca
Brands: Dos Vulcanes, Los Osuna, Revel Avila,

2: Eucador & Peru

Chawar Miske, Aqara,

3: Venezula

Cocuy

4: USA

IXA, JB Wagoner, Crotalo

5: South Africa

Leonista, 4th rabbit, Hope

6: Australia

Pinche, Auscal

7: New Zealand, Brazil

TeKiwi

8: Epilogue. – Musings on the current state of tequila.

With a short introduction to the main agave categories, Morales takes us on a tour around the world where different agave spirits are being enjoyed, developed and invented. The above list is not entirely exhaustive.

What makes this book stick out, is the approach to the subject. Each country and spirit comes with a small historic introduction. These lessons in history lends a lot of really good background to the different distilleries, brands and categories.

Take for instance chapter 3, which is about the venezuelan “Cucuy”. The chapter starts with quite a lenghthy introduction to venzuelan history, politics and the current state. This provides an excellent background info for the article on “Cucoy” and puts the spirit into a much better context with the cultural history of other agave spirits.

Leonista, South African Agave spirit

Leonista, South African Agave spirit

The last and 8th chapter, “Epilogue” takes a close look on the current situation of Tequila. I believe this chapter is very much what we need to have as a must-read in all the many Facebook tequila groups where there a lots and lots of opinons, but very few actual numbers and facts. Morales makes some valid points regarding the problems with denomination vs biodiversity and makes some really interesting suggestions about the options for the tequila industry.

While this is not an academic publication, it is a well researched and exciting book which generates a lot of inspiration!

The book can be found here:

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