S2.C9: Bartender Work Program – with Cate Czerwinski

In this chapter we are joined by Cate, a tequila nerd and wonderful conversation partner. She gave us some insight into her experiences at the Fortaleza bartender program last year – a trip that let her experience the hard work, craftsmanship and arts of creating Agave spirits first hand. (If you want to learn more about Fortaleza, you can listen to our episode with Don Guillermo here.) She also shared some amazing spirits from her personal collection with us, one of them a “dusty bottle” of Herradura which gave Diego some serious goosebumps. Enjoy!

Photos from the recording:

Diego, Albert, Cate & our silent contributors

Photos from Cate’s trip:

Explore further:

Fact checks:

  • Fortaleza uses their own family yeast and no accelerators
  • Herradura was purchased by Brown-Forman Corporation in 2007
  • El Tesero: “Don Felipe” is Carlos, Lily, Jenny, and Felipe’s grandfather, not father. Theirs Dad’s name was also Felipe, but he wasn’t “Don Felipe”.

Not mentioned on the Show:

Reach out:

Season 2, Chapter 1: Jalisco – with Christian Schrader Goette from Agavera

Our guest today is Christian Schrader Goette from Agavera, an online shop around Mexican culture.

He comes from Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco and we are using this opportunity to talk about spirits from this region – which is so much more than “just” Tequila.

Christian is also the organizer of Agave Hub, which will take place in Berlin on October 8th.

Correction: During our conversation we made a mistake while talking about the aging of Tequila and Mezcal (they have the same regulation): Blanco: unaged Reposado: at least 2 months and until one year in contact with wood Añejo: more than 1 year in contact with wood

And in the case of Tequila there is an extra category called “extra añejo” which requires more than 3 years in contact with wood.

Christian & Diego

The spirits we tasted

Show Notes

The evolution of Agave in Jalisco

New machinery

Movies

Ismael Rodriguez: Nosotros los pobres & Ustedes los ricos

Book

AGUA DE LAS VERDES MATAS, Jose Luis Vera Cortes

https://www.gandhi.com.mx/agua-de-las-verde-matas-tequila-y-mezcal

Tutsi

Ancestral distilled from Wixarika Culture, traditionally made for ceremonies, rituals and festivals. For the Wixarikas, the Tutsi is not just a drink, it is an entity that is given life.