A virtual program platform for the times – Conversations in Agave

What happens when the world is forced to shut down and all of the usual gathering places and events to learn about agave spirits are shuttered? Well, we get creative and put together an online program platform of interactive talks and demos with different personalities in the world of agave spirits and do what we do best, foster and grow a mezcal community. Through webinars on Zoom and Instagram live events on our @Mexicoinabottle Instagram feed, Conversations in Agave is intended to create of virtual experience that mirrors our in person events as we are forced to keep our social distance from one another.

Our programs include a Monday Masterclass, a Wednesday Behind the Bar, a Friday music adventure, and a Sunday live art experience.

Masterclass features authoritative personalities from all over the agave industry, from brand owners and ambassadors, to educators and consultants. Each session does a deep dive into its theme, which may be a region, new products, food pairing, or a brand story during a 20-30 minute presentation, with time for Q&A afterwards. Designed to be digestible and informative, these conversations are a way to plug in to the agave community even when we can’t share a copita in person. Have a topic you want to learn more about, or a personal you’d like to see featured? Let us know!

Behind the Bar features talks and demos with the people who have made mezcal such an integral part of our bar experience – Bartenders. With unique perspectives on trends, and an intimate understanding of how to frame and highlight the complex flavors of agave, they are invaluable sources of information, and often times an absolute pleasure to chat with. The 20 minute presentations, followed by Q&A, feature a range of topics from some of the best agave-centric bartenders in the field, offering an exclusive way of connecting while supporting them during a difficult time.

The April schedule is as follows:

Masterclass

• April 6 – Rion Toal of Maestros del Mezcal and Khrys Maxwell, former Tequila Fortaleza agave educator dive into the what, how, where of agave distillation
• April 13 – Francisco Terrazas of Mezcal Vago talks all things terroir – the land, water and mezcalero hands that create the different flavors of their mezcal
• April 20 – Michael Hurley of Borderland Spirits discusses the ins and outs of Bacanora
• April 27 – Raza Zaidi of Wahaka Mezcal and Back Alley Imports takes us back to mezcal’s roots – pulque, and their new project Juerte

Behind the Bar

• April 8 – Jose Marie Donde of Panorama mezcal dishes on the mezcal scenes in New York and Miami
• More to come

Music+Art

• April 3 – Mexico in a Bottle musical curator DJ Mafondo will be spinning sets on IG Live from his homebase in San Diego. Grab your mezcalito and join us Friday nights for a mezcal-inspired musical journey.
• April 5 – Chicago muralist and architect Juan de La Mora will be spending Sundays with us on IG Live as he transforms the brick walls of his basement into a mural inspired by mezcal and painted with charcoal from the oven of a palenque. Tune in to learn about his process and watch the mural develop. Later on in the month, we’ll be bridging music and art for a live conversation between DJ Mafondo and Juan, and a combined painting and DJ session!
• Follow us on Instagram @Mezcalistas and @Mexicoinabottle where we will be posting more dates, guests and times.

You can sign up for our April Conversations in Agave talks here. It is a pay what you can model, with no one turned away for lack of funds. Funds raised will be used to support programming and our bartender and artist guests.