Although mezcal has been the next big thing since at least 2008, even seasoned spirits professionals are still trying to wrap their heads around what exactly it is and why everyone is talking about it. When we hear the word “mezcal”, we imagine a rustic, handmade spirit. And much of it is that. But not all of it. That’s just one of the myths that we’ll dispel in this session, presented by Golden Spirits Award-winner Lou Bank. In a series of eight neat pours, the founder of SACRED will illustrate that mezcal can be made in an industrial way, and that there’s a place in the market for that industrial spirit. He’ll illustrate what an artisanal mezcal is, and what an ancestral mezcal is, and how they are different. He’ll explain why the agave is a particularly unique sugar source for spirits, and how the plant’s unique qualities also fuel debates among industry professionals as to what is and is not sustainable.
Lou Bank
Lou Bank has sold more copies of a single comic book than anyone else in America. He helped bring Pokemon to the masses, Star Wars to the cereal aisle, and Morimoto to the beer geeks. But you’re here because he founded SACRED, a USA-based, 501c3 not-for-profit that uses traditional and artisanal agave spirits from rural Mexico to help improve the quality of life in the communities where those spirits are made. Lou is also the co-host of Agave Road Trip, a podcast that helps gringo bartenders better understand agave, agave spirts, and rural Mexico.