Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, I'm excited about this brand interview. Tonight we're talking to Juan Pina, the owner of a Mezcal brand and a Tequila brand. And he's going to talk about both of them, the production style of both of these products, how they came to be, some stories of this amazing label. So stick around and check this one out. I think you're going to love it.
Hey, man, I'm excited about being here. How about you, Juan? How's your day going today?
[00:00:32] Speaker B: My day is amazing. Really cannot complain and I'm looking forward to have the conversation with you, Brett.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: I'm so excited to have you on. Your bottles are so cool and I so want to learn the story.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: Oh, I love to tell you everything there is to. Well, what, what, you know, everything that we've gone through to create these two brands. And we just continue to keep going and created more.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: But yeah, well, let's do this for everybody. Tell everybody, like, who you are and how you got into Tequila. Like, what's your Tequila journey? When did you first find out that you had this love for agave spirits?
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Well, my name is Juan Pena. I am the CEO, co founder of Esperance Consultants and Experience Consultings, is actually the owner of Prolijo Mezcal, now Prolijo Tequila and Tierra Nivertad. And it's just such a cool thing that we've created. I'm from Mexico City. I live now in Illinois. My mom and dad both are indigenous of the land in Mexico. My dad is Purepecha, my mom is Otomi. And I just grew up in a household full of agave spirits, you know, from the Coca Cola bottles, the plastic bottles. And really when I grew up there really there was no age, legal age to drink. I guess it was just, you can have it. And it was dead. And every once in a while, my, either my mom or my dad and a special moment like, you know, let's have a little toast. But grew up with that and, you know, came to United States kind of my education in advertising and after a few years, you know, really had something about starting a business and being. Because we wanted to start a marketing company and that, that really didn't come into play.
But what we did, my business partner and I, Katie Rachel, we really decided to create a brand and we wanted to create the brand and we actually, we started with. With the Mezcal brand just because we wanted to create a. A brand. And then we were going to pour our, our strategy and social media, marketing, communications, you name it. And we came up With a prolific. Really, the love of agave has always been there. Basically, for us, starting with the mezcal really made sense at the time, since there were, like, so many thousand thousands of tequila brands. And so we started with the Mezcal brand and, you know, there were not many, and we just became one more. That was seven, eight years ago. We're gonna turn seven, seven years now. We are. We're still growing, we're independent. We are very excited.
You know, today, many of the brands started with us. Some of them are no longer available, but we're still here. We're still in the fight. But rather than being a fight, it's more of a learning process for us. Every day is a learning, and we get the chance to meet new people, to create new ideas, and really to. For me, I guess, like, one of the things that fulfilled me the most is, is I always say that as I'm going, you're going to hear that I'm in the business of so many things. But, you know, one of the things that I. That I really. I'm passionate about is about creating relationships. Relationship with people that are not just business partner relationship or business relationships is bigger than that. You know, can be a friendship, can be just knowing something, and, you know, really get to know people out there. We started with Prolijo Mezcal, and really that's where everything began. And we wanted to create something special. When my business partner and I started going to Oaxaca, because my dad is the one who knew people in Oaxaca through the indigenous groups down there. He's the one who pointed us down there. So we did. But once we figured out what we really wanted, she and I, we actually came up with a strategy which was to create at the time, was to produce mezcal with cultural conscience. So the two of them had to be together side by side. It cannot just be one or the other one. It has actually to be the two of them. What that means that, you know, a large percentage of the mezcal that gets produced in Mexico is mostly from Oaxaca. And Oaxaca, even though it produces a lot of mezcal and other things, food, you name it, spices, is the second poorest state in Mexico.
So for us, for me, you know, coming from the indigenous family, that. That really didn't resonate really well with me. And so with that in mind, we just started, like, thinking, like, how can we do something a little bit different? We're not going to be. Well, first of all, we don't have the capital to change an economy. I don't have the capital to change my own economy, let alone try to change the economy for a full state in Mexico. But what we decided was rather than buying the raw materials from big corporations, we really decided to work with local families, families that have the poles down in Mexico. And so we started buying the bottles through them, corks, you name it, the lasso, the boxes, everything. And so that helps us to be in touch with.
With our producers, whether it's the mezcal or the raw materials and so on. But at the same time, somebody in between is generating some income. So that's very cool for us. Our printers are in Mexico. The printer for the mezcal is in Oaxaca for the tequila certain Guadalajara. Just basically that. But everything is, you know, hand placed on the bottle of prolijo. So we started with despadine, Then we started growing little by little, not full on, because again, we are independent. So the resources for us to really go on like a big brand, just to create a massive amount of bottles, it wasn't there. And so I think that we started learning from the beginning what it really meant to grow as a brand, not only going into different states, but, but also growing the portfolio. And we were really careful in everything that we did. And so we started growing with some wild agave, see how the market reacted. But we were no longer, you know, by all means, we're not a brand who's following the next brand, see what they're. What they're doing. Everything that we do is because we like the product. We believe that that is something that people are going to enjoy, most importantly.
But any other than that, for us, mezcal is not so much a smokiness.
So the way that we see mezcal, the agave plant, is finished product.
We want the consumer to have, first of all, to have a, you know, an experience with the nose, to really know where the plant grew up, where it come from, like smell the vegetal from the plant. Also what are the flavor profiles. So in other instances, we say want the consumer to have a conversation or the agave to have a conversation with the consumer's palate and really enjoy and find the notes. And each sip is going to be different. And finally it's going to be a little smoky just because it's roasted inside the ground. So the production for mezcal is different than tequila, even though a tequila is a type of mezcal. But because mezcal, we don't have, you know, like, history and a paper that we can say, you know, mezcal Started such a year and, you know, so on, because what we know that it happened in Mexico with the Spaniards and so on. But Mezcal started.
Started being produced, I believe, thousands of years ago.
How, we don't know.
The University of Mexico City, they found a clay pot in the ground which said that that little clay pot goes as far as over a thousand years. But they found the agave distilled residues kind of interesting, right?
And for us is, you know, Mezcal has a sort of like romanticism when you go down to the Palenques and Oaxaca, and I can tell you only about Oaxaca because that's where we bring our product from. The sense of romanticism when, you know, the agave is being roasted, is being fermented, it's quiet and you hear the, you know, the noise of the burn, the wood being burned and, you know, the chipping of the wood and distillation, it's just. It just. It allows you to really relax and it's. It's beautiful. I will invite anybody, everybody to go down there and really go down there and visit and, you know, because it's a beautiful experience. Different than tequila. But I'm not saying different because one is better than the other one. They're just different.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: Just different.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: Yeah. And, you know, so rustic, you know, almost. One is technology and the other one is not technology.
Our batches are way smaller than tequila. 400 liters, 300 liters at the time.
The goddess, you know, you. You have a rainbow of agaves. Really. The agaves that grow, you know, they take 6 to 10 years to mature, all the way to 25, 35 years to mature. And each agave is going to provide you with a different profile, nose and so on, and that. All different.
And so that's how we started with Prolifico Mezcal. And then, you know, later, well, you don't know, but what I was saying is that Tierre Libertad is a combination between another business partner of mine, Cesar, Katie and I, and we came together to really partner with agave Conquista, now 1577, a unique distillery, because this distillery has the kosher certification as well as the USDA organic certification. So that in itself is just mind blowing because I would have never thought, to me, it's like kosher, like it's just agave.
But my ignorance didn't know that. Right. So in the process with him is very cool. You know, the agave is. And I'll go back into the process for Mezcal, but the process for this tequila in Particular tierra never is fully mature agave from the central valley of Jalisco 25 to between 25 and 30 bricks of sugar.
It gets roasted in a stone brick oven, which is kind of cool with pressurized heat or steam. Then once it's fully roasted, this agave, then it goes through a milling process and basically it squishes the agave like oranges and squeezing the juice out. From there the juice goes into tanks, stainless steel tanks, and it gets fermented with natural agaves created in the house and agave conquista. But everything is close and it has to be because of the kosher certification.
And then from there it gets fully fermented and it gets distilled twice in stainless and copper alembic. One of the things that goes into this process is that the fiber is never going to the fermentation because it will produce just a lot of alcohol. But some of the fibers get placed into the Capernaumic just to get that little green vegetable, nice consistency and aromas from, from the roasted agave. And I just love that. I love that it's a 90 proof 45 ABV tequila and it's just so smooth, but yet so full of flavors and aromas. It is quite different and interesting. The process just going back to, you know, not going to digress much, and the mezcal, but the process of mezcal, it is different. You know, the agave gets frosted in the ground where there is going to be a fire underneath the agave, but the fire is never going to touch the agaves. And there is a hole really in the middle. And so you cover the, you place the garbage on top and then you're going to cover it with dirt and then you have like some tarps and it's going to have like a little hole in the middle, in the middle. And then you're going to pour a couple buckets of cold water to put out the fire. And then you cover it, you cover the whole. So that's going to be this combustion of heat which is what's going to roast agave. And so that really is what gives it a little bit of the smokiness to the agave. But it's very mild, not a whole lot. And then from there it gets.
[00:14:25] Speaker A: How long does it take to cook?
[00:14:26] Speaker B: It just depends. It depends on the temperature because you know, there is really a nonsense set day. You know, it can take a couple days, it can take three days, and it's all depends, sometimes four days. And it also depends on the Temperature, because all of the, all of this process is outdoors. So it's not like an enclosed space, at least with the producers that we work with. So if it is cold, it takes longer. If it is hot, it takes less time and so on. The same thing for the fermentation, because once it's fully roasted, it gets placed into the taona with the little donkey going around. Then we grab the fibers from the taona and then we'll toss it in open pine wood. It's about 1,000 liters. And then we put the fibers almost to the top. And then we fill it up with hot water.
Those sugars on the fibers that were being crushed and they were crushed on the. And the fibers, they're going to be nice and tight on the fibers. And with the hot water generates the fermentation process by himself. And then once it's fully fermented, the way to know if it is fermented is like baking bread. You put it in a stick.
If it is dry, it's good to go. And if it is a little wet, same way it's not ready yet, which, that. It just blows my mind. And it still does every time. And then from there, once it's fully fermented, you're gonna get about 5% of alcohol already within that can that contain it. And then we'll take everything into a 420 liter copper alambique and then we distill it twice. The water is well watered. You know, the water in Oaxaca is super high in minerals. Very high in minerals. It's almost like when you drink that water and then you rub your teeth and it's almost like it turns like sandpaper your teeth. Because it's very high in minerals. So it's completely different way of producing this agave spirit. But, you know, to just go back, I think, I hope I didn't digress too much. But why into this thing, into the agave world? It's, it's just, it's beautiful. It's, you know, because it begins in agriculture. That's really where it began, where it all be. Well, because it starts with the seed. And to. To get those seeds, we need the bats that we all know. Because once the, you know, the, the, the agave, because it gets the Kyoto twice a year, no, twice in their life of the agave. So one is in the middle, the second one is like when it's fully mature, it grows the kyote, it has the flowers on top. The bats, they come and eat the sugars. And because they don't have teeth. They swallow the. The. The. The seeds and it starts flying around. They do the trappings. You can see sometimes you're driving and you see in the mountains, agave is just coming from the side of the. How did he get in there? Well, it wasn't. It's the bat who did it there. Because as the seed is going down through the. The is passing through the bat's body, the body puts a film around that seed which keeps the moist almost up to 30 days.
Unbelievable. Wow. So the why, I think is it just. It only made sense for us mainly because, you know, somebody said to me, it's like, what are you doing Mezcal? You should not do Mezcal. You should sell in Tequila. And I said, I don't know. I said, like, to me, it's like I just come from that world, you know, like something that is handmade. And to me, that just makes sense. And that's what we started. And so, you know, we started. Our next project was Tierra Libertad, as I go back. But I think that we didn't start at the Tequila, just because to my knowledge, I didn't know that tequila and the process that I, you know, just described for Tierro Libertad was even available, to be quite frank with you, using the Stonebreak Ovens, Capitol and Peaks. But again, I'm saying just this out of ignorance and again, just because, to be quite frank, I worked an advertising agency and I was part of the team and the team who helped launch Tequila El Radura, Tequila El Jimador globally.
So everything that I knew, I'm like, it's just not what I think it is.
And that's what we started with Mezcal and then we started with Tequila. But I think that we are.
What we want to do as a brand is that for us, we want to put all the production process on the bottle so people see who grew the agave, who was distilling the juice, who created the tequila, what was the process, and so on. And I think that that's more important for me than anything else. I mean, the juice is great, but to me, it's like, I want people to know who made it.
[00:19:55] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:19:56] Speaker B: Many times I've seen, you know, other products, I'm like, who made this thing? Right. Yeah.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: But how did you meet up with nom 1577? Did you, like, talk to a lot of distilleries or what was your process there?
[00:20:11] Speaker B: So my business partner, Cesar, is the one who had the connection because he used to work for the Mexican government promoting the tequila around the world.
So he's the one with. With that job. He made a lot of connections and he got to meet a lot of people, and a lot of people met him and he just. Very knowledgeable of.
Of, you know, of the business.
He just started his own distillery in Sinaloa. So this is going to be the second Mezcal distillery in Sinaloa.
When he told me, I'm like, sinaloa? He's like, yeah, like, we used to make a lot of Mezcal here, but it was through Cesar, who how we got to get mean 1577. And I gotta tell you, I love it. You know, people are great. They're super good people, and I just love that. And when I brought the project to Armando, he was like, you know, we can put the label by, you know, through a machine and it goes through here. I said, armando, I said, would it be possible to place the label by hand?
He was like, but it's going to take more time.
And he goes, but, but if that's what you want, sure. It's like, we're here to, like, help you. And so the label is placed by hand. You know, they. They call me the first time and say, like, the labels are a little crooked. I said, I love it. Yeah, more crooked the better. Like, I don't want them to be perfect. It's not meant to be perfect. You know why it's not meant to be perfect? Bread. Because it is an artisanal product.
Every batch is going to be similar.
[00:21:55] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:21:56] Speaker B: But as we know, I can make a mistake today and I can make another steak tomorrow. It's not going to be the same.
[00:22:02] Speaker A: Well, and the fermentation is going to have different temperatures, and the agave is grown in different places, and so those changes are always going to be there. Tell me about the label. Tell me. I know there's a lot of meaning here, so I would love for you to explain what the meaning behind it is and then how you came up with the name and this label and your story on this bottle.
[00:22:25] Speaker B: So when I was talking to Cesar and we started, you know, talking, and I said, this tequila, can I just be a last name? It has to have a deeper meaning in this thing.
Cesar and I, we are. We're alike.
Loves the culture, loves everything.
He's deep in knowledge and history and so on. And he said, look, I said, I had this name that I trademarked a long time ago, and it's called Tierre Nivertar, which is land and liberty. That phrase it was utilized in the Mexican Revolution of 1910.
And the one who utilized that word or that phrase was Emiliano Zapata, General next to Pancho Villa. But actually, that phrase comes actually from France. That's the line that they utilized under the French Revolution, and it got picked up in Mexico. The reason why we.
The design is of the silhouette of a female. It really was to pay respect to all the ladies that fought under the Mexican Revolution. Some people may think the men are the only ones who fought. But these ladies, they were wives, they were mothers. They took care of their kids, their husbands, they cooked, they did whatever they had to do. But in addition to that, when it was time to go to the battle, to battle, they also grabbed guns and rifles and they went and fought shoulder to shoulder to shoulder along with men. So to me, it's like. That just blows my mind.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:24:17] Speaker B: Yeah. You know, because in my household, not because my dad was weak or anything like that, but my mom, she was always would want to do this. Taking charge. Taking charge, you know, and consulting my dad. But she was just, we're doing this, we're doing that. This is the dinner, this is that. And to me, it's like, I gotta believe that it has to be with. You know, I can really not generalize, but I'm like, I just remember those moments when I saw my mom taking charge of situations. And when I saw this. My mom has had long head. Same thing with my grandma being indigenous. And they, you know, they. They will have, like, the ponytails or, you know, the side ones. And it was just incredible seeing to see. Would take them hours to do their hair, but that's what we came up with. The silhouette of the label. And I just wanted an image that will disrupt, you know, the market out there. Simple, yet, you know, captivating. And to open a conversation at the same time.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: And an amazing purpose behind it like that. That's such a cool story. When I first seen it, the first thing I did was Google, what the heck is this bottle? You know, and what does. What's this about? And that's. I think that's one of the things that's so cool about Tequila is the stories that fall behind them that, you know, there's a family, a tradition, there's a belief, there's something there that's being represented. And to learn about it, it's. That's pretty awesome. That's. It's a very cool bottle. It's a great label. I like how you have, like, a rustic type paper.
[00:25:47] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: You know, everything looks, you know, really cool and then the story on the back, you know, that explains a lot of what you explained is very cool. Now, how did you land at a higher proof? Coming in at a. I think this is what, a 90 coming in at a 90 proof versus doing a regular.
[00:26:04] Speaker B: 80 proof because of the world of Mezcal, Really. This is what I know about agave world. And I'm not going to say that I'm an expert on tequila, but I do have a lot of knowledge when it comes to the gab in general. When you. Here's the other thing. We don't use any types of any, any for the tequila nor the Mezcal. We don't do utilize activated charcoal diffusers. We don't believe, we don't believe in none of that. The best way that I tell people is like, you know, it's like if you make mole and then mole or like a nice salsa and then you dilute it with water to wash out a lot of the flavors. Just because it's going to be smoother.
To me, I don't, you know, because the cooking of my mom and the cooking of my aunts and the cooking of Oaxac, you know, where it is, like very rural areas, is raw. It is, it's just so bold and flavors. And, you know, that's the reason why Oaxaca, you know, some of the top chefs around the world, they go to Oaxaca to get spices and learn and flavors. And why this and why that? Because all those beautiful flavors that the Mexican cuisine has.
So for me, what I know is that when agave has, or any spirit, whether it's tequila, Mezcal, you know, raisi and so on, the more alcohol the bottle has, you're gonna use less water.
And so it's gonna have much more flavors due to the waxes of the, of the agave, the sugars.
And that is more special to me because really what I'm putting in, what I'm drinking is the actual agave spirit. And so the more alcohol, the more flavorful it's going to be. And it's also, it's going to be more smoother. That's my view on it completely. There's going to be other people that disagree with that, and that's fine. But as you can see, 90 proof. Smooth, smooth.
You know, it's like here, my wife is like, don't drink the profit.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I, I would be drinking the profit, I'm telling you.
[00:28:17] Speaker B: I know. You know, but that's, that's. To me, that's that's why the 90 proof.
That's why. And it's like everything, right? There is no clear science to something. Everything has a reason to be, and it has a purpose to be as well.
If I were gonna say all gallery spirits, they need to be 40 ABV, I will be lying. Because again, it's about really understanding the agricultural portion of it here. I hope I don't deviate much, but, for example, the new tequila for Prolijo out of Nome 1626, that agave comes from Nayari, and it has 35 bricks. So it has so much flavor to it. They were launching it at 43 ABV, lower than 45. But the thing in there is that it just has so much sugar in it, so much, and it has so much flavor that, you know, there are other techniques being utilized in there through. Through the house that really cannot get into detail in there. Not because it's, you know, it's more like what they found and what we found and how to do this. This juice, which is tremendously delicious. I'll send you the bottle. Like, we just. We just got more product because it's, you know. But anyway, going back to that, that's the reason why the 90 proof.
[00:29:39] Speaker A: So was that this brand name as a tequila.
Look at that.
Okay, that's pretty exciting.
[00:29:47] Speaker B: Yeah, it is.
You know, we. We're about.
And there are two different processes, right?
This one is the same process or similar process that it used to be made about 400 years ago.
[00:30:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:30:04] Speaker B: Tombre coven Ona.
[00:30:07] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:30:08] Speaker B: Open fermentation with wild agave yeast, distilling stainless steel, small batch. And, you know, it's just completely. From this one. This one came first.
[00:30:19] Speaker A: Right.
[00:30:19] Speaker B: This one came second. And this is again, Cesar Nua Miguel Rios from 1726. And, you know, it completely breaks what I just told you about this one.
[00:30:34] Speaker A: Right?
[00:30:35] Speaker B: The norm. You know, it's like. And so. But. But that's what we are, you know, finding things. And again, it's also coming from the world, Mezcal, which allow us to always keep working at it, always keep, you know, trying to refine the techniques, whether just, you know, versus just saying this is it.
And.
And I think that's the coolest portion of this world, of the agave world. I mean, I love to see, you know, to get into the world of racia, which is a completely different animal. That's a different animal. We call that one in Mexico, or they call in Mexico that one, the stinky, stinky one. It smells like blue cheese.
[00:31:23] Speaker A: Like Feta cheese, it's got a real malolactic smell to it, yet a very sweet flavor. The ones that I've had were malolactic in smell. And then this really sweet agave, it had all of those minerals and it was very vegetal. And it was just the, the two that I had blew me away.
[00:31:42] Speaker B: Yes, menolectic is not bad. It's just when people ask me, get asked a lot of questions and sometimes I say, I honestly don't know. But what I do try to tell, to share is what was the technique utilized to. For that spirit? Because for a while somebody was saying, oh, you know, the mezcal from San Luis Potosi is the best. I'm like, why? Because it's not smoking. Well, they use the same metal, the oven, if you will, that is being utilized for some tequilas, sandmetal. So it doesn't have none of the smokiness, but it's just a different technique. But I can tell you the, the once I started like putting in front of individuals, the mezcals, when I was putting them, I had to learn the market right away. I didn't give it to people who drink tequila. I give it to people who drink scotch whiskey, bourbons. They're the ones who like, I love it. Different market, different, different way of going about it. But again, what was your thought on the pestate?
[00:32:48] Speaker A: I love it. The very first time I drank it and the very first nose I got the smoke right, I could smell it, I knew it was there. And I told you when we talked the first time that I'm. That's the thing that the ones that are super smoky, they, they wipe me out. So I, I had the first taste, a little bit of smoke, but I got this sweetness behind it. And the. I can't put my finger on the taste, but it's almost like a grape flavor, like, like a dried fruit, grapeish type flavor. So I, then I was like, what was that? Like, that was really good. And then from there I told my wife, we were watching TV and I poured a pretty good sized glass and as I sipped through it, the smoke disappeared. Like the smoke wasn't there anymore. I didn't even pick it up. I couldn't smell it anymore. And I started getting all of these different flavors that some were fruity, some were floral, some were like really bright. And then some, some, in some cases there was like a thickness to the mouth feel.
[00:33:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:53] Speaker A: That like changed even some of the flavors again. And I'd go back to that. I, I don't know what flavor it is, but it's almost like grape. It's like. Like a little bit of a grape flavor. And I got up and, I mean, you can tell. I. I got up and poured another glass, and I didn't pour it in these little glasses. I. I had my big Bertha glass that I drank out of. And, you know, my wife's like, I can't believe you're sitting over there just drinking Mezcal. And I was like, I can't either, but it is really good. So this is only the second one that I've ever had that I really can tell you. I enjoyed all of the flavors that I found in it. And the smoke wasn't overbearing, that one.
[00:34:33] Speaker B: Let me just tell you a little bit about it, about that. The pestat in particular.
So this plant, Holy cow. Takes between 25 to 35 years to mature, is probably one of the oldest agaves in Mexico.
Really cannot say it is the oldest.
Now, depending what it grows, it could take less time. It could take more time because none of these agaves, the wild agaves, are farmed. Mother nature does this thing, elevation, you know, is it behind the mountain where the wind goes by, or is it in front of it? There is a lot of. I probably wouldn't say science to it, but there is. It's like. It's like grapes. We call it Mexico. Mezcal. We call. It's our wine because similarities. It doesn't grow on a tree, grows in the ground. But each plant is different, and so this one grows in a very rough situation.
Imagine being for so long in the ground where all these plants are doing is crushing the minerals of the ground. And, you know, it just takes very little to grow because the okuranis, most of the ground. And where agave grows is some areas are volcanic areas, Some other ones are semi volcanic areas. So imagine how hard the ground is. It's very hard. So for so long, it was just there in the ground, taking very little amounts of water because there is no irrigation system. If it rains, great. But I can tell that Oaxaca is pretty hot during the winter.
It's pretty hot down there.
So the only way that, you know, these plants retain the water is through the morning dew, because these are female plants. So. And, you know, during the night, the leaves or the pancas open their pores, and the morning dew is really what, you know, like, wet them a little bit, and that's what they collect. That's why it takes so long to grow up to this thing. And that's why, because it has those, you know, it grows in a very rough way. You know, the agave really protects himself by producing fine sugars. And those fine sugars is really everything. Alcohol level, flavors, profiles, you know, each sip is going to be different. It is just yummy. And it's. That one is a 96 proof and.
[00:37:11] Speaker A: It doesn't, it doesn't drink like, like, like if you had a, if you had a Scotch that was 96 proof, it would burn all the way down to your stomach. And yeah, this, you get a little heat in the mouth, you get a little heat in the back of the mouth, but by the time you swallow it, that heat is gone. Like the fires in the front and, and it's really smooth and, you know, really easy to drink in the back. And yeah, I, I couldn't tell that it was, you know, any higher proof than, you know, any regular tequila that I would drink. Right, Here's a question. You know, these are blancos and I know that it's not super common to have age spirits in mezcals. I know that the. Usually the ones that are is because a family was storing the mezcal in a barrel to have with the family. Right. So are you doing any repos or anejos with your mescal?
[00:38:04] Speaker B: With the mezcal, we have one repo and it's a high proof mezcal. It comes in a 92.
Okay, so 46 ABV, we only bought five barrels, brand new, charged for 15 minutes, level two.
We set the Mezcalindera 98.
No 48 ABB came out as a 46 and change is really not exact, but we just found out the numbers in that and.
But that's the repo that we have now for Tierra Nevertad is a right now just because the name is land and Liberty. The plan is to not make repos or anejos. The plan is just to almost play like mezcal. Different levels and techniques of blancos.
As I have mentioned to you before, there is a new small batch that is coming for Tierra Nevertad 55 ABV. Those are my favorite 110 proof and it's already leaving Mexico in two weeks. You know, small batch is going to have the number of the bottle. We're super excited. The color is going to be similar color of the similar design, different information is gonna be the label a little bit pinkish, but you know, so that's. And then different technique, you know, adding some somewhere I can tell you this raw agave maybe Some semi cooked agave, you know, here and there. Because that's how people play. Years ago, they didn't know what they were doing.
They were just practicing. And we are doing just that. We're gonna play with this because it's playful. This is not, you know, like. And so part of the. And the other thing is that we're gonna start playing is so the. The small batch is coming from Nome 1626 Tequileria. Rios. So we're gonna start doing that between agave conquista and tequila rios. We're gonna start just playing, see what we came out of it. But yeah, you know, science to say it has to be this. I'm ignorant to that. And I think that sometimes plays well on our end because we just do things a little bit different. And I call it. I do call it ignorance, you know, because if I get to read and say it has to be this way, then, you know, we wouldn't. Yeah.
[00:40:47] Speaker A: But anyway, so the first time you sit down with some of these master distillers and you really have them start to explain and talk about the process. I have several that I've become friends with, and they're the conversations. There's a part where they get so passionate about the process and how many different ways there are to make different profiles of a tequila by even. Even, like with an autoclave, changing the time that you cook it in a low pressure autoclave and the amount of pressure that you use, and how you can make that agave sweeter, and then that tequila tastes different. And then you're like, wait a minute.
[00:41:23] Speaker B: Huh?
[00:41:23] Speaker A: Like, how did you come up with these different processes? And how do you make four tequilas at the same distillery? And all four of them taste, you know, different yet good. And to me, it's so interesting. The. The science behind it is so exciting. And I did have a really great master distiller tell me that a master distiller never makes a mistake. They only make a new profile. Now, it may not be a good profile, but it's a profile.
[00:41:52] Speaker B: I will concurrent that one definitely. This is what that is true. That is completely 100% good things in life.
Not all of them, but had been a mistake.
[00:42:07] Speaker A: Right?
[00:42:08] Speaker B: Pita chips, Potato chips. Right. Like the pita chips. Do you know the story about the pita chips? Right?
[00:42:15] Speaker A: Like, no.
[00:42:16] Speaker B: So I'm not gonna paraphrase it, but I guess like, some ladies who had, like, we're doing the nuns, they, you know, and then I guess they had like a big order and they didn't they ordered, they didn't got, didn't get executed. So they left it overnight and they got a little harder.
And so they put it. They roasted in an oven and they just. That's how peanut cheese came out.
[00:42:45] Speaker A: No kidding.
[00:42:46] Speaker B: Don't paraphrase me on that one. I probably shouldn't be saying that. That I really knew that that's what it was. But it was a mistake, you know, honest mistake. You know, something happened. And I think, I think that those are how, you know, because 10 years ago we were educated in a way that this is how tequila is made.
Mass produced, big brands, you know, that's only how it goes. And I think that today there is a lot of more people who are playing with, just trying new things. Mainly because thanks to you, thanks to all the agave clubs, I think you guys are the engine of this change.
Because, you know, somebody's like, I, you know, I tried this brand and it was like this. And somebody said, but that's the technique. That's what it's supposed to be. And you know, all these, you know, beautiful humans like you out there talking about, you know, being open to these, being open to that, grabbing bottles that I hear sometimes I never even seen. And then you try. Like this is worth trying. Try it. Just try it. And I think that that makes a big difference. That truly makes a big difference. Because otherwise I can tell you that I've done samplings when I just had the Mezcal. And you know, the people who went to buy tequila, they were just picking up what was commercial, what they knew. And I'm like, well, we'll never be able to beat these guys.
But now everything is changing. Everything is changing. And I think that is just. It is great to see because everybody, you know, when you talk to the different individuals in Mexico and some here in the United States, we all. Heavy stories about what our parents, grandparents used to drink, used to talk about Mezcal, Tequila, all of these spirits. And now it's like, well, let's try something different. And we don't have.
This is what I love too, about Data, right? Because coming from advertising, I remember that people will just say, well, people buy tequila just because Data says they want to shoot it and make margaritas with it. You can still do that. But there are so many brands out there today that, you know, they're worth trying. And I always tell people, whether it's a Mezcal or Tequila, try my brand, don't try my brand. Keep trying, keep trying. Different spirits, keep trying until you Know, there is a saying in Mexico for Mezcal. They said that we don't find mezcal. The mezcal finds us and then unites us.
[00:45:44] Speaker A: I've heard that.
[00:45:45] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's just such a beautiful thing to see. But, you know, the future for spirits, I think, is especially the Mexican spirits one day. It is vast. It is vast. I mean, when you look around and you look, for example, in France, how many spirits do they really have? Not many. Mexico, you have mezcal from the different states, and each state offers you something different. You have Resilla, Sotol, Charanda, bacanora, poach rums. Now they're making whiskeys down there. But just talking about the. The truly ethnic spirits of Mexico. There are a lot. There are several. And, you know, but that's where I am too.
[00:46:29] Speaker A: I love the tradition, and that's why I like doing this. Because there's one thing to see a bottle on the shelf. There's another thing to see a bottle on the shelf and know the story behind it. I love sharing the traditions of this. I so appreciate you doing this and taking the time and giving me some bottles to try out. I have a question I love to ask brand owners, because this is heart and soul. This is your. This is you as a. As an artist making your thing, right? So if you could sit down and take one of your bottles with you and drink and talk about your brand with anybody, who would you pick to do that and what would you bring? Would you bring the Mezcal? Would you bring the tequila? Would you bring both? And who's the person alive, dead, famous, whatever? Who Would you like to sit down and share this product?
[00:47:22] Speaker B: Oh, boy, that's a tough one. You know, I, you know, experience were made to, like, share and to generate that conversation if I could. And it's not alive anymore, but I can also tell you who to. I will probably have Johnny Cash.
[00:47:43] Speaker A: Wow, that'd be so cool.
[00:47:46] Speaker B: I will bring the two of them and sit down with Johnny Cash. And just what inspired you, you know, what makes you tick? I want to hear everything about you, because these things are art, you know, yet not created the juice by me, but the brands and who we work with and how we put everything around there and definitely, you know, I'm never gonna say that I am a.
The guy producing Ethereum by far. Not that guy. I'm not a Mescalero. I, you know, I'm not a Tequila. I trained the tequila. You know, I'm a marketer and. But. But, you know, Always with the idea of the culture.
The other person that I will do it with will be probably my dad who passed away last year. He left us when I was probably about 8 years old. Never seen him again again. And you know, he, he passed and I wish he would have known that what we're doing. But yeah, that's, that's that. I, I think, you know, Brett, in Mexico, death, we, we, we make fun of death.
[00:48:57] Speaker A: You know, this is true.
[00:49:00] Speaker B: You know, we don't, we're not too serious about it, you know, but definitely that's will be the two individuals. But today I gotta tell you, I'm excited if I can. I hope you, you're able to come in May.
[00:49:17] Speaker A: So I, I, I live in Indianapolis, Indiana. And you may not know this. There's a little thing that happens in Indianapolis on Memorial day weekend.
[00:49:27] Speaker B: The 500.
[00:49:28] Speaker A: It's, it's a little event called the Indianapolis 500. The Greatest Spectacle in racing. And our family's kind of ingrained and always getting together for race day and race weekend. But I'm actually potentially going to step out and head up to Chicago I think the Saturday and come hang out a little bit and then come back to Indianapolis. So I'm working that out. Bill's been working on me to get up there, so I'll probably be there.
[00:49:57] Speaker B: I like to work in those events because, you know, all the people that I get to see and, and say hi again and you know, those are beautiful thing. You know that, that's, those are.
Who will be your two people that you will bring your favorite bottle of tequila that you will. I take it to.
[00:50:19] Speaker A: I, you know, I've said the. Probably one of the coolest ones for me and this sounds corny is Sammy Hagar. And that is because Sammy Hagar and the oldest blue bottle and the, the old ceramic cobble Wabotta, that's the old school tequila that I, that I fell in love with. So probably Sammy would be the, the one that would be the coolest to go. Hey Sammy, I found a tequila for you to try. You know, and I think that'd be really cool. So I mean it's kind of corny.
[00:50:51] Speaker B: But it's, it'd be pretty cool. It's your story.
[00:50:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:50:56] Speaker B: What you, what you want to do. You know, probably Johnny Cash could be like a default. They were like of course. But you know, it's. To me it's like he's the, the last song that, that I, I don't know if he recorded that song or you know, the one that he dedicated to his daughter.
I think it's the last one. I. I don't. I don't know if it's the last one or not, but I gotta tell you, give it a try. Listen to it three times in a row and it really gets you to like, how he felt.
Like, when I listened to it, I had like a little bit of a headache and I feel like down and I'm like, whoa, wake up. It just saw how deep the guy, you know, the passion for his music and, you know, like, like his music really gets to me and I love it. And I did not grow up with him. I came to found him here in the States.
Just that music to me, like, that passion. And, you know, maybe because I'm a creative person, if you will, like, you know, kind of like passionate when it comes to the creative process and so on. And I think that that's just something that I'm like, man, I understand this guy.
[00:52:14] Speaker A: Well, passion recognizes passion, right? We're attracted to things that we usually have something deeply ingrained in ourselves. And to see the passion of somebody else and recognize that you have a passion too, that that brings others. And speaking of that, thank you for having passion in this industry and bringing these kind of brands to the market. And I, I can't wait to share them with as many people as I can. Where can people find these bottles to buy them?
Do we go to a website? Where's. Where's your spots to go find these brands if they don't live in a state that you have them?
[00:52:52] Speaker B: So you can buy it online right now either on the Tierra, the bottle has the.
The. The URL. It is a drinktycom and that is the. The website. And you can buy the line out of Road Runners in California. I love Matt. Super awesome dude. And he also does the fulfillment for prolijo and prolijomescal.com but here in Illinois, you can buy them at the Moreno Liquors, La Vinata Liquors. You can find them here in Illinois just about everywhere. Beanies.
You can find them as well, though. We like to work with independent liquor stores, really just because they are as passionate about our products and they get very excited about our products. And that really, like helps us is a small brand because they're going to be like, try this. Have you tried Try this? So that's that one in other states, you know, we're in Indiana, but our distributor is not that big. So, you know, you can find us in quite a few spots. I know that where you can find them is going to be like, on the northeast portion of Indiana bordering against Illinois.
But California was in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Georgia, Colorado, San Luis, Missouri, Texas. We added in about 16 states and we are about to open six more markets. So we just continue to grow. And you know, what is the thing, Brad, is that when the distributors, when we have a conversation, they're very excited. And the first thing is, like, how come I haven't come across your brand? And I would say, like, because we're a small brand, we're growing, we're doing the right things. But, you know, and that's. That's pretty much that. I love to see that excitement as well. But, you know, little by little, we are becoming a player that people get to know us more and they see the quality. And, you know, at the end of the day, really, the quality is what.
[00:55:09] Speaker A: Sells a product 100%. And I can't wait to share it with. I didn't realize that you had an Indiana distributor. So there will be a couple of liquor store buddies here at my bar here. Really quickly. We'll have them try it out and get it in the stores down here because that'd be great because then I can just head over to the store and pick it up. I will put those websites on the screen here so people can see them and click on them. And I'll also tag your social media on here so people can follow you on all your social media because you got some great social media out there. And I want to say thanks. Thanks for taking your time tonight. I know that you're not just sitting at home waiting to talk some goofy guy on the Internet. So I appreciate you taking your time to do this and sharing this. And I really enjoy both the tequila and the mezcal. I can't wait to try others. And thank you so much. I appreciate you.
[00:55:55] Speaker B: Well, Brett, thank you so much for your passion for bringing us to share our story. This is one of my favorite parts of the. Of the gig, as I was telling you to tell our story, to tell some things that sometimes I'm like, oh, yeah, that happened too, because, you know, it's been so much stuff going on. But no, thank you for having us. And, you know, let's just keep. Let's keep sipping.
[00:56:19] Speaker A: I'll be refilling here in a second. So I appreciate you very much. Thanks, Juan. Have an absolutely fantastic night.
[00:56:26] Speaker B: You too, Brad. Talk to you soon.
[00:56:28] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:56:29] Speaker B: Bye.
