S2.C5: The Ambassadors – with Roberto Artusio and Cristian Bugiada

Albert, Diego, Cristian and Roberto during a busy BCB

Roberto Artusio and Cristian Bugiada are Italian Mezcal legends. Roberto is the owner of Jerry Thomas Speakeasy and Cristian Bugiada is a partner of Freni e Frizioni. Together they created La Punta Expendio de Agave in Rome, which is a Mezcaleria, only dedicated to Agave spirits and offers more than 600 expressions.

Their passion for Agave did not go unnoticed by Mexico’s official regulatory board for Mezcal (CONSECO REGULATOR DE MEZCAL or CRM ) and it officially declared them “Mezcal Ambassadors”, an honor which at the time of our interview only five people outside of America have received.

We took the chance to speak to Roberto and Cristian during BCB. We dug deeper into their passion for everything Maguey, their other projects and the connection they feel – as Italians – to Mexico. Our interview with them also starts our long announced series of European bar recommendations.
We had to do this interview in a noisy environment, please excuse the not so optimal sound quality

You can find our evolving European Map of Mezcal bars here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ld6xDBs1V40TuyybiTJpGy3_JwUNOOlm&usp=sharing

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your recommendations.

Connect with us: Mail: elixirofthegodspodcast@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elixirofthegods/
Instagram: @elixirpodcast
Twitter: @elixirpodcast

November 22, 2019December 25, 2019

S2.C4: Tequila – with Don Guillermo Erickson Sauza from Fortaleza

We took advantage of BCB to speak to Don Guillermo Erickson Sauza, an absolute legend in the industry. Of course we talked about his brand “Fortaleza” but the conversation went deeper into family and why Guillermo’s heart is in Mexico.

Diego, Albert and Don Guillermo at the “Cantina Mexico” BCB booth

The Fortaleza products from left to right with the individual images from the farms

November 1, 2019November 1, 2019

S2.C3: Mezcal & Tequila – with Sergio Mendoza from Derrumbes and Don Fulano

Our guest Sergio “Cache” Mendoza takes us to Mexico with his poetic words and his passion. In a conversation respectful to the brothers Tequila and Mezcal we also learned that there used to be five levels to describe the maturity of agave plants. Recorded at Bar Convent Berlin (please excuse the background noise).

Cache with Don Fulano and Derrumbes bottles

Cache and Esteban (his partner in Derrumbes, who was in our episode “The limitations of denominations”

November 1, 2019November 1, 2019

S2.Bonus – BCB introduction

We went to BCB to meet with some very respected people in the Agave industry. This intro-episode is just a quick warm-up before we go deep. We were able to have conversations with Sergio “Cache” Mendoza (Don Fulano, Derrumbes), Don Guillermo Ericsson Sauza (Fortaleza) and from Rome’s famous “La Punta” Mezcaleria: Roberto Artusio and Cristian Bugiada (they are involved in many other things too).

October 4, 2019November 5, 2019

S2.Ch2: Oaxaca – with Axel Huhn from Mezcaleria Berlin

In this episode we are welcoming Axel Huhn who is one of the true Agave pioneers in Germany. Many years ago life brought him to Oaxaca and in return his continuously bringing back some excellent spirits which you can order at mezcaleria.de. While our intention was to talk mainly about the state of Oaxaca our conversation drifted into more general subjects like sustainability and the impact that the Mezcal boom has on the regions. Enjoy this episode responsibly.

Barro negro pottery

Teotitlán (and the rugs)

Rufino Tamayo

More info on Francisco Toledo who unfortunately passed away shortly after we recorded this episode.

The 2006 protests in Oaxaca

Alfredo Harp Helú and his foundation http://www.fahho.org/

Sergei Eisenstein

September 24, 2019September 30, 2019

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.

The spirits we tasted

Show Notes

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.

May 30, 2019January 19, 2020

The limitations of denominations with Esteban Morales Garibi

Spotify Player:

For this episode we met Esteban Morales Garibi (La Venenosa, Derrumbes) from Mexcio in Diego’s office. Some of the photos on this blog were made by him. Esteban is well connected in the Mezcal scene, he knows many small Agave spirit producers in Mexico and is involved in different small but high-quality brands. He also started his own farm and he is a business partner of Diego who imports crafted spirits to Europe.

We discussed about the importance of the small families for the culture of Agave spirits and also the problems that come with categorizing our beloved “Elixirs of the Gods” into denominations of origin. We also talked about why it is a good thing that agaves and their distillation are spreading across the globe.

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019

Live at the Berlin Podcasting Meetup

Our friends at Bear Radio invited us to The Venue Berlin so that we could introduce Elixir of the Gods to a live audience. We went through the basics and also invited Maria and Cassandra on the stage to have a tasting with us

We only had time to taste one bottle, Diego brought a bottle of Fidencio Clasico.

A special thanks to Jill from Bear Radio and of course Maria and Cassandra for being on stage with us!

March 1, 2019March 1, 2019

At the “Puntas, Gracias” pop-up store

About this chapter

For this special chapter we were invited to a basement inside a barber shop, where the pop-up “Puntas, Gracias” is located.
Christian Schrader and Tom Bullock want to make Agave spirits accessible to anybody and share their knowledge and experiences. Based on your individual preferences you can taste four different spirits in a session and they will guide you through the experience. You also can purchase bottles there.

We recorded this chapter to give you a feeling for the experience.