Gabriel Gilberto Velazquez Zazueta is a Renaissance man of design. Whether it's designing the beautiful items for Tuyo or co-hosting the agave-centric podcast Hey Hey Agave, he has his mind on design. After studying design in CDMX, an amazing opportunity brought him to the US and a whole new life began. Most recently Gabriel has joined the team at El Buho Mezcal. We chat about citizenship, love, creativity, and territorialism.
Red Parker is one of the founders of El Buho Mezcal, a truly accessible spirit and the result of an intimate relationship with the Jimenez Mendez family in Matatlán. Red is a brilliant guitar player, and his love of creativity has drawn him to entrepreneurialism, music, and of course.....mezcal. We chat Nirvana, community, and learning things over again.
Back on September 19th 2019, when things were a little different, I had the opportunity to sit down with the amazing Silvia Philion, founder of Mezcaloteca. This beautiful and quaint Mezcaleria in Oaxaca Centro reminds me of a past life, a former glory, and many other emotions that are almost overwhelming. But in the midst of this feeling today, Sylvia's story is an incredible one, and I hope you enjoy the return of the podcast with thoughts of sipping beautiful Mezcal together again. We chat advertising, scalability, and the universe.
The world of whiskey has been forever changed by Compass Box, but the brand is knocked into the stratosphere by folks like Kerrin Egalka. Good with numbers, cats, cocktails, and conversation, we chat about this interesting time and her recent experiences in Houston on lockdown. Listen for some Black Sabbath, Pickles, Nintendo, and whiskey chat.
The world of whiskey wages on even despite the world seemingly being at a halt. In this week's chat, I sit down with one of the world's favorite whiskey men, Adam Harris. As he sits and sips some Booker's 25th Anniversary Bourbon in Houston, we ponder life, film, and what we can do to think about one's self in these times. We chat QT, Brad Pitt, Squirrels, and more.
The Covid19 world is new and different. So I'm taking the time out, in reverence to Social Distancing, to do some remote chats on Instagram Live. This is the first of many with my good friend Antonio Matta. He's a great bartender, and manager with an astute interest in all things agave. We chat Metal, horror, and more.
It has been a very serpentine road for Cinco Sentido's Leslie Cobos. Spending much of her youth in Ciudad de Juarez and El Paso, her Mexican heritage paired perfectly with her affinity for hospitality. With a formative move to Fort Worth, the challenges of understanding American culture, learning English, and fitting into the new environment met her head on. After leaving the world of politics disillusioned by the system, an agave opportunity changed her life forever. We chat Mezcal, travel, cultural heritage, and that DJ life....
Dalla’s Charlie Moore has worked in many different areas of the hospitality industry, but like many others, whiskey became his true calling. With early days in Iowa and a bit of troublemaking intermixed, Charlie shuffled jobs for a bit before finally falling in love with hospitality. His love of people, learning, and structure combined perfectly to provide a larger sense of purpose. And as Dallas’ cocktail scene started to thrive, Charlie found larger and more creative opportunities. Now, as the a leading whiskey ambassador in Texas, what challenges and struggles are in store? We chat Glendronach, fatherhood, trouble, and more.
Graciela Angeles Carreño is one of the leading mezcaleras in the Mezcal world. As a subject of the new film Agave: Spirit of a Nation, her motherhood is explored and her incredible mezcal Real Minero is captured with a beautiful lens. However, as the category expands rapidly, and her visibility increases, what does a notable figure from Santa Catarina Minas do with this added level of fame? We chat motherhood, sustainability, acknowledgment, and more.
The job of an interviewer, at least a good one, is to offer up some vulnerability for your guest to hopefully encourage the same for them. It's not an easy job, but Kris Hart is the man for the job. With his successful show Whiskey Neat, and his gargantuan whiskey event the Houston Whiskey Social, what makes the man tick? The proud father was thrown into the role very young in life but now reflects on the amazing experience. Kris has united whiskey lovers, podcast listeners, and many seeking transparency in the world of spirits, but what's next? We chat QT, Destilado, FB groups, and more.
Benedicte Hardy has been representing the delicious flavors of Cognac for 30+ years. Her family has a legacy of making some of the finest Cognac's in the world. With the recent release of Hardy Legend 1863, the brand tries to modernize the elegant spirit and help bartenders get creative with Cognac. The introduction of Cognac into American culture is an interesting story, and a brilliant history lesson. We chat wine, tradition, family, and more.
For Noble Oak's Tom Johnson, a serendipitous moment drove him to the hospitality industry and another to bike across the country to end up in Seattle. Each chapter of his life becoming clear eventually, but there is no master plan. A thoughtful, funny, and experience hospitality vet, Tom never thought that whiskey would end up bringing him the largest opportunities yet. We chat Baby Yoda, Twitter, Trees, and more.