SIPPING STORIES
Blog – Sipping Life2017-08-22T21:33:22+00:00

I captured this photo several years ago while wandering around one of the fields at La Alteña. I oft revisit the image and ponder the presence of the sombrero on the agave plant. Who was its owner? Did he leave it there on purpose to retrieve at a later time, or did he abandon it? Jimadors may be the hardest working men I’ve ever seen. I imagine the long days and the scorching sun from which this hat protected its owner. Imagine the tales it could tell…

I grew up in the Midwest and was just a generation removed from a family of farmers, but with extended family still in the business, my summers were often spent on the farm. Running and playing tag through 6-foot-tall corn fields, picking rock, spraying beans and baling hay, I had an adventurous childhood spent with my hands in the earth and my nose to the air breathing in life. In this way, I’ve always had a connection to the earth, intently interested in its bountiful harvests. My journeys to Jalisco and Oaxaca remind me greatly of these early years. The complete and utter dependence a people place on the earth, the rain and the sun-all elements of life in so many ways. The people, although separated by language and distance, have similarities too: hard working, salt-of-the-earth. I’ve even been drawn to the similarities of language within the old dialects of the Zapotecs in southern Mexico and it’s sing-song similarities to the Lakota spoken by natives in South Dakota. It seems the farther my travels take me, the more dirt paths I traverse and the many different shades of people I greet, the more interconnected I find us all to be. I hope this blog will help you learn a thing or three about agave and the culture around it that I’ve grown so fond of. And if possible, perhaps it will offer a glimpse of time and place that you find intriguing, one story at a time.

¡Gracias y Salud!

Chris Simmons

208, 2017

The Agave Files: Episode Four, Brand Spotlight

By |August 2nd, 2017|Comments Off on The Agave Files: Episode Four, Brand Spotlight

By Chris Simmons For many Tequila producers, separating yourself from the pack can be a challenge in a crowded market. The owners of Tequila Ocho have managed to not only create a unique brand, they’ve set a precedence others are starting to follow. First launched about eight years ago, Tequila Ocho is considered a “Single Estate” Tequila. It’s owners, the venerable Carlos Camarena and Tomas [...]

2607, 2017

The Agave Files: Episode Three, Tequila from Start to Finish

By |July 26th, 2017|Comments Off on The Agave Files: Episode Three, Tequila from Start to Finish

By Chris Simmons Agave’s journey from the field to your glass is one of time, dedication and craft. From the moment it sees its first ray of sun, it will endure a near decade-long journey in order to be turned into Mexico’s most beloved spirit. From the beginning, a Blue Weber agave’s life is carefully charted. Baby plants, or hijuelos as they’re called in Spanish, [...]

107, 2017

The Agave Files: Episode Two, Tequila vs. Mezcal

By |July 1st, 2017|Comments Off on The Agave Files: Episode Two, Tequila vs. Mezcal

By Chris Simmons Have you ever wondered about the differences between Tequila and mezcal? You wouldn’t be the first to question if they’re the same thing or if mezcal is just a cheaper version of Tequila. In fact until a recent wave of popularity, mezcal carried quite the unsavory reputation as the bottle with a worm in it that will make you hallucinate. Well, it’s [...]

1406, 2017

The Agave Files: Episode One, The 411 on Agave 101

By |June 14th, 2017|Comments Off on The Agave Files: Episode One, The 411 on Agave 101

By Chris Simmons Remember the old saying, “One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, floor!”? Or the balance it took to pour salt on one hand while holding a lime in the other and slamming back a gnarly tasting shot? Well safe to say, those memories are part of the American lexicon of Tequila drinking stretching back at least the past few decades, and either you [...]

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