A great overview of so many things in the world of Agave spirits I never would have known. Very readable prose, a clear political orientation expressed at the start, and a consistent throughline. Good work here.

This book contained a lot of fascinating facts and information on agave plants, the process of making distilled spirits from them, and the history and culture surrounding them in Mexico and around the world. Lower than usual rating is due to pacing and the rambling/repetitive nature of some of the longer passages, but overall I enjoyed this book and will reference it in the future as a great resource!

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gary Nabhan and David Suro Piñera have written a comprehensive and fascinating book about the beloved agave Mezcal spirit with a deep past that has quickly become a fan favorite for enthusiasts worldwide. They provide a rich history dating back to the original indigenous people who cultivated the drink through its modern day struggles with supply chain demands. They show the craft and beauty that goes into growing the plants and harvesting them at just the right time for both the spirit and the environment it thrives in. I am from Arizona and very familiar with the smoky cousin to the favorite tequila but this book is so rich in detail and history that I learned a lot. I recommend grabbing a glass of the beautiful liquid and dive into the world of the mezcaleros.

I had a hard time getting into the book. The author was obviously very enthusiastic about the subject. However, it was not holding my interest.

Wow! First off, I'm not an expert in alcoholic beverages of any kind, let alone mezcal, but I like a good micro-history and coming off a trip to Chichen Itza, it seemed like just the thing. I was not disappointed. The information is dense and may be a little more complicated to navigate if you're not comfortable with Spanish, but the passion from the authors just really shines. They very clearly love what they do-I studied ethnobotany and live near enough to the border that the technical aspects weren't an issue for me. For a casual, mainstream reader, some more definitions and explanations may have come in handy, but I love this. I want to try all of it and I'm not a big drinker. I'll definitely be reading it again before my next foray into Mexico just to get another sip of the authors' joyful enthusiasm.

I received an ARC of “Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals,” from NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company in exchange for an honest review.

Written by by Gary Nabhan and David Suro Piñera, this ARC was an advance uncorrected proof. After having read and thoroughly reviewed this book, I could only see one problem: the lack of citations—either in-text or as endnotes. The authors did, however, include a bibliography. Even though the book lacks citations, I was unable to give this book anything less than five (5) stars. This does not mean that the citations shouldn’t be there. Rather, the writing, history, and research was **so good** that, if GoodReads enables a partial rating system, I would have given these authors 4.5 stars without the citations, and a full 5 stars with them.

I love tequila, hands down. In fact, the only thing that I love more than a margarita (and its fruity cousin Tequila Rose) is the ability to read a remarkably well researched book. The authors did such a good job that I am confident that, if given the chance to actually add in citations, they could do it easily; they are that knowledgeable.

Despite my love of tequila, I knew little to nothing about agave other than knowing that the plant was grown during the pre-Colombian era by indigenous people of modern-day Mexico. This book completely changed my ignorance on the subject.

I’m going to be completely honest with you: Reading this book takes commitment to read. It is long, and it is detailed. But to truly understand every facet of the agave and how it was and is used, this detailed and sometimes laborious reading is required.

The book is arranged in 2 parts. Part I: Mezcal’s Historic Legacy and Part II: The Future of the Agave-Human Symbiosis. The authors included 5 appendixes, that include but are not limited to the Mezcal Manifesto, a list of wild agaves and cultivated landraces distilled into agave spirits (along with state and local folk names and scientific names that includes sources), a list of agave species used in distillates around the world and names and a folk vocabulary.

Known as agave, mezcal, century plant, maguey, and La Maguey, agaves are succulent perennials that derived from asparagus-like Lillie’s. These plants were used historically, and still are in Mexico today, to make pulque. The most commonly known of these is the blue agave that is famous for the making of tequila. One thing that I wasn’t aware of is that all tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcals are tequila. The reasons for this are strictly political because Mexico’s DO (Denomination of Origins) laws require that only tequila can be made from the blue agave in a specific region in Mexico; never mind that there are approximately 42 other species of agave that are used to make mezcal, all of which imparts different flavors and characteristics to the liquor. Traditional mezcal makers usually only utilize the natural agave sugars. Industrial tequila manufacturers, aka the Tequila Cartel, on the other hand, are given the green light by the Mexican government to add up to 49% of non-agave sugars like corn syrup and sugarcane to the distillates.

The authors take great pains to point out that Indigenous wisdom, food ways, ancient culture, and plant diversity is being lost, forced to make way for profits due to the monoculture of tequila. They provide detailed information on the various varieties of agave found throughout Mexico, and in the first section o f the book, they even discuss the history of the various stills, including both the Arabic (now steel alambiques) and pre-Colombian designs which are still used (ollo de barro stills).

What I really love about this book is that the authors made the readers knowledgeable about the Slow Food Movement, including slow agriculture. Small-batch mezcal makers generally allow their agave plants to flower, thereby helping to support the bats that pollinate the agaves. The large industrial farmers, however, usually cut the agave before they even have a chance to pollinate. My favorite part of the book is when the authors clearly brought up problems that the mezcal farmers are facing and provided their own solutions for them. This was really important because the over-harvesting of agaves and the monoculture of blue agaves could ruin the mezcal industry. Like drugs, the American consumption of tequila and other mezcals is rabid. It is therefore not surprising that the authors’ goal is,

“…not to see that big companies are brought to their knees, just that they be held accountable. To that end, we can leverage shifting purchasing trends, powered by people who care and communicate, so they realize that a socially and ecologically unsustainable path forward will be equally unsustainable for their near-term bottom line. Then, and only then, can we hope for change….” (Pg. 198-199).

Both authors clearly revealed why local, small-batch mezcal is more flavorsome as compared to tequila and why small farmers are having so many problems with the Mexican authorities in getting their brews recognized. But what the authors did not discuss are the American health laws that prevent a lot of food and drinks from entering the US. For example, some mezcal producers add worms and other bugs to their liquor. Importing many of these would require an innumerable amount of red tape and inspections, something that small producers would be unable to bypass without great cost. Another issue that the authors didn’t discuss was other health standards, such as on-site inspections.

The authors showed us how the desire for money compelled many to rape natural resources like the wild agaves, but if all of these mezcals were given the green light for export into the United States, some people might be tempted to sell as much as possible, regardless of how these might (or might not) affect customers. For example, moonshine is generally outlawed in the USA because people can go blind.

This books included some really excellent chapters, like the chapters on women involved in mezcal production, the bartenders who serve it, and also the workers who labor in the fields. The authors bring up painful, but important reminders, pointing out that the field laborers are underpaid, often undernourished, and vulnerable to a host of accidents. In our rush for tequila, we, and especially Americans, are complicit in the suffering of those laborers, as are the large producers. In our greed for cheap and overfilling tequila, we are willing to reduce other human beings to perpetual poverty. But the authors don’t just try to shame us. Instead, they show us how people are making a difference to the lives of plantation workers. But we need to do more. We need fair trade.

This book also delved into how agaves—which can be used not just for alcohol but also for food, clothing, ropes, and even animal feed—can and are being used to combat climate change, especially since many areas are now experiencing dramatic droughts.

I found this book absolutely fascinating. There is so much that I could comment on. It is well researched and solidly written. This book will be a must-read for every bartender, scientist, and anyone who is an aficionado of anything and everything dealing with mezcal.