Agave lessons from A to Z

A musician going to Tequila industry thanks to the cultural curiosity

Todd Hanley the general manager at the Hotel Congress has explained to us about the Agave Heritage Festival. For more information visit www.agaveheritagefestival.com The Agave Heritage Festival began in 2008 as Agave Fest, a Cinco de Mayo celebration featuring tequila tastings and a tequila “Iron Bar Chef” competition at the historic Hotel Congress. As the festival grew in the following years, the number of different agave spirits featured at the event more than doubled, and food specials were elevated from cheap eats to regionally focused culinary treats. By 2015 — the same year that Tucson was the first U.S. city to receive the UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation — Agave Fest had gone from a tequila lover's Cinco de Mayo celebration to an event rooted in the historical and cultural significance of the agave plant. With seminars, a fundraising Agave Dinner, tastings of spirits unavailable in the United States, and a cultural and historical art exhibit, Agave Fest had begun to realize its true potential. The agave plant’s inextricable role in the culture and history of the Arizona-Mexico borderlands region became a central focus of Agave Fest, leading to the creation of Agave Heritage Week in 2016 and the expansion into Agave Heritage Festival in 2017. Today, Agave Heritage Festival is a city-wide, two-weeklong destination event that spotlights the southwest region through the lens of the agave plant. Agave Heritage Festival celebrates the unique importance of the agave plant and the borderlands culture with seminars, trade shows, and world-class culinary events.

My courses in Agave Lessons have the mandatory recommendation "Knowing more is drinking less.   With an agave spirit 40% al-vol. it must be 40 ml the standard drink. I highly recommend a tool for the prevention of harmful use of alcohol published in Mexico (FISAC, 2015) named the standard drink a document in English and Spanish. For more information about the standard drink in the USA go here.

Hummingbird is a representation of a warrior in Mesoamerican cultures and a bird from the Americas.  I think Don Ferguson and his team have been working like warriors in the last two years.  In this interview, he speaks about the Teeq brand evolution with his wife Nayana.  Now, they are a team with three American warriors and we have a relevant story to listen.   How they reinvented a new life, a career and created an agave spirit brand in the grain alcohol market in Michigan.   Don Ferguson, Co-Founder/Co-Ceo of Teeq Spirits & Co-Founder/CEO of Teeqlife.  (Teeqlife is a social media micro-marketing platform for the spirits industry with a focus on tequila) Teeq Tequila is a premium tequila company created by husband and wife duo Don and Nayana Ferguson and their business partner Michael Rowoldt. While Nayana and Michael currently maintain successful careers in finance, Don left his lucrative career as a Divisional Vice President of Operations with Quicken Loans Mortgage to pursue a lifelong dream. All owners have put on their spirits industry hats and are aggressively pursuing their passion to advance the agave movement. Teeq Tequila released two tequila expressions on August 27th, 2018 on the Michigan market, Teeq Coconut Lime Blanco Tequila, which is the world’s only Coconut Lime Blanco Tequila. At the same time Teeq Reposado Tequila was released. Aged 8 months in 2nd generation Tennessee whiskey barrels, it’s a premium classic Reposado with a subtle whiskey finish. On October 1st 2019, Teeq Tequila released their 3rd expression in their portfolio, Teeq Blanco Tequila being heralded by consumers as the “smoothest tequila on the planet”! Teeq Tequila is made from the finest Blue Weber Agave plant, harvested at 7 years. Using both the Highland and Lowland Agaves, which is unique to the industry, Teeq Tequila is a premium tequila that is a great sipping on ice or blends exceptionally well in many cocktails. While Teeq Tequila is a proud Michigan brand, to be considered 100% Blue Weber Agave Tequila, everything must be produced and bottled in Mexico and Teeq Tequila has partnered with one of the most awarded distilleries in Mexico, Destiladora del Valle de Tequila, NOM 1438.

Invitation to Agave Lessons

Desmondji an agave spirit from India.  Desmond Nazareth in Agave Lessons.

Don't drink #agaveFakeNews

Tim Murray is a farmer doing Pure Karoo Agave Spirit, his brand is Three Agaves.