New web series looks to educate viewers on Jalisco, tradition, and all things tequila
By TAMIR ELTERMAN
Channel: Culture, Entertainment
Ready for a top-shelf education? Tequila Academy is more than happy to oblige.
For many Americans, tequila has been largely associated with wild partying — best when mixed into gigantic icy margaritas or taken down shot after shot.
But now, Tequila Academy, a new adventure-travel web series sponsored by Tres Agaves and produced by Portal A Interactive, is trying to change that perception. An eight episode series that launches today will follow two naïve ready-to-drink Californians as they venture to Jalisco State in Mexico, the homeland of tequila, to learn firsthand about the rich history, culture, and tradition of the distilled spirit.
Mexican laws require tequila to be distilled only in certain regions of Jalisco state making these areas the guardians of centuries-old traditions that have been kept by family-owned distilleries for generations.
“We want to show that Jalisco is an amazing place with family distilleries making great, 100 percent agave tequila in the same way as it was made years ago by their fathers and grandfathers,” said Eric Rubin, co-founder of Tres Agaves. “It’s educating Americans about a still misunderstood category, which is 100 percent agave tequila.”
Not all tequilas are created equal and, as Rubin boasts, his product is 100 percent agave tequila, as compared to the familiar mass-produced tequilas which are diluted with fructose and glucose sugars (these tequilas are known as mixtos).
In each of the 3-5 minute episodes, hosts Kai Hasson and Nate Houghteling explore different arenas and introduce new characters, including: the only female tequila distillery owner, a fifth generation artisan tequila producer, Guadalajara’s most famous mariachi band, and even the lead priest in the town of Tequila.
“People drink tequila all night and go to church in the morning to absolve themselves of their sins,” the priest told Hasson and Houghteling, illustrating how intertwined tequila is in their everyday lives.
“You couldn’t separate the culture from the tequila or vice versa,” said Zach Blume, partner in Portal A Interactive. “Just like in the Napa Valley — Napa is wine and wine is Napa — in Jalisco every person has a story about the agave and there was a mythical quality to it.”
The first episode goes live today on the Tres Agaves microsite. The series is “fun, exciting, and very tongue-in-cheek,” said Rubin. The episodes will be released weekly, for the duration of the series.
And who knows, perhaps after watching Tequila Academy you may find yourself ordering tequila on your next quiet night out.
Click here for a teaser of Tequila Academy.
