Elixir of the Gods
42 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★ - 4 ratingsFollow three passionate Agave spirit enthusiasts into the world of Mezcal, Bacanora, Raicilla, Sotol, Tequila and more, and tag along on their journey to learn about the culture and tradition surrounding this beautiful drink. We are Cate, Diego and Albert and of course we are going to sample what some call "Elixir of the gods"- a lot of it!
A Mexican-German-American co-production, made in Berlin.
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Episodes
S5.C7 - The Wrap Up with Esteban Garibi
June 30, 2023 14:25 - 42 minutes - 34.5 MBIt's a wrap. On the drive back to Guadalajara, Esteban, Cate and Diego reflect on their journey and all the places they visited, but didn't have the opportunity to record.
S5.C6 - Lobo
June 30, 2023 14:23 - 1 hour - 50.8 MBEl Lobo is a legend. Soft spoken, much like his products, he uses a philosophical approach to create unique flavors. You will always immediately know a Lobo expression when you try one.
S5.C5 - Benito
June 30, 2023 14:20 - 40 minutes - 33.3 MBUnlike most other maestros in this season, Benito's family doesn't have a long tradition of distilling. His scientific approach, love for the plants, and approach to leadership, however, make him a rising star. His products are exciting and innovative.
S5.C4 - Don Beto & Dona Juana
April 15, 2023 15:23 - 42 minutes - 35.4 MBPreview Text snippets This is the third stop, the beach! Don Beto and Dona Juana took amazing care of us, and Dona Juana is a mean cook!
S5.C3 - Don Chalio and Blanca
April 15, 2023 15:22 - 44 minutes - 36.1 MBWe made it to Cabo Corrientes! First Stop: "Rancho el Cono" Don Chalio and Blanca, explained everything about their taberna and the tradition that runs in the family for generations.
S5.C2 - Don Arturo & Jocelyn
April 15, 2023 15:21 - 27 minutes - 23.3 MBPreview Text snippets Tuxpan. Arturo, his Family, Carnitas, Raicilla, Tradition. We were so excited to begin our travel and get to meet one of the greatest producers. Arturo is young but comes from a long line of producers. The tradition in this Taberna is vibrant.
S5.C1 - Introduction to Jalisco Trip
April 15, 2023 15:20 - 18 minutes - 15.3 MBFor this season we went on a road trip through the state of Jalisco and we had the opportunity to meet the maestros, maestras and their families at their homes. Where it seemed appropriate Cate and Diego recorded their conversations that we are now sharing with you. Albert was with us only in spirit (and he provided all the technology and knowledge for us to record). This chapter is a warm-up conversation between our new co-host Cate (welcome!) , Diego and Albert and provides the context fo...
S4.C3: Carl and the Agave Family
November 26, 2021 08:25 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBCarl Wrangel is our guests on today's chapter. He represents Agave love from a bartender and bar owner perspective. We do not know how different the European knowledge of our beloved spirits would be without Carl, but we are pretty sure it would be less educated and less passionate. In our conversation we tag along Carl's journey starting as a kid, when he wanted to have a hangover from a tequila, along to his first bar gigs, trips to Mexico, coincidences, genetic memories, his businesses an...
S4.C2: Noble Coyote - with Bernardo Sada and Nikša Pirović
November 12, 2021 10:15 - 52 minutes - 42.8 MBYou might have already met Bernardo and Nikša in our season premiere, but it took us about two years from being introduced to the first bottle of Noble Coyote at a bar in Munich to get to this conversation that we recorded back in July 2021. In fact, the recording was the first time we saw each other. And as always it did not take us long to go deep into a conversation about our favorite spirits, with Bernardo linking his biologist background to starting a Mezcal brand and Nikša's passion to...
S4.C1: BCB 2021 with Gernot Allnoch, Ioannis Sideromenos, Iván Saldaña, Nikša Pirović and Bernardo Sada
October 31, 2021 14:58 - 37 minutes - 30.7 MBFor our season premiere we mingled with the crowd again, and it was glorious. Starved for face-to-face human contact the European spirits world met up at BCB - in a new location and at a smaller scale than the years before. Nevertheless we were able to capture interesting conversations on our audio device. We met old friends and found new ones. A big thanks to Gernot, Ioannis, Iván, Bernardo and Nikša for their time and insights Elixir of the Gods Instagram – @elixirpodcast Elixir of the God...
S3.C7: Finale, Podcast recommendations
January 08, 2021 05:00 - 47 minutes - 38.4 MBOur last hurrah for this season. The god of weather was in a good mood and so we were able to meet and record outside during a cold but sunny winter day in Berlin. This chapter's sprits: - Los Danzantes Arroqueño - Lopez Real Espadín (the travelling bottle) - Lalo's magic juice (Sacapalabras Pechuga) - Flor del Desierto Sotol - Sietes Noches Espadín (thanks Fernando) We will continue to record for Season 4, which will probably take us the better part of the year. In the meantime you can chec...
S3.C6: The world of Sotol with Isaac Montes and Sergio Gonzalez, part 2
December 25, 2020 17:00 - 26 minutes - 21.4 MBIn this chapter we are exploring Sotol and the craftsmanship behind it. Though there are many parallels to the Agave universe and Sotol makers suffered from the same injustices as their maguey cousins, it is a different world with unique challenges and opportunities. Isaac and Sergio are behind two separate brands but have the same mission, namely that Sotol is recognized as a high quality artisanal product that stands for itself. They share their know how of the history and give us their out...
S3.C5: The world of Sotol with Isaac Montes and Sergio Gonzalez, part 1
December 18, 2020 22:59 - 38 minutes - 30.9 MBIn this chapter we are exploring Sotol and the craftsmanship behind it. Though there are many parallels to the Agave universe and Sotol makers suffered from the same injustices as their maguey cousins, it is a different world with unique challenges and opportunities. Isaac and Sergio are behind two separate brands but have the same mission, namely that Sotol is recognized as a high quality artisanal product that stands for itself. They share their know how of the history and give us their out...
S3.C4: The Novelist - with Ulises Torrentera
December 04, 2020 05:30 - 1 hour - 52.1 MBFor this chapter, which we recorded back in July, we invited a guest who really doesn't have to be introduced. We'll do it anyway ;-) Ulises Torrentera's love for literature has brought him to Mezcal and his love for Mezcal has inspired his literature. For example, his non-fiction book Mezcalaria, first published in 2001, is a result of his research for a novel. Ulises does not use his creativity for writing alone. He runs In Situ, a Mezcaleria in Oaxaca and also owns the In Situ and Faroli...
S3.C3: The librarian - with Silvia Philion from Mezcaloteca
November 20, 2020 05:00 - 57 minutes - 46.8 MBOur guest Silvia escaped from a life in marketing industrial products and took a very different path. As one of the co-founders of Mezcaloteca she has taken on the quest to educate people about the history and culture of Aguardientes de Agave. Learn more about her work on the preservation of traditions and her legendary library in Oaxaca in this spectacular chapter! (This was our first remote recording, so please excuse the occasional audio problems) Get in touch with Silvia: Instagram - @...
S3.C3: The Librarian - with Silvia Philion from Mezcaloteca
November 20, 2020 05:00 - 57 minutes - 46.8 MBOur guest Silvia escaped from a life in marketing industrial products and took a very different path. As one of the co-founders of Mezcaloteca she has taken on the quest to educate people about the history and culture of Aguardientes de Agave. Learn more about her work on the preservation of traditions and her legendary library in Oaxaca in this spectacular chapter! (This was our first remote recording, so please excuse the occasional audio problems) Get in touch with Silvia: Instagram - @...
S3.C2: The Enthusiast - with Stefan "Teddy" Aerts
November 06, 2020 05:00 - 53 minutes - 43.2 MBTeddy knows almost every Mezcal lover in Europe, and almost every Mezcal lover in Europe knows Teddy. He has a unique way to manage getting his hands at as many different varieties of this wonderful juice as possible. In this chapter you can follow along on his journey starting at his very first sip - or as he calls it "kiss" - and he tells us about his time in Mexico as well as his efforts promoting our beloved spirit to his friends. Get in touch with Teddy: Instagram - @stefkebeer Get i...
S3.C1: The wisdoms of mezcal
October 23, 2020 04:00 - 47 minutes - 38.5 MBYes! Elixir of the Gods is back for a new season! Over the year we have recorded some (in our view) very insightful and enlightening conversations, but for this one we just wanted to have a good time. In this chapter you will find out more about the upcoming season and we are enjoying a carefully selected flight together - even though we recorded in two different places. We will release a new episode every two weeks from now on. In the coming chapters we will have guests, most of them from ...
S2.C10: Finale, Craft Spirits Berlin, Bars: Auroom - with Alex Wimmer
March 03, 2020 15:18 - 18 minutes - 15.2 MBThis is a short one. And the last one for a little while. We are recapping Season 2 , which has enabled us to have some outstanding conversations with giants of the Agave world. Thanks again to all our guests and to you for listening and giving us feedback! For Season 3 we will try to keep up the quality and we are looking forward to it (we hope that some of the ideas we have hatched already will become a reality... For those of you who are in Berlin, you can meet Diego at the Craft Spirits...
S2.C9: Bartender Work Program - with Cate Czerwinski
February 21, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBIn this chapter we are joined by Cate, a tequila nerd and wonderful conversation partner. She gave us some insight into her experiences at the Fortaleza bartender program last year - a trip that let her experience the hard work, craftsmanship and arts of creating Agave spirits first hand. She also shared some amazing spirits from her personal collection with us, one of them a "dusty bottle" of Herradura which gave Diego some serious goosebumps. Enjoy! If you are listening to this episode on...
S2.C8: Sign up for a guided tour of Oaxaca - with Fernando Bolaños
January 30, 2020 21:09 - 56 minutes - 45.9 MBFernando - co-owner of our Berlin's most favorite Mezcal bar "La Tentación" - has planned a spectacular trip to his birthplace Oaxaca from September 1st to September 10th 2020. When we read about it, we wanted to create some more awareness of this tour to our listeners and asked Fernando if he can walk us through the schedule. So we could learn more about the Mecca of Mezcal and you can decide if you want to join this trip. You can contact Fernando directly ( [email protected] ...
S2.C7: Bars: "Crazy Pedro's" with Adam Wilson
January 24, 2020 05:00 - 12 minutes - 10.6 MBThis bar episode takes us to Manchester. Already in July 2019 and only equipped with a tiny microphone (so please excuse the sound quality) Albert met with Adam to discuss the love for Agave based spirits in Northern England. Crazy Pedro´s mixes Pizza and Agave, so it is not a classical Mezcaleria, however their range of spirits is excellent. No matter if you like your spirits in pure form or in a cocktail, Crazy Pedro's can fix you up in three locations. We have marked all of them in our cus...
S2.C6: Bars: The Barking Dog with Carl Wrangel
January 11, 2020 09:52 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBCarl and Albert took a walk through Berlin to talk about our favourite topic! A couple of days before Carl made an experiment in Berlin's La Tentancion Mezcaleria where he served the same drink three times, but each time with a different Agave spirit, showing how little details can make a big impact. Albert wanted to know more about his approach towards mixing spirits that are not predictable and about his history with Tequila and Mezcal. You can find "The Barking Dog" and other great Europe...
S2.C5: The Ambassadors - with Roberto Artusio and Cristian Bugiada
December 26, 2019 05:00 - 25 minutes - 21 MBRoberto Artusio and Cristian Bugiada are Italian Mezcal legends. Roberto is the owner of Jerry Thomas Speakeasy and Cristian Bugiada is a partner of Freni e Frizioni. Together they created La Punta Expendio de Agave in Rome, which is a Mezcaleria, only dedicated to Agave spirits and offers more than 600 expressions. Their passion for Agave did not go unnoticed by Mexico's official regulatory board for Mezcal (CONSECO REGULATOR DE MEZCAL or CRM ) and it officially declared them “Mezcal Ambass...
S2.C4: Tequila - with Don Guillermo Ericsson Sauza from Fortaleza
November 22, 2019 05:00 - 29 minutes - 24.2 MBWe took advantage of BCB to speak to Don Guillermo Ericsson Sauza, an absolute legend in the industry. Of course we talked about his brand "Fortaleza" but the conversation went deeper into family and why Guillermo's heart is in Mexico.
S2.C4: Tequila - with Don Guillermo Erickson Sauza from Fortaleza
November 22, 2019 05:00 - 29 minutes - 24.2 MBWe took advantage of BCB to speak to Don Guillermo Erickson Sauza, an absolute legend in the industry. Of course we talked about his brand "Fortaleza" but the conversation went deeper into family and why Guillermo's heart is in Mexico.
S2.C3: Mezcal & Tequila - with Sergio Mendoza from Derrumbes and Don Fulano
November 01, 2019 12:56 - 34 minutes - 27.6 MBOur guest Sergio "Cache" Mendoza takes us to Mexico with his poetic words and his passion. In a conversation respectful to the brothers Tequila and Mezcal we also learned that there used to be five levels to describe the maturity of agave plants. Recorded at Bar Convent Berlin (please excuse the background noise).
S2.Bonus - BCB introduction
November 01, 2019 12:07 - 4 minutes - 4.13 MBWe went to BCB to meet with some very respected people in the Agave industry. This intro-episode is just a quick warm-up before we go deep. We were able to have conversations with Sergio "Cache" Mendoza (Don Fulano, Derrumbes), Don Guillermo Ericsson Sauza (Fortaleza) and from Rome's famous "La Punta" Mezcaleria: Roberto Artusio and Cristian Bugiada (they are involved in many other things too).
S2.C2: Oaxaca - with Axel Huhn from Mezcaleria Berlin
October 04, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 53.9 MBIn this episode we are welcoming Axel Huhn who is one of the true Agave pioneers in Germany. Many years ago life brought him to Oaxaca and in return his continuously bringing back some excellent spirits which you can order at mezcaleria.de. While our intention was to talk mainly about the state of Oaxaca our conversation drifted into more general subjects like sustainability and the impact that the Mezcal boom has on the regions. Enjoy this episode responsibly.
S2.C1: Jalisco - with Christian Schrader Goette from Agavera
September 24, 2019 17:43 - 58 minutes - 47 MBOur guest today is Christian Schrader Goette from Agavera, an online shop around Mexican culture. He comes from Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco and we are using this opportunity to talk about spirits from this region - which is so much more than "just" Tequila. Christian is also the organizer of Agave Hub, which will take place in Berlin on October 8th. Agavera: https://agavera.jimdo.com/english/home/ Agave Hub https://askhelmut.com/events/2019-10-08-18-00-hallesches-haus-agave-hub-d...
Intermission - Season 2 preparations
July 09, 2019 10:04 - 5 minutes - 4.42 MBJust a quick heads up on what we are working on. And we need your help too, because we want to find and share with you cool Agave spirit bars all across Europe. Help us find them! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elixirofthegods/ Insta/Twitter: @elixirpodcast Mail: [email protected] Also, if you are in Munich, visit Alex at Auroom (www.auroom.de). You can find a selection of his spirits in the show notes.
Extra Chapter 3: The limitations of denominations
May 30, 2019 11:53 - 58 minutes - 46.9 MBFor this episode we met Esteban from Mexcio in Diego's office. Some of the photos on this blog were made by him. Esteban is well connected in the Mezcal scene, he knows many small Agave spirit producers in Mexico and is involved in different small but high-quality brands. He also started his own farm and he is a business partner of Diego who imports crafted spirits to Europe. We discussed about the importance of the small families for the culture of Agave spirits and also the problems that c...
Extra Chapter 3: The limitations of denominations with Esteban Morales Garibi
May 30, 2019 11:53 - 58 minutes - 46.9 MBFor this episode we met Esteban from Mexcio in Diego's office. Some of the photos on this blog were made by him. Esteban is well connected in the Mezcal scene, he knows many small Agave spirit producers in Mexico and is involved in different small but high-quality brands. He also started his own farm and he is a business partner of Diego who imports crafted spirits to Europe. We discussed about the importance of the small families for the culture of Agave spirits and also the problems that c...
Extra Chapter 2: Live from the Berlin Podcasting Meetup
March 20, 2019 17:11 - 16 minutes - 13.7 MBWe were invited to a podcasting meetup at "The Venue" Berlin and had the chance to share our passion. Of course we also brought a bottle so everybody could get a taste.
Extra Chapter 1: Visting the "Puntas, Gracias" pop-up store
March 01, 2019 18:58 - 1 hour - 50.9 MBFor this special chapter we were invited to a basement inside a barber shop, where the pop-up "Puntas, Gracias" is located. Christian Schrader and Tom Bullock want to make Agave spirits accessible to anybody and share their knowledge and experiences. Based on your individual preferences you can taste four different spirits in a session and they will guide you through the experience. You also can purchase bottles there. We recorded this chapter to give you a feeling for the experience.
Chapter 6: Sotol Tasting
December 19, 2018 05:00 - 23 minutes - 19.1 MBThe cousin of Mezcal. Traditionally a Mezcal, but now a days we know it is not an Agave, but a Dasylirion. The plants are very similar and in this chapter we will try to explain the differences between them. We will be trying the same brand, but different varieties of Dasylirions, which is not something that was common in the past years. - La Higuera Leiophyllum - La Higuera Wheeleri - La Higuera Cedrosanum
Chapter 5: Bacanora Tasting
December 18, 2018 05:00 - 34 minutes - 27.8 MBWe will be trying Bacanoras the pride of the north. Typically a Mezcal, but with its own local Appellation. The Plant in this case is an Angustifolia, but the subspecies is Pacifica. Not a very common drink, but give it a try, you might like it. - Bacanora Cielo Rojo - Bacanora Yoowe - Bacanora Rancho Tepúa
Chapter 4: How to read the Label
December 17, 2018 05:00 - 46 minutes - 37.1 MBIn this chapter we are going to go for the methods. We have seen the process but now we go a bit deeper. The methods are the different techniques used for each stage of the process. The method begins with the Jima, the different tools used for cutting. The cooking, the different ovens. The mashing, how do they mash the plant once its cooked. The fermentation, times, tools, yeasts, etc. The distillation, most common techniques per region.
Chapter 3: Espadin Tasting
December 16, 2018 05:00 - 36 minutes - 29.5 MBEspadin subspecies tasting. 3 Different Espadines, from different regions, with different techniques. - Raicilla La Venenosa Tabernas - Mezcal Mina Real Blanco - Mezcal Fidencio Clásico
Chapter 2: From the seed to the bottle
December 15, 2018 10:18 - 37 minutes - 30.3 MBThe goal is to try and give you an idea of the process Agave distills go through to become Spirits. The process is complicated but very interesting. If you know the process for other distills, then it will not be so hard grasp the idea, but each distill has its own characteristics. The 3 most important factors: The Plant: The star of the show, which variety of Agave is being used. The Terroir: The territory and the soil were the plant grows. The Hand: The technique and the personal touch...
Chapter 1: The Basics
December 14, 2018 09:18 - 24 minutes - 19.6 MBIn this first chapter we will try to differentiate the Agave distills, uncover some myths, and explain how to drink it. We will give some information about the Appellations of origin and explain a bit about the complexity and variety of the Agave plant.
Chapter 0: Teaser
November 17, 2018 13:49 - 2 minutes - 2.52 MBHi, we are Diego and Albert and we would like to share our passion for the world of Agave spirits with you.