Marissa is also a board member of Tequila That Cares, a philanthropic organization bringing positive change to the agave spirits industry!

If you missed World Poetry Day, it’s not too late to celebrate. Click here for the archived celebration with Agave Road Trip Poet Laureate Larry Beckett and August Gladstone!

Some numbers I culled from the DISCUS data over the past eight years:

If you just look at volume consumed, 2.7 billion liters in 2024

o   Vodka: 667 million liters (24.4%), trending down a point or two last three years

o   Cocktails (RTDs): 658 million (24.0%), trending up in a big way, double-digit growth every year

o   Whiskey: 647.5 million liters (23.7%), trending down four-ish percent past two years

o   Agave: 289.8 million liters (10.6%), trending up but growth is slowing

o   Rum: 186.1 million liters (6.8%), trending down in an escalating pattern

o   Cordials: 180.7 million liters (6.6%), trending down four-ish percent past two years, like whiskey

o   Brandy: 105.4 million liters (3.9%), big hits past three years

If you look at dollars spent, $36.2 billion in 2024

o   Vodka: $7.2 billion (19.9%), flat since 2021

o   Cocktails (RTDs): $3.3 billion (9.1%), trending up in a big way, double-digit growth every year

o   Whiskey: $11.9 billion (32.9%), trending down two to three percent past two years

o   Agave: $6.7 billion (18.5%), trending up but growth is slowing

o   Rum: $2.2 billion (6.1%), trending down in an escalating pattern

o   Cordials: $2.8 billion (7.7%), trending down but not at same pace as volume

o   Brandy: $2.1 billion (5.8%), big hits past three years

If you look at dollars spent per liter, bearing in mind that inflation between 2016 and 2024 was 30.7%,

o   Vodka: $10.83, up 11% since 2016

o   Cocktails (RTDs): $5.01, down 23% since 2016

o   Whiskey: $18.30, up 15% since 2016

o   Agave: $23.17, up 25% since 2016

o   Rum: $11.99, up 12.6% since 2016

o   Cordials: $15.54, 13.8% since 2016

o   Brandy: $20.24, 10.6% since 2016

You can get all the raw data and draw uyour own conclusions at DISCUS.

This episode was inspired by a post that Mexican distiller Tomas Nava made in the Facebook group Mezcal Society. His post was inspired by the entry for “foreshots” at SpiritsBeacon.com. The response from Tom Bartram of Speciality Brands gave me the excuse to reconnect with Tom!

Bonus! Tom’s puntas-filled annecdote!

First and foremost, when claims are made about expenses by USAID or any federal agency of the US government, you can research for yourself at usaspending.gov. This is a great tool that is as close to absolute transparency in government as the USA has ever had. In the (literal) days since I recorded this episode (February 17, 2025), President Trump has signed an executive order that requires “radical transparency” of all government offices. In that very order, he highlights as an example of “how the federal government has wasted [our] hard-earned wages” this item:

Numerous USAID grants have come under review, including $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

But he doesn’t share the Prime Award ID number or the recipient of that award. So you’re left to dig into that yourself. If you believe there should be “radical transparency” in the government, ask for those items so you can see, for yourself, that this claim is true. Or just go digging and try to find evidence of this claim. Or any of the others in that executive order or the many posts the president or Elon Musk have made.

Now … to watch the beautiful sermon from Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde — a wonderful call for mercy — click here.

To read the transcript of the bishop’s interview with “All Things Considered,” click here.

While I don’t believe I actually mentioned it in the episode, even as an apathetic agnostic, I’d still encourage everyone to read the letter that Pope Francis sent to the USA.

To read how the first Trump administration launched the Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, click here.

Shout out this episode to Steve Catbagan, Denver, and its groovy agave scene; Arik Torren and his Lot 001 Brands, and foundation.org/en/climate-adaptation/fognets.html">fog nets. And of Cambio Tequila!

That incredible beer-not-beer was made by tlachiquero Marco Antonio of pulqueria El rincon de Mayahuel in San Felipe, Guanajuato. I was introduced to Marco by Malena Villasuso and Juan Pedro Valdes of Mezcal Villasuso. This episode was recorded outdoors at Bárbaro Asador de Campo, an amazing table-in-farm restaurant in Queretaro, where we stopped to have lunch with our travel companions: environmental scientist and SACRED program manager Regina Gonzalez and Brian Rabon of 30A Distilling Company.