Life and Art from FT Weekend8 Huhti 2023

We love tequila. It’s causing problems

This week, we talk tequila. Over the last 20 years, it has become wildly popular, celebrity-endorsed, and top-shelf. Tequila and mezcal are the fastest-growing spirit category in the US; this year, they are set to overtake vodka as the country's best-selling spirit. But the impact on local Mexican farmers and distillers has been damaging, and demand is outpacing supply. Ivy Mix, author of Spirits of Latin America and owner of respected Brooklyn bar Leyenda, talks us through what's at risk – and what can be done. Then, we head to Mexico City to learn the traditional way to drink the spirit from Gina Barbachano, one of the city's top bartenders.

--------------

Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.

--------------

Links:

– Lilah’s magazine piece, ‘How Americans ruined tequila – and the true believers saving it’: https://on.ft.com/40QnpXW

– Ivy’s book is called Spirits of Latin America. She’s on Instagram @IvyMix

– Gina is bartender and co-owner of Hanky Panky, in Mexico City. She’s on Instagram @GinaBarbachano

– Ivy poured Lilah Tequila Ocho, Siembra Azul, and Fortaleza, as examples of tequilas doing good work. Gina poured us Caballito Cerero

--------------

Special discounts for podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.

Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 off using promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-us

--------------

Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.

Additional clips this week copyright Atlantic Records and Universal Music Group.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(370)

Our final episode: thank you

This is it. Today we present you a massive special episode full of wisdom, which answers your final pressing questions. Listeners wrote in from around the world — from Perth to Virginia to Prague — as...

17 Tammi 202559min

Cultural predictions for 2025: the year we accept the chaos

It’s a time-honored tradition: for the third year in a row, FT Weekend editor-at-large Matt Vella joins Lilah to reflect on this past year, and muse on the coming one. We’ve asked listeners to send th...

23 Joulu 202434min

The perfect winter survival guide

Today we are bringing you a winter survival guide, full of deceptively small tips that will make winter unmeasurably better. How do we best appreciate these cold, dark months? How do we stay stimulate...

20 Joulu 202429min

Novelist Elif Shafak: ‘Writers are the memory keepers’

Elif Shafak’s new novel brings together four stories set in three different centuries: ancient Mesopotamia, 19th century London, a Yazidi village in 2014, and the present day. It connects them through...

16 Joulu 202429min

Books books books! Our top picks from 2024

The FT’s books of the year special is out, and today, our literary editor Fred Studemann and outgoing deputy books editor Laura Battle join us one last time to talk about their top picks of 2024. This...

13 Joulu 202426min

The oldest cuisine in the world

Have you ever wondered about the oldest recipes in history? They were discovered on four clay tablets from about 1,700 BCE at the time of the Assyrian Empire. Did you know that about 5 million Assyria...

9 Joulu 202427min

Our massive holiday gift guide, and tips for a less stressful Christmas

December is here, and we’re here to help you sort your holiday shopping. Need to make a last-minute gift feel thoughtful? Searching for something for your dad? Want to give a cheap gift a glow-up? Hop...

6 Joulu 202433min

Filmmaker Richard Linklater on Hit Man and whether people can change

Filmmaker Richard Linklater’s movies span blockbusters, such as School of Rock, cerebral indie classics like Boyhood, and a hard-to-define The Before Trilogy. His most recent film, Hit Man, is a thril...

2 Joulu 202421min