At Masala y Maíz in Mexico City, no bottle goes to waste once it’s been opened. Join us for Esculent’s third episode with special guest and Director of Beverage and Culture, Sergio del Castillo and co-chef Saqib Keval, as they describe the restaurant’s cocktail program and the ethics that goes into its creation. With knowledgeable descriptions and different processes that go into making each spirit on the menu, guests are invited to taste for themselves, encountering new flavors and ingredients to learn how they’re made, and how those intimate tastes grow in relation to spirits.

Host: Elizabeth McQueen & Daniela Gutierrez-Flores Partner: Mi Oaxaca Editors: Santiago Reyes & Stace Baran Production Intern: Alyssa Pulido Theme by Ronan Delisle

This podcast is supported by the University of California Humanities Research Institute and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Center at Florida State University.

When mezcal evokes memories of mom’s kitchen or relatives spritzing the spirit to the earth, it becomes clear that smoke has never been adequate to describe a taste of mezcal. In Esculent’s next episode, we are joined by Mi Oaxaca’s founder, Fabiola Santiago, as we take a look at the different ways people encounter mezcal — either through tasting wheels, aromas, or the memories and relations we ascribe to the beverage. How can we fill in the gaps from tasting wheels that enforce Eurocentric aromas? Together, we think about how one can “taste” mezcal in ways that create relations, rather than orchestrate erasure.

Host: Elizabeth McQueen & Fabiola Santiago Partner: Mi Oaxaca Editors: Santiago Reyes & Stace Baran Production Intern: Alyssa Pulido Theme by Ronan Delisle

This podcast is supported by the University of California Humanities Research Institute and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Center at Florida State University.

When studying the history of mezcal, why begin with the milky, lightly fermented beverage pulque? In Esculent’s new season, we are joined once again by Professor Daniela Gutiérrez Flores as we navigate the archives detailing the cultural significance of the maguey plant in Mesoamerica. From discussing pulque’s role in sacred ritual to examining the colonial context of mezcal–both from maguey– we begin to center the narrative on Indigenous practices and experiences.

Host: Elizabeth McQueen & Daniela Gutierrez-Flores Partner: Mi Oaxaca Editors: Santiago Reyes & Stace Baran Production Intern: Alyssa Pulido Theme by Ronan Delisle

This podcast is supported by the University of California Humanities Research Institute and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Center at Florida State University.