After four years of collaborating, interviewing, digging deep into archives & traveling to remote parts of Mexico, our wonderfully-designed book from W.W, Norton is now out in the stores!
What we are happy about is that the dozen drawings by Rene Tapia beautifully capture the Mesoamerican and Aridamerican traditions of caring for, harvesting, fermenting and distilling agaves. And we are grateful for the insights of dozens of Mexican and American friends, farmers, researchers and distillers that enriched our narrative with verbatim insights.
What you will see when you read the book is that agave spirits at at an inflection point — the shortage of living materials for cultivation, the loss of wild agaves and trees used for fuel, and the intrusion of industrial processes are imperiling what we love and respect of these ancient traditions. At the same time, the proliferation of new innovations and restoration projects have never been greater.
So we salute the many souls and hands and minds moving the Agave Spirit World to greater heights!
-Gary Paul Nabhan and David Suro
