Does transparency ruin the mystery of Mezcal?

About this episode

This episode explores the relationship between transparency and the mystery of Mezcal.

In the December 2025 episode of his amazing podcast “The Curious Bartender,” Tristan Stephenson asks Foursquare Rum CEO and Master Distiller Richard Seale, “How important is transparency in rum?” And Richard’s answer was not at all what I expected. Close the kimono and call in Linda — we talk about the beautiful mystery of Mezcal in this episode of Agave Road Trip! Agave Road Trip is a critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. This episode is hosted by Lou Bank with special guest Linda Sullivan of seynasecreto . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Host: Lou Bank

Guest: Linda Sullivan

Topics covered

• Mezcal
• transparency
• agave spirits
• bartending
• rural Mexico

Keywords

• Mezcal
• transparency
• agave
• bartenders
• rural Mexico
• Foursquare Rum
• Richard Seale

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Foursquare Rum

Books & works: The Curious Bartender

More episodes of Agave Road Trip

• Harvesting maguey the “tumbado” way (Linda Sullivan remix) · May 7, 2026 · 29 min
• Spirits vs beer vs wine: Last alcohol standing · April 30, 2026 · 35 min
• Bird poop in the fermenters · April 23, 2026 · 26 min
• Making sense of the Filipino still · April 16, 2026 · 29 min
• Making (non)sense of 2025 spirits sales · April 9, 2026 · 39 min
• When 130 Tequilas are additive-free, does that matter anymore? · April 2, 2026 · 32 min