The Restaurant Guys

Ron Cooper: Del Maguey and the Magic of Mezcal

Episode 78

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0:00 | 35:20

The Banter

The Guys read about a food group that works as a de-stresser. 

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys have Ron Cooper on to talk about his Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal. Dive into the agave weeds listening to the centuries-old traditions and processes including one involving distilling with a suspended chicken breast. 

The Inside Track

The Guys are familiar with Ron’s high-quality products that he sources from mezcal experts out in the villages of Oaxaca. He describes traveling away from urban areas to get the truest expressions of the spirit.

“I realized very fast that kilometer by kilometer, the closer a good Mezcal got to the city, the more adulterated and watered down it became.  So I made it my mission to make it available to me and my friends in the United States,” Ron Cooper on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006

Bio

Ron Cooper is an American artist who found a passion for mezcal. In Oaxaca, Ron lived and worked with the locals, and strived to bring Mezcal to the world at large. He founded Del Maguey in the 1990s, bringing Mezcal to the awareness of American consumers as an artisanal or craft ingredient for many creative cocktails. 

Ron has done dinner pairings with chefs José Andrés, and Mary Sue Milliken appeared on CNN with Anthony Bourdain.

In 2016 Cooper was awarded the James Beard Award for “Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional”.


Info

Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal

https://delmaguey.com/

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