https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgNzSkWxTZs

Most episodes of The PKGD Talks follow a simple format: one-on-one conversations. Deep dives. Focused, personal. But this time, something different happened.

During a recent trip to Ahuacatepec, five voices gathered around one table.

Carlos Méndez of Palomo. Sergio Garnier of Ultramundo. Álvaro Fernández and Fausto Romero of Asil and El Acabo. And Shawn Miller is guiding the conversation.

What started as a casual roundtable turned into something rare: a raw, collective reflection on what it means to produce agave spirits outside the gravitational pull of tequila.

They talk Mezcal. They talk Raicilla. But mostly, they talk about what it takes to matter when the world keeps asking for the same bottle, the same name, the same story.

They talk about Producer-Owned brands and the risks they carry. About Transparency—not as a marketing word, but as a lived practice. About Quality—what it is, what it isn’t, and why it’s often misunderstood.

This is not a panel. It’s not a pitch. It’s five people, each carrying their obsessions, their convictions, trying to answer one question:

How do we stay true to what we make—and still be heard?

Watch it. Not just to learn about Mezcal or Raicilla.
Watch it to see how five different minds try to hold space for something unique and traditional.
And maybe come away with a different idea of what “craft” really means.

This article was structured with the assistance of artificial intelligence (ChatGPT). All content is based on human input and editorial oversight. For more details on how PKGD integrates AI responsibly, please refer to our AI Policy.