Masters of Agave Spirits 5th generation

The Agave Spirits Institute set out to offer agave education to people no matter where they are based via our online course program, and over the course of the last 4 years we have welcomed hundreds of students from more than 20 countries. 

This summer we celebrated the graduation of our fifth generation of Masters of Agave Spirits students and we were excited to find that we had representation from four different continents! Dani- representing North America, is based in Mexico City, Erica - representing Asia, hails from Japan and is now based in Taiwan, Renaldo joined us all the way from Cape Town in South Africa, whilst Heidi, originally from the UK and now living in Spain, flew the flag for Europe.

Our level 4 Masters of Agave Spirits course has always been a truly immersive and dynamic experience. An intensive week together side by side, bringing different perspectives and experience, and this year we had an even broader perspective giving us lots of laughs about the different names we have for things in our home countries, and describing aromas and flavours based on the things we eat and drink. 

At the Agave Spirits Institute, our focus is on learning how to evaluate and recognise when a spirit is well made. We use our noses to pick out all the signals from the plant, the terroir and the production process to learn as much as we can about what’s in our glass before we even take a single sip.There is no better way to learn about how to taste than by doing it, and even better as a group. Our cohorts of Masters students worked together to refine their skills and uncover the reasons for each layer of intrigue behind the spirits we tasted together.

 Like the previous groups before them, they have not only made new business contacts, but friendships spanning across the global agave community. In a new feature we will soon be bringing you news from our graduates, sharing updates about how they are working with agave spirits where they are based. Watch this space!

Our program begins with the Mezcal Specialist course - and the next scheduled date is in October. We will shortly be publishing our 2026 dates and look forward to welcoming more students from across the globe into our growing community of sommeliers and agave aficionados.