Join us for a summer evening in the Garden celebrating the remarkable world of agaves and mezcal.

Explore the many agaves growing at the Ruth Bancroft Garden that are also central to mezcal production during a guided tour with longtime curator Brian Kemble and Susan Coss, co-founder of Mezcalistas, the leading source for mezcal news, culture, and events. Participants will learn about the botany, history, regionality, and distillation process of mezcal from two leading experts in their fields.

Following the tour, Susan will take guests on a flavor journey through agave spirits representing many of the agaves in the Garden, exploring why the agave life cycle is crucial to the long-term sustainability of the spirits that come from the plant. Guests will enjoy a private tasting experience featuring four pours of mezcal, including select expressions not currently available in the U.S. Light accompanying snacks will also be provided.

About the Presenters

Curator Brian Kemble has worked at the Garden for more than 46 years. He has spent decades studying, caring for, and hybridizing agaves, as well as traveling the world to search for them in habitat.

Susan Coss, co-founder and director of Mezcalistas, is also the creator of Mexico in a Bottle, a celebrated tasting series launched in 2014 to showcase craft producers and the full breadth of Mexican spirits. She has been traveling the backroads of mezcal-producing regions since 2010.