video Archives - Tequila Aficionado Magazine

Tequila Aficionado: Where It All Began

January 3, 2019May 18, 2018 by Lisa Pietsch

In the Beginning, There Was Only Audio

On October 27, 2017, Tequila Aficionado Media celebrated its 18th anniversary with an invitation-only VIP tasting at the site of the very first Sipping Off The Cuff© podcast—

The iconic El Cholo Cafe in Pasadena, California.

As the crowning jewel of 2017’s Wild Wild West Tour, El Cholo Cafe itself was commemorating its 94^th year serving authentic Mexican cuisine to Southern California.

[Tweet “@TeqAficion — growing with the Internet”]

For those who attended, the 2017 Editions of both anniversaries was indeed magical.

We’ll be back once again in 2018 as our last stop on the Great Festival Chase Tour.

A Celebratory Audio Podcast

During a short lull in the action, Tequila Aficionado’s Founder Alex Perez, and CEO Mike Morales, took a moment or two to catch their breath and to reflect on the nearly twenty years of honest, authentic tequila and agave spirits news and reviews.

Growing with The Internet

We often say that Tequila Aficionado has grown parallel to the Internet.

For instance, in the early days, most all of our reviews were audio only. Later, with the creation of YouTube, Tequila Aficionado moved to strictly video reviews on its own channel.

To date, we have over 500 video reviews, with new ones being added weekly.

The Resurgence of Audio

As the Internet continues to evolve, it seems that certain things never really die. Audio podcasting has been reinvented and is even more popular than ever.

Whether using an elaborate set up, or simply pressing the button on the voice recording function of a smart phone, anyone can establish their own podcast channel.

The advances in software have allowed us to pull the audio from our Sipping Off The Cuff(c) episodes and to upload them to our BlogTalk Radio channel.

Multi-tasking is a way of life these days, but now you can take us with you wherever you go–

To the gym, on the way to work, to the local bar, or even to your neighborhood liquor store.

“Alexa, play Tequila Aficionado podcast”

Another easier way to stay up-to-date on the latest Sipping Off The Cuff(c) episode of your favorite tequila, mezcal or agave spirit, is to tell your virtual assistant, Amazon Alexa, to play it for you.

Simply repeat the above command and–BAM!–Alexa will play the latest Sipping Off The Cuff(c) review for you. If you’ve missed earlier episodes, just ask Alexa to play the previous review, and so on.

[Note: BlogTalk Radio inserts short commercial breaks into the audio. A radio aggregator then picks up the audio tracks and feeds them to Alexa, however, the ads are blacked out. Please disregard the intermittent “dead air,” and keep listening to the end of each episode.]

Hey, nothing’s perfect, but…

We have come a long way from handheld tape recorders, microphones and tequila glasses.

[Tweet “Alexa, play Tequila Aficionado podcast”]

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Learn all about tequila from field to glass and then get paid to share your love of agave spirits with others! Buy Them Both Now!

Tequila Aficionado Media Presents Last Tequila Standing

January 3, 2019July 20, 2015 by Lisa Pietsch

national tequila day, last tequila standing, tequila aficionado, TV show, reality show

First ever Tequila Reality Show kicks off on National Tequila Day!

For Immediate Release!

In 2011, eighteen tequila start ups had vied to be crowned the top Brand Of Promise(TM) in the world’s first broadcasted Tequila Reality Show.

Tequila Aficionado Media Presents Last Tequila Standing

July, 2015, San Antonio, TX: Starting July 24, 2015, National Tequila Day, 45 exclusive episodes of Last Tequila Standing will be streamed daily over Tequila Aficionado Media’s website and on-demand over its own YouTube playlist, as well as featured throughout all of its powerful social networks.

“Through the expansion of opportunities on the Web, and Tequila Aficionado

Media’s own explosive growth, we are proud to present for your enjoyment, Last Tequila Standing,” declared Tequila Aficionado’s CEO, M.A. “Mike” Morales.

Never-before-seen raw footage of some of the tequila industry’s most promising labels will be aired. Each will relate their start up stories and demonstrate their tasty signature cocktails, too.

Colorful brand owners, master distillers, and top flight brand ambassadors took the stage with their enduring tequilas, many of which are still thriving even in 2015’s more competitive tequila market.

[Tweet “Tequila Aficionado Media Presents Last Tequila Standing!”]

The Dare

In the late summer of 2011, 18 brave tequila brands took up this challenge–

To appear on the first ever televised tequila reality show to share with the world their personal stories and to participate in a judged tasting competition to be named the Last Tequila Standing.

Rocky Road

As with most TV pilots and shows that are ahead of their time, Last Tequila Standing struggled to find a permanent network home.

“After a series of fits-and-starts, several failed business deals and cable company mergers that never happened, Last Tequila Standing was all but lost,” recounts Morales, a producer and one of the hosts of the show.

From the moment Season 1’s taping had wrapped, Morales worked tirelessly for months with the Executive Producers to try to fulfill the show’s original mission–

To educate and inform tequila aficionados worldwide in an entertaining fashion on the finer points of Mexico’s national spirit, as well as to help promote organic, artisanal, small batch, and boutique tequila Brands Of Promise(TM).

“But just a few years later, with the advent of streaming video made popular by services like Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix, the playing field has changed dramatically,” adds Lisa Pietsch, Tequila Aficionado Media’s COO in charge of social media marketing. “Last Tequila Standing lends itself perfectly to our binge watching audience.”

The Line-Up

Participating tequila brands include…

Alquimia Organic Tequila, Alma de Agave, Crótalo, Cuestión, Don Pilar, Tributo, SilverCoin, and many others.

In addition, Sal del Mar gourmet sea salt, Casa ZG sangrita mix, and Nature’s Agave syrup are also highlighted.

Guest Starring

Alquimia and Quinta de Gomez, organic tequilas.

Along with Tequila Aficionado Media’s CEO and Tequila Journalist, M.A. “Mike” Morales, Clayton J. Czczech guest judges on Last Tequila Standing.

Also on hand to impart his vast tasting expertise is industry expert Christopher Zarus, inventor of the only take home tequila tasting kit, TequilaRack, which will also be featured extensively.

A Global Event

“Since the taping of Season 1 of Last Tequila Standing, the Tequila Industry has aggressively pursued global expansion into countries like China, Russia, India, and Brazil,” explains Morales.

[Tweet “The streaming of Last Tequila Standing is a global event of epic proportions!”]

“Given that our audience is not only viewing Tequila Aficionado from these locations,” asserts Pietsch, “but all across Canada, the United States, Germany and Mexico, we can truly say that the airing of Last Tequila Standing will be a global event of epic proportions!”

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Watch for new episodes of Last Tequila Standing premiering every day–for 45 days–beginning on National Tequila Day, July 24, 2015 at 11AM CDT.

[*Editor’s note: As a courtesy and at the request of Clayton J. Czczech, Tequila Aficionado has attempted to remove all videos and photographs in which he was featured without degrading the balance of the Last Tequila Standing content provided to us.]