CALIFORNIA'S AGAVE FUTURE

California is known as a place where agriculture and innovation meet, making agave an ideal fit for the region. Agave is a sustainable and resilient crop that flourishes under arid conditions with low water requirements, making it highly suitable for the evolving landscape of California agriculture. Thanks to extended growing seasons, diverse soils, and abundant sunshine, agave plants develop deep, complex sugars, creating spirits that are expressive, bold, and distinctively Californian.

At Calavé Spirits, we believe exceptional agave spirits aren’t defined by borders. While Mexico set the standard California is writing its own chapter rooted in quality, transparency, and respect for the plant. By using California-grown agave and applying traditional techniques, we craft spirits that honor agave culture while embracing a new sense of place. Calavé exists because of a genuine passion for agave: its history, its versatility, and its potential right here at home. Every bottle produced is our statement that California agave deserves a seat at the table and a place in your glass.

If you asked me in middle school what I thought I would be when I grew up, agave distiller wouldn’t have been my guess, but that’s how these things go.  I probably would have told you something like rocket science, and in one alternate reality that may have actually happened, because I started off my college career in Aerospace Engineering at Cal Poly.  Long story short, and four majors later, I wound up graduating Magna Cum Laude with a major in Enology and Viticulture and a minor in Chemistry.  The drastic change in subject matter was due to an overwhelming desire to not end up stuck in a cubicle for the rest of my life and to work outside with my hands…and only partially driven by a 20 year old’s penchant for making booze.

I started off my professional career as a winemaker, and have been in the industry for over fifteen years now expanding my role to manage production at two wineries, two distilleries, and a brewery.  While dabbling with making pretty much every alcohol known to man, agave has been my obsession for about the last ten years.  To me, distilling agave shares a lot of similarities with making wine.  I approach it the same way even, and try to express its natural characteristics in the only way I know how: small batches, traditional methods, and attention to detail.  I have always had the less is more approach to wine, and agave is no different.  No additives, no shortcuts, and most of all, no bullshit.