Francisco Terrazas Is Changing the Way We Think About Mexican Spirits

Over the past few decades, many have fallen in love with Mexican spirits—but some fall harder than others. Francisco Terrazas may have first swooned over agave spirits as a bartender, but over the past 10 years he’s extended that relationship as a wholesaler and importer. Now, in his newest role as the director of an agave-focused nonprofit, Terrazas is influencing how we think about (and drink) tequila, mezcal, and the full spectrum of Mexican spirits.

“No matter where in Mexico you are—whether it’s among agave in Michoacán or sugarcane in Oaxaca—Francisco’s perspective always enhances the conversation, helping us to better understand the complexity, beauty, and mysticism of Mexican spirits.” This praise comes from David Suro, founder of Siembra Spirits and a godfather of the Mexican craft spirits movement that has been growing steadily over decades. Terrazas connected with Suro early on in his career in Austin, Texas, before going to work with Bobby Heugel at The Pastry War, a now-closed Houston institution that laid the foundations for today’s enthusiasm around craft agave spirits.

“It never ceases to blow me away how I Forrest Gump-ed my way into being mentored by and working with influential people.” —Francisco Terrazas

“Looking back on my career, it never ceases to blow me away how I Forrest Gump-ed my way into being mentored by and working with influential people,” jokes Terrazas. What he considers dumb luck was more likely good discernment by likeminded people within the burgeoning artisanal mezcal community.

The agave spirits category can be particularly full of hot air, with celebrities and startenders constantly vying for spots in the limelight. Humility is a rare quality in an industry dominated by inflated egos, yet Terrazas has it in abundance, a value instilled in him from his upbringing. “I was always kind of cut out to work in hospitality and service,” he says. “I grew up with a single mom. We were very connected and she was doting, so it instilled a sense of taking care of those around you.” Working with Heugel at The Pastry War, he cultivated a guest-centered approach, something he considers a through line for his career. Success for him was synonymous with giving patrons a good experience, a foundation that remained as he grew into more influential roles within the industry.

In 2015, after a couple of years at The Pastry War, Terrazas visited his home in Arizona with a fresh perspective and appreciation for agave. He connected with the Agave Heritage Festival and realized that just 10 minutes from where he grew up were agave fields with a history going back thousands of years. This was his lock-in moment. “When I came back home, it closed the loop,” he says. “I realized this plant has been connected to where I’m from, and shaped me through generations. I could never walk away from that. This is it for me, for sure.”

This focus on the agave plant, its environment, and the people who have stewarded it through generations laid the groundwork for Terrazas’ next project, working alongside Mezcal Vago founder Judah Kuper to make the brand a leader in environmental and cultural sustainability. “I was very deliberate; I didn’t want videos of me chopping an agave on Instagram,” he says. “I tried to focus on the place, the culture, the environment, and the people that are producing. And I wanted to do it in an honest way, and not overromanticize or fetishize the more sacred aspects of spirits.” By taking this approach, Terrazas flipped the script of what other brand ambassadors were doing at the time. He intentionally operated behind the scenes to elevate mezcal culture, instead of prioritizing the opportunity to build a public personal brand.

“[Terrazas] has the rare gift of being able to explain things that are culturally, technically, and environmentally complicated.” —David Suro

While his name may have flown under the radar, his work and his commitment to the culture of Mexican spirits helped build his reputation, setting him up for his current role as the executive director of the Tequila Interchange Project (TIP), a nonprofit originally established by Suro that had gone relatively dormant. “His commitment to the human aspect of agave spirits, and to sustainable practices, have been impeccable,” Suro says. “He has the rare gift of being able to explain things that are culturally, technically, and environmentally complicated. And he’s among the very few people that I trusted to be a great asset for the reactivation of TIP.”

Suro created TIP in 2010 as a multidisciplinary nonprofit organization designed to preserve and promote traditional practices of agave spirits. This community of academics, beverage industry professionals, spirits producers, and enthusiasts share the common goal of protecting and implementing best practices across the industry. Over the years, the organization has engaged in advocacy and activism for ecological and cultural justice, human rights, and legislation, as well as hosting knowledge-sharing summits and trips that connect people from opposite ends of the industry. Reactivating an organization with such lofty goals is no easy task, but Terrazas is handling it with optimism. “My day today is not necessarily what I anticipated. It’s my first time working as part of a 501(c)(3),” he says. “It’s an interesting experience—I’m learning as I go.”

Like the goals of the organization, the work is multidisciplinary. One of the first reactivation initiatives involved awarding research and conservation grants, including a project that focuses on habitat restoration for endangered jaguars in Mexico, with watershed management through planting agave. Terrazas is investing in projects like this while also keeping an eye on the big picture. “I’m proud of these first-ever research and conservation grants. They’re also helping TIP expand its geographic range, because so much of our past work has focused on Jalisco and Michoacán.”

Honoring TIP’s background of lobbying and advocacy work remains one of the core functions under Terrazas’ leadership. Looking further into 2026, there’s an initiative to add the word ‘mature’ back into the Denomination of Origin for Tequila, to protect against the current loophole that lets producers use unripe agave. TIP has also jumped in to advocate on the human side of the equation. In response to the surge in immigration raids across the United States, TIP quickly organized fundraisers to help support affected communities. While recognizing these initiatives are “not as exciting, but equally important,” Terrazas continues to plan for long-term projects that are in step with TIP’s historical commitment to protecting the health of all people along the production chain. One such project under discussion is a collaboration with TIA, a Phoenix-based organization that offers medical training to municipalities in rural Mexico.

Terrazas is also lining up new opportunities through TIP. “We recently got a grant from the Slow Food Negroni Week Fund that goes toward a professional development program for people who want to focus on agave spirits through a few different tracks,” he says. Drawing on longstanding personal connections, he lined up programs that will host recipients in the fields of hospitality service, spirits production, and writing. Launching this year, the program will include on-the-ground experience in Mexico for the service and production recipients, and a residence program to feature published works for the writer recipient.

While TIP occupies much of his time, it’s just one of Terrazas’ current professional roles. He’s also a partner in Paranubes Rum, a collaborator with the Agave Heritage Foundation, and he recently launched Raíces, his own Mexican spirits import project. How does he manage it all? Terrazas describes how “firing on all cylinders” helps him stay engaged and excited about his many projects, each one keeping the other from getting stale. He recognizes the difficult realities, as well. “I struggle to keep myself organized,” he says. “Things fall through the cracks more than if I were focused on just one job. But that’s the give and take of doing a bunch of things.”

Ultimately, he turns it into a superpower by embracing his self knowledge. “I’m the type of person who doesn’t have the discipline to focus and work on something unless I’m really engaged and interested. Having such a diverse professional portfolio helps me key into the various parts of the industry that one job or the other might not fully provide.”

Misty Kalkofen is one of Terrazas’ longtime friends and colleagues, and a powerhouse of the agave industry in her own right. Kalkofen says she recognizes what sets him apart. “His dedication grows from a strong moral compass that guides the way in which he moves in the world and, ultimately, the projects he aligns himself with.”

At a sensitive and consequential time in the history of agave spirits, the category needs someone to lead by example. “Francisco is a person who asks deep and challenging questions,” Kalkofen says. “Not in a gotcha sort of way. But because he understands that by posing the most difficult questions today, we take the first step toward the greatest positive impact in the future.”