If margaritas on Taco Tuesday are part of your post-Manic Monday recovery plan, you might need to find a different spirit to wash your Mexican grub down with. According to agave farmers in Mexico, a struggle to keep up with the rising demand for the crop — used to make tequila and mezcal — along with extreme temperatures and drought, could lead to a tragic tequila shortage.
Agave farmers say that a combination of rising demand for the plant and supply-chain struggles are posing a threat to the tequila industry, not to mention climate change-fueled drought problems. Qui Tequila co-founder Pete Girgis told Fox News on “Fox & Friends First” that although it’s “too early to tell” if consumers should stock up on their favorite tequilas (we’re having premonitions of a boozy variation of 2020’s toilet paper debacle), “agave and tequila overall consumption has been skyrocketing.” Girgis also said that prices for agave have jumped up ten times from where they were a decade ago. So, even if you don’t see a sudden absence of tequila on store shelves, you might see price increases that will suddenly make you, well, want to have a drink.
Gallery: The Best Under-$30 Tequilas for Your Home Bar
Maybe you’re okay with spending a little more for your margarita or tequila shots, especially if you’re pairing the spirits with cheap tacos. But if you’re okay with cheating on Don Julio and Jose Cuervo, you can always try out a vodka margarita or even a rum margarita (which sounds like a glorified daiquiri if you ask us).
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