Jersey City’s agave education series is landing one of tequila’s more recognizable names. Juan Coronado, co-founder of Mijenta Tequila and a globally established mixologist and hospitality veteran, will serve as guest educator for the next Jersey City Agave Social on Wednesday, September 9th, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Órale Mexican Kitchen on Grove Street.

A Bi-Monthly Series Built for the Genuinely Curious

The Agave Social series grew out of Órale Mexican Kitchen’s broader Agave Program, a curated menu of more than 100 tequilas and mezcals the restaurant rolled out across its Jersey City and Morristown locations earlier this year. Beverage Director Marc Figueiras has described the goal behind that program as something considerably bigger than pouring good drinks, framing it instead around education, exploration, and community for guests ranging from total newcomers to serious collectors. The bi-monthly tasting events, held exclusively at the Jersey City location and led by a rotating mix of in-house experts and visiting distillers, extend that mission into a genuine classroom setting, giving working bartenders, hospitality professionals, and dedicated enthusiasts direct access to the people actually making the spirits they pour.

September’s session raises the profile of that format considerably. Coronado brings a background spanning global bar programs and spirits entrepreneurship, and at Mijenta he works directly alongside master distiller Ana María Romero Mena to develop the brand’s signature flavor profiles, aging its tequila across a deliberate combination of American oak, French oak, and acacia casks to build layered depth and character that a single barrel type could not achieve alone.

What the Evening Will Actually Cover

Coronado’s session is expected to move well beyond a standard tasting flight, walking attendees through the full arc of how Mijenta’s tequila comes together, from the specific terroir of the agave fields where it is grown through the traditional, artisanal distillation techniques the brand has built its identity around. Sustainability sits at the center of that story rather than functioning as an afterthought, with Coronado expected to speak directly to Mijenta’s carbon neutral production commitments and its broader approach to environmentally conscious spirits making, a topic increasingly important to the kind of agave enthusiasts and hospitality professionals the Agave Social series has been built to attract.

The evening follows the same structure that has defined prior installments in the series, guided tastings paired with direct conversation with the person actually behind the liquid, followed by dedicated cocktail and networking time for attendees to connect with each other and with Coronado directly. Reservations are required and can be secured through Eventbrite or by emailing the restaurant directly, with the series’ organizers noting that space remains genuinely limited given the intimate, classroom style format the event is built around.

Part of a Larger Jersey City Agave Moment

September’s event continues a pattern Órale has built steadily since launching its Agave Program, having already hosted a public tasting earlier this year featuring Santanera, an organic tequila brand built around environmentally respectful, additive free production. Between that public facing series and the more exclusive Agave Social Club membership the restaurant also operates, offering guided events, interactive tastings, and bottle receptions to dedicated members, Órale has positioned itself as one of the more serious agave spirits destinations in the region, one increasingly capable of drawing internationally recognized names like Coronado directly into a Jersey City dining room rather than confining that kind of access to industry trade events or the brand’s own home turf in Mexico.