The configuration of the jet stream, a band of high-altitude westerly winds, also contributes, although its current position, to the far north above the continent, is not uncommon for summer, according to Mike Brewer, a physical scientist with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

MSN: How Bad Is the US Drought?

Produced from wild agaves harvested at high altitude, it is a seductively dislocating, subtly knit but extreme stream of sensory information.

FORBES: The EYE: Mezcal, Hold the Worm