Happy Thursday!

I recently checked out a bar in downtown Phoenix I haven’t been to before called Barcoa Agaveria. 

I remembered reading about its opening in 2020, and its owner’s previous involvement in the Arizona Taco Festival. 

My partner and I made a reservation for the basement bar last Friday night with no problem—there were lots of slots still open when we booked it the day before. 

I don’t drink much anymore, but I do enjoy learning about different drinks and tasting them. I got a $16 flight that included both tequila and mezcal, along with lemon, lime, rosemary, salt, and worm salt. 

My beautifully arranged flight

It was fun to take in the bar’s sultry underground vibes and flip through the giant menu to read about the different offerings—they carry liquors I had never heard of like bacanora, raicilla, and sotol. 

If you’re a fan of these Mexican spirits, you should definitely stop by Barcoa. You can get really fancy there with the $98 billionaire flight, and shots of tequila that are over $100. 

But even if you stick with a basic flight, it’s still a good time. 🙂

Have any of you visited Barcoa? Do you have a favorite bar for tequila or mezcal? Let me know in a reply to this email!

Thanks so much, everyone, for your donations so far!

From now through the end of this week, we are running our Holiday Supporter Drive, and we need your support to ensure we can continue to report the local stories that matter most to Arizonans—without a paywall. 

You can join us by donating to our newsroom today! Thanks for being part of The Copper Courier community! ❤️

AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

💬 “I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.”

— President Joe Biden

Last week, the Biden administration announced that it approved the cancellation of nearly $5 billion in additional federal student loan debt for more than 80,000 borrowers.

Borrowers who qualify fall into two categories: They either participated in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plan, or they made at least 20 years of qualifying payments in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. 

Many of these borrowers were informed last month that their outstanding federal student loan debt would be canceled, and they’ll be able to see their new balances in the coming weeks. 

Those on an IDR plan have been making payments, but never got the relief they were promised, according to the White House. 

Those getting relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program include individuals who have been working in a government or nonprofit position, such as a teacher, firefighter, or police officer, for more than 10 years.

This announcement is just the latest round of student debt cancellation enacted by the Biden administration, which has approved $132 billion in relief for more than 3.6 million people.

Read the full story here. 

Photo courtesy of Picacho Peak

One of the joys of living in (most of) Arizona is that visitors and residents can spend plenty of time outdoors in the winter while nearly everyone else in the country has to stay inside. If you’re hitting the trails this season, here are six perfect Arizona hikes for the winter. 

From a Sedona trail that offers up breathtaking views of the city’s red rocks to a hike that leads to one of the best viewpoints of all of metro Phoenix, these trails all have something special to offer. 

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Jessica Swarner. The Copper Courier is happily free to read for everyone. Your financial support means a lot to us. Donate here.

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