Sotol

February 26, 2021

The fame of Tequila and Mescal has paved the way for the emergence of another Mexican white spirit bearing the name ‘Sotol.’ By referring to Sotol, we are talking about a type of liquor which is over 800 years old and a part of Mexican history. Sotol is a distilled alcoholic beverage that comes from the northern region of Mexico particularly from Chihuahua region.

What is Tequila to Jalisco, Mescal to Oaxaca is what Sotol is to Chihuahua. Apart from Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila are the other states that produce Sotol and its production is regulated by the Official Mexican Standard NOM-159-SCFI-2004. It was in the year 2002 that Sotol acquired the Mexican Designation of Origin status. The word ‘Sotol’ comes from the Nahuatl word, ‘tzotolin’ which means ‘palm with long and thin leaves.’ The piña of the Dasylirion wheeleri plant (Sotol/Desert Spoon) is harvested, cooked, mashed, fermented and distilled to obtain clear, aromatic liquor with around 35-55% ABV.

How is Sotol made?

After selecting the plant (it takes 15 years for the plant to reach maturity), leaves are trimmed and the centre part of the sotol plant (piña) is collected. They are then placed in a pit, dug in the ground, which works like an oven. Through this process, the harvested piñas are roasted (absorbs smoky flavor from the wood used) and then mashed into smaller pieces. The juice is fermented (using saccharomyces cerevisiae) to obtain ‘vino’ which is further distilled in either pot or patent still depending on the sotolero (stool distiller). Sotol could be unaged or aged in oak, chestnut, beech or acacia barrels.

Types of Sotol

Sotol is classified into four main categories. They are:

Silver/Plata/Blanco (Unaged)
Gold/Joven/Oro (Aged for a period of 1 to 2 months)
Aged/Reposado (Aged for at least 2 months in oak barrels)
Extra aged/ Añejo (Aged for at least 1 year in oak barrels)

Brands of Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua, Flor del Desierto and Fabriquero.

How to drink Sotol?

Sotol tastes like a smoother version of tequila and is gaining popularity in US. The flavor profile of Sotol varies according to the area where it is produced. It is served chilled or at room temperature in small glassware (something like tequila shot glassware). Sotol is generally offered neat but can also be used as an ingredient in cocktails. Sotol based margaritas and palomas are quite common these days.

 

 

 

 

By Varghese Johnson
Varghese Johnson is an assistant professor at St Joseph’s Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology at Choondacherry, Palai-Kerala.
To submit your article / poem / short story to Daijiworld, please email it to news@daijiworld.com mentioning 'Article/poem submission for daijiworld' in the subject line. Please note the following:

  • The article / poem / short story should be original and previously unpublished in other websites except in the personal blog of the author. We will cross-check the originality of the article, and if found to be copied from another source in whole or in parts without appropriate acknowledgment, the submission will be rejected.
  • The author of the poem / article / short story should include a brief self-introduction limited to 500 characters and his/her recent picture (optional). Pictures relevant to the article may also be sent (optional), provided they are not bound by copyright. Travelogues should be sent along with relevant pictures not sourced from the Internet. Travelogues without relevant pictures will be rejected.
  • In case of a short story / article, the write-up should be at least one-and-a-half pages in word document in Times New Roman font 12 (or, about 700-800 words). Contributors are requested to keep their write-ups limited to a maximum of four pages. Longer write-ups may be sent in parts to publish in installments. Each installment should be sent within a week of the previous installment. A single poem sent for publication should be at least 3/4th of a page in length. Multiple short poems may be submitted for single publication.
  • All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format or text file. Pictures should not be larger than 1000 pixels in width, and of good resolution. Pictures should be attached separately in the mail and may be numbered if the author wants them to be placed in order.
  • Submission of the article / poem / short story does not automatically entail that it would be published. Daijiworld editors will examine each submission and decide on its acceptance/rejection purely based on merit.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to edit the submission if necessary for grammar and spelling, without compromising on the author's tone and message.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to reject submissions without prior notice. Mails/calls on the status of the submission will not be entertained. Contributors are requested to be patient.
  • The article / poem / short story should not be targeted directly or indirectly at any individual/group/community. Daijiworld will not assume responsibility for factual errors in the submission.
  • Once accepted, the article / poem / short story will be published as and when we have space. Publication may take up to four weeks from the date of submission of the write-up, depending on the number of submissions we receive. No author will be published twice in succession or twice within a fortnight.
  • Time-bound articles (example, on Mother's Day) should be sent at least a week in advance. Please specify the occasion as well as the date on which you would like it published while sending the write-up.

Leave a Comment

Title: Sotol



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.