CUCHARILLA - OAXACA
CUCHARILLA
Sotol is a traditional Mexican spirit made from the dasylirion (sotol) plant, in Oaxaca this is called Cucharilla.. Though not an agave, sotol is also a succulent with a piña which can be used in the same way as an agave piña. There are approximately 20 species of sotol found throughout Mexico and the south western United States, each with its own unique profile.
SOTOLERO
Alejandro Vasquez
SOTOL
D. Lucidium Rose
VILLAGE
Miahautlan, Oaxaca
OVEN / FUEL
Earthen pit / black oak
MILL
Tahona
FERMENT
Wild fermented in cypress (with bagasso)
DISTILLATION
2x in alembic of copper (with bagasso)
NOTES
Aroma – watermelon, grape, banana and flint
Taste – dried orange, cinnamon, clove and soft smoke
Texture – medium body with long fresh and earthy finish
ABV
Varies by batch
Harvest
Harvest is done by hand.
Cook
Pit roasting allows the complex carbohydrates in the Dasylirion to break down into more simple sugars for fermentation.
Sotol
Dasylirion Lucidium Rose.
Mill
As is often common in Oaxaca, a tahona is used to crush the cooked sotol piñas.
Ferment
Dasylirion Lucidium Rose.
Distill
The alembic copper pot still is incredibly common in this area and usually used to make mezcal.
