LEIOPHYLLUM
SOTOLERO
Gerardo Ruelas
SOTOL
D. Leiophyllum
VILLAGE
Aldama, Chihuahua
OVEN / FUEL
Earthen pit / black oak
MILL
Mechanical and by hand
FERMENT
Wild fermented in pine (with bagasso)
DISTILLATION
2x in alembic of copper (with bagasso)
NOTES
Aroma – wet soil, ash, clay
Taste – cured meats and minerals
Texture – oily and rich
ABV
Varies by batch
SUGGESTED PAIRINGS
Fleur de Marquis, a semi soft sheep cheese from France that is rolled in the herbs the sheep graze on.
Harvest
Harvest is done by hand. If cut above the roots, the plant often grows back.
Cook
Cooking is done in a cylindrical pit that is not particularly large. The wood used is black oak, and the sotol piñas are covered during the roast similar to most mezcal production.
Sotol
One of the smallest Dasylirion, these plants are more yellow-green with red tips on their leaves.
Mill
A small mechanical mill along with machetes are used to chop up the roasted sotol.
Ferment
One of the smallest Dasylirion, these plants are more yellow-green with red tips on their leaves.
Distill
This 900 liter copper pot still is similar to a Oaxacan pot still from the central valleys but much larger. This sotol is distilled twice and adjusted slightly to balance with fresh water.
