WHEELERI
SOTOLERO
Gerardo Ruelas
SOTOL
D. Wheeleri
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 – yeast, sugar cookie, earth
Taste – herbs, earth, pineapple, smoke
Texture – medium body with long finish
ABV
Varies by batch
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
Sotol Wheeleri is the most common type of sotol around Aldama, where the La Higuera core line is made.
Mill
A small mechanical mill along with machetes are used to chop up the roasted sotol.
Ferment
Sotol Wheeleri is the most common type of sotol around Aldama, where the La Higuera core line is made.
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.
