Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Reposado 38% 70cl

Description

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Reposado is a spirit made at Hacienda de Chihuahua which is located in the town of Delicias in Mexico’s Chihuahua State.

Hacienda de Chihuahua was granted its own appellation in 2004 and is the top of not just the Sotol market (of whom there are 5 producers) but also the Mexican Spirit market. The distillery is in the town of Delicias (Spanish for delights) in the Chihuahua State. Sotol is a distilled spirit made from Dasylirion wheeleri (commonly known as Desert Spoon or, in Spanish, sotol), a plant that grows in the wilds of Northern Mexico and West Texas. It is known as the state drink of Chihuahua. Sotol is produced in a manner similar to the more common artisanal mezcals of central Mexico.

Local Chihuahua Indians first discovered Sotol’s magic intoxicating properties over 800 years ago. The Spanish used European distillation techniques to help enhance the purification process. Sotol is now beginning to achieve international recognition like its cousins, Mezcal and Tequila. The Desert Spoon takes approximately 15 years to mature, and creates only one bottle of Sotol per plant. It typically grows on rocky slopes in the Chihuahuan desert grassland between 3000 and 6500 feet above sea level. Unlike the Agave, which flower only one in their lifetime, Sotols produce a flower stalk each year.

Once the plant matures, it is harvested similar to Agave plants when making Mezcal or Tequila. The outer leaves are removed to reveal the center core, which is taken back to the distillery. The core can then be cooked and/or steamed, shredded, fermented, and distilled. This facinating spirit is triple distilled to achieve a high degree of purity. The still is a modified continuous still not dissimilar to those of the Armagnac region. The spirit comes off the still at 76% abv giving a perfect balance between maximum flavour and the elegance for which Hacienda de Chihuahua is becoming famous.

The Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Reposado (meaning rested), is selected following distillation and is aged for six months in new charred French oak wine casks.  Ageing introduces colour, structure and a depth of flavour without altering the freshness and balance of the natural agave flavours—and most vitally the flavour of the terroir—probably gained from the extreme temperatures.