Tepoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com Blogueria

Sotol - A Success Story 800 Years in the Making

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 23:40:55 GMT

December 2022 Blog from T epoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com

Sotol: A Success Story 800 years in the Making

(As Told by a Latecomer to the Party)

by Jorge Lane Terrazas

Photography by author except as noted.

Copyright © 2022 Jorge Lane Terrazas. All Rights of story and photographs reserved.

Tres Amigos: Desert Door, Flor del Desierto, and Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Introduction.

Sotol dates back over 800 years. The Anasazi, Tarahumara, Paquimé and other indigenous peoples in northern Mexico and the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, made this alcoholic beverage for ritual and curative purposes, and one would assume for pure pleasure too. Modern-day archeologists reportedly found receptacles with traces of what they identified as sotol at the Paquimé archaeological site on the southern end of my hometown, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua.

Sotol is made from varieties of dasylirion plants often called sotol in Spanish and desert spoon in English. Contemporary botanists no longer consider sotol plants to belong to the same family as agaves, which effectively now differentiates sotol from tequila and mezcal.

A little known liquor in the United States and even in a great part of Mexico, sotol has been garnering international attention in recent years amongst a small but growing community of aficionados. Julia Roberts, the famous Hollywood actress, is credited with coining the phrase “Like Tequila, Love Sotol” and is said to offer tasting samples to guests. Lenny Kravitz, the American singer-songwriter, recently became the latest celebrity to launch a brand of alcohol, in this case Sotol NocheLuna in late 2022.

Sotol Plant (Stock Photo)

Background Information

Sotol plants thrive in the wild and most commonly in arid and hot climates. Since sotol plants are abundant in the wild and because harvesting the “heart” of the plant to make sotol does not kill the plant itself, most commercial sotol brands rely on naturally growing plants. As a distilled spirit, commercial sotol, with some exceptions, is an artisanal product.

Following traditional methods, most sotol makers, known as “sotoleros” in Mexico, cook the harvested hearts using in-ground pits and firewood, thus giving it an earthy and smoky appeal. Sotol is usually both softer than tequila and more agreeable than mezcal.

Due to the small-scale artisanal nature of sotol, as well as traditional methods of production, nose and taste can vary a fair amount from batch to batch.

Image of shot of sotol and agate gemstone from Chihuahua (Casas Grandes Region)

My Sotol Story: Latecomer to the Party

My own relationship is a complicated one. In my youth growing up in Casas Grandes, sotol was not available as a commercialized product in respected and regulated stores. Instead it was considered moonshine, having been illegal to produce at one time or another and subject at times to police shakedowns even when not considered illegal.

A number of times in my pre-teen and early teenage years, my father when entertaining friends would hand me an empty 750ml bottle and some pesos and direct me to go get the bottle filled.

I dreaded this “chore” more than any other. Even more than cleaning stockyards.

Casas Grandes had one known sotolera, Doña Luz, a gruff older woman. Going to Doña Luz’s home-based establishment meant walking down dark and unlit streets and, as I got closer to my destination, having to sneak past small groups of rowdy men leaning against walls as they drank the while away.

No matter how many times I made the trek to Doña Luz’s and knocked on her door, the same routine unfolded every time. She would open a small square pass-through opening in her door, stare at me harshly and ask, “¿Qué quieres, chavalo?” Once I explained my father’s request, she would ask, “Y quién es tu apá?” After responding with my father’s name, she would have me pass her the money and the empty bottle through the small opening. She would then shut the opening as though I was not to be trusted and return a couple of minutes later to hand me the filled bottle. Doña Luz would then dispatch me with a stern directive, “te vas derecho a tu casa, ¿eh, chavalo?”

"Go straight home, kid? No problem with that and the sooner the better," I would mutter under my breath. Her home brew was one of the foulest things I had ever smelled and the sight of cantankerous and aggressive men on the street “tying one on” would frighten any youngster.

It was only years later that I realized that Doña Luz’s directive to go directly home was not just an explicit order, but also good advice and in her own way an expression of genuine concern for me. If she were still alive today, I would go knock on her door once more just to see what I thought of her sotol as an adult. Maybe, just maybe, it would not be so awful after all.

Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua

Once I left Casas Grandes sotol faded from my memory until almost 30 years later when a couple, Bruno and Ana, who like me hailed from Chihuahua, offered me a taste of Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua one evening at their home. Although I was stunned by the fact that it was now available commercially, I politely declined remembering all my visits to Doña Luz’s home. Shocked that I had never tried sotol they sent me home with what was left in their bottle of sotol, assuring me I would like it.

It was a full two years later before I got around to taking the top off the bottle when, Sam, my tennis buddy and next-door neighbor came unexpectedly to see me one day. I got the bottle out simply because I had no other liquor in the house and my thought process in my haste must have been that it is better to offer something, even if awful, as opposed to nothing at all. I waited until Sam took a sip, fully expecting him to wince. When he did not, I decided to try it myself. Low and behold, it was neither as disgusting nor as strong as I had envisioned. Far from it. Just enough earthiness to make it interesting, as well as reasonably smooth and rounded.

My rating of Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua - Reposado: 4.0 stars

Alcohol Content: 38%. Short-term aged.

Hacienda’s sotols are consistently similar

to each other regardless of their batch or date of production.

Price: About $30 USD on a good day at Total Wines (US). If not on sale, figure up to $45 or so.

Sotol Flor del Desierto

Once again, sotol faded from my memory until ten or so years later when I ran across another sotol label, Flor del Desierto, a small sotol producer also located in the state of Chihuahua.

The label attracted my attention: “veneno orgánico” (organic poison) with drawings of a snake and the classic skull and bones. It boasted being cured with rattlesnake venom, which going back to the times of the Anasazi and Tarahumara peoples was extolled for its purported curative qualities. “Gimmicky and at best is nothing more than one drop of venom,” I thought, “but I gotta try this.”

My first reaction was that it was a good amount earthier than Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua, as well as peaty --- very peaty, like really, really peaty, but with a silky sensation on the palate, natural complexity and well rounded. Oh, and did I mention smoky?

My rating for Flor del Desierto - Veneno Orgánico: 4.5 stars

Alcohol Content: 45%. Aged for an unspecified period of time.

Price: About $60 USD at City Market grocery chain in Mexico. You have to plan a trip to Mexico as it cannot be commercially imported or sold in the US due to restrictions on products cured with rattlesnake venom.

Desert Door Texas Sotol

One Friday afternoon in theTexas Hill Country some months later, I got a call from Barney, a good friend that had humored me over time by sharing shots with me of both Hacienda de Chihuahua and Flor del Desierto. With ever-present boyish enthusiasm, he said he had a surprise for me and would be driving by for me. A while later as we got close to Driftwood, I saw a dead giveaway as to the surprise Barney had in mind when I saw a store sign for Desert Door Texas Sotol, which evidently had been open for just a short period of time.

A sotol distillery in Texas? Are you serious? Yes, indeed.

We took our first sip of the lone sotol brew available --- it packed a punch, but with the earthy qualities characteristic of sotol. A bit too strong for my taste, but I do have to say it was an authentic and unadulterated sotol experience. The closest I've tasted to a good home-brewed version. I was certain it had not seen the inside of a wood barrel, but that did not deter me from asking the bartender/owner about the aging process. "Should I start from the time the truck came in with the harvested hearts?” “Sure,” I said playing along. "Today’s Friday and, let's see, the truck came in on Tuesday,” he said chuckling before adding, “there ain't no aging.” Barney and I appreciated his candor and his good-natured sense of humor even more. So much so that we ordered another round.

My Rating for Desert Door Texas Sotol: 3.5

Alcohol Content: 40%. Not aged.

For the faint of heart, Desert Door now offers barrel-aged versions too.

Price: About $30 - $50 USD at Total Wines (US)

Closing Thoughts

And, there you have it. This is how after a rough start I came around to appreciating sotol, as well as Doña Luz, even if it was years and years later.

The three brands listed above are not the only brands of sotol on the market. There are others. Actually, quite a few. Finding them is another matter altogether. Given mostly small-scale production and scant marketing, it may take a little searching on your part. In the end it could be worth it and you too might end up becoming a “love sotol” enthusiast.

Wrens of Tepoztlan at Hacienda Clemente Jacques

Sat, 03 Sep 2022 22:42:25 GMT

September 2022 Blog from T epoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com

Wrens of Tepoztlan
featuring exclusive photos taken at Hacienda Clemente Jacques and Villa San Clementito

Boucard's Wren (Endemic to Mexico)

Wrens are typically known as small chunky songbirds which encompass a total of 88 species according to recent sources. Thirteen of these are considered endemic to Mexico. During a recent photography project at Hacienda Clemente Jacques, five species were spotted, of which select photos appear on this webpage.

Depending on the particular species, wrens range from 10 centimeters in length and 9 grams in weight and up to 22 centimeters and 50 grams. Colors are typically drab, with common colors being gray, brown, black and white. Only one species, the Eurasian Wren, is found outside of the Americas and the Caribbean islands. The name of wren is applied in some countries, such as New Zealand and Australia, to other unrelated birds.

Canyon Wren

Wrens mostly feed on tiny insects, spiders and other invertebrates but will also snack on other foods, such as small lizards, vegetable matter, seeds, and berries. Most of the time they will be spotted individually or in pairs, although some tropical species will be seen in groupings of up to 20 birds.

True to the ebullient nature of songbirds, wrens can have loud and complex songs, such as is the case with the Canyon Wren pictured above. Singing notwithstanding, they tend to be shy and scurry away from humans.

Happy Wren (Endemic to Mexico)

A common and descriptive name for wrens in Spanish of Mexico is saltapared (wall jumper), surely due to their effortless “jumps” or "hops" over walls and fences while foraging at ground level and in shrubs and low-hanging branches.

Select pictures taken at Hacienda Clemente Jacques of other wrens, as well as over 50 other species of birds, are featured in the bilingual book Birds of Tepoztlan - Aves de Tepoztlán from award-winning photographer Jorge Lane Terrazas .

For the iOs version at $10.99 USD for devices such as iPads iPhones, iMacs and MacBooks, go to:

h ttps://books.apple.com/us/book/aves-de-tepoztlan/id6442835630

For the print or PDF version starting at $10.99 USD, go to:

https://www.blurb.com/b/11166128-birds-of-tepoztlan

Bewick's Wren

Tepoztlan Birds - A Book

Sat, 21 May 2022 20:21:48 GMT

May 2022 Blog from T epoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com

Now Available:
Tepoztlan Birds / Aves de Tepoztlán - The Book
featuring photos taken exclusively at Hacienda Clemente Jacques and Villa San Clementito

A Ladder-backed Woodpecker graces book cover.

A coffee-table book by award-winning photographer Jorge Lane Terrazas titled Tepoztlan Birds / Aves de Tepoztlán is now available in print, PDF and ebook versions for as little as $10.99 USD. Based on photographs of birds taken exclusively on the grounds of Hacienda Clemente Jacques of the Tepoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com family, it features over 90 photos of birds and 55 distinct species.

For a full preview of the book or to order the print or PDF versions, go to:

https://www.blurb.com/b/11166128-birds-of-tepoztlan

For a limited preview of the e-book or to order the Mobi or e-Pub formats, go to:

https://www.blurb.com/b?ebook=776845

After Jorge completed the photographic phase, which included over 50 consecutive days of field photography, the book became a collaborative effort with two other colleagues. Dr. Fernando Urbina Torres, a leading and widely-cited ornithological expert in not only the state of Morelos, but also all of Mexico, provided bird identification, support and advice. Dr. Urbina is known to periodically lead bird-sighting outings in Tepoztlán. In addition, the book includes drawings for each section by Jonatán Martínez Pérez based on select photos.

Tepoztlan Birds / Aves de Tepoztlán is written in both English and Spanish. Each bird is identified by common names in both Mexican Spanish and American English, and is accompanied by corresponding scientific names.

Tepoztlan Birds at Hacienda Clemente Jacques and Villa San Clementito. Brought to you by Tepoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com. Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico.

Wed, 09 Feb 2022 23:54:19 GMT

Tepoztlan Birds From A to Z
Tepoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com's bird sightings
at Hacienda Clemente Jacques and Villa San Clementito

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

Did you know that Mexico is home to 1129 species of birds, 496 of which can be found in the state of Morelos where Hacienda Clemente Jacques and Villa San Clementito are located? Read on to learn how many of these were recently spotted at HCJ and VSC and to see a pictorial gallery.

Jorge Lane Terrazas, an award-winning wildlife photographer, embarked on a journey of over 50 days to capture images of birds on the approximately 10 acre grounds of Hacienda Clemente Jacques and Villa San Clementito. Over 8,000 exposures later, his work resulted in more than 300 pictures he deemed to be "keepers," but more importantly, identifying over 70 species of birds, a good number of which are endemic to Mexico or mainly found in Mexico and Guatemala.

He often saw as many as 15 species on any given day. The most represented groupings were flycatchers (10 species); hummingbirds (7 species); orioles, buntings and warblers (4 species each); and woodpeckers and wrens (3 species each).

Jorge mirthfully titles his project Tepoztlan Birds: From A to Z. The A represents the American Kestrel he spotted on three separate days; the Z represents the Zacatoneros de Cola Rojiza (Stripe Headed Sparrows) he saw on numerous days. He chuckles that if he had only used bird names in English, the project title would have ended in Y, for Yellow Rumped Warbler, which alphabet-wise would have been "close, but no cigar."

Click on the Birding tab or this link to see the pictorial gallery of select photos from Jorge's project:

https://www.tepoztlan-vacation-rentals.com/birding0bbbc42f

Share this newsletter with others---social media links are below. We also welcome your thoughts: look for comments section below.

Gray Silky Flycatcher

Tepoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com Blogueria

Sotol - A Success Story 800 Years in the Making

December 2022 Blog from T epoztlan-Vacation-Rentals.com Sotol: A Success Story 800 years in the Making (As Told by a Latecomer to the Party) by Jorge Lane Terrazas Photography by author except as noted. Copyright © 2022 Jorge Lane Terrazas. All Rights of story and photographs reserved.