Sotoleros Mario y Cesar Sotol Lot 5

Sotoleros Mario and César Sotol (Red Label) is produced by Mario Arrieta and César Pacheco in Aldama, Chihuahua – about 20 minutes away from Chihuahua City. Collaborations were an important part of the sotol industry in the past. One producer would lend his pot still for making a batch and the other would source the sotol plants. Mario is the brother of Don Eduardo Arrieta, a sotol making legend in the region. The brothers learned to distill from their grandfather Daniel. César farms and raises cattle in Northeast Chihuahua. He become interested in sotol production through his friendship with Mario.

Mario and César harvest wild sotol plants and cook them in an underground over for 2 to 3 days. The cooked plants are milled by axe, fermented for 5 to 7 days in pine wood vats buried underground, and distilled in a copper pot with a wooden top. The final product is adjusted with heads and tails from the distillation.