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Sotoleros Mario and César

Sotoleros Mario and César Sotol (Red Label) is produced by Mario Arrieta and César Pacheco in Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Rating: (5 reviews)
Category:Sotol
Cost:$$$
Brand:Sotoleros
Dasylirion:Leiophyllum
Grind:Hand
Distillation:Copper
State:Chihuahua
Town:Aldama
ABV: ~47%
Release year: 2021
Website: https://www.sotoleros.com/, opens in new window

About this sotol

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.

Sotoleros

Sotoleros is a collection of traditional distillates from northern Mexico, which seeks to represent the tradition, art and culture of the region. Products from this brand began appearing on shelves in early 2021. Sotoleros has a connection with the legendary brand Clande Sotol – the colors on the bottle labels follow a similar pattern too. However, Soloteros is not a “rebrand” and the exact history between the two brands is unknown.

Member rating

3.5 out of 5

5 reviews

Zack Klamn

Zack Klamn

542 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Nose – Old tennis shoe soles. Good n’ Plenty candies. Beef fat.

Palate – Wood-s’plosion! Fresh cut birch and pine. Menthol. Slight cinnamon gum spice / heat to it. Very herbal finish and a leathery, funky barnyard note in the (long) aftertaste – which I enjoy.

1.5 oz. sample from mezcal reviewer and James Hetfield’s wingman for the entire US leg of the Black Album tour, Rakhal. Lot 5.

thomaselliott

thomaselliott

14 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Lot 01 – Bottle 5/48

The thing I love about Sotol is that it tastes like the desert. If you’ve ever swan dived off a sand-dune and ended up with a mouthful of sand, it’s horrid (the sand) but silica, iron, calcified organics among other minerals make up that sand…. That is where I get my references for minerality. What I get from this Dasylirion Leiophyllum Sotol is that mineral taste that includes iron and clay. This is not a Sotol that will coat your mouth and leave your cheeks with a lingering viscous feeling. Instead you get a long pleasant tastes on your tongue that starts off mineral and ends up tasting of pine and earth.



Breathing in this sotol you get tastes of burning pine. Not an overwhelming smoke but of a fire further out on the horizon mixed with desert grasses laden with dew at dawn.

Initially I thought that this was expensive, but after hearing of the challenges of producing and exporting Sotol, I’m just very happy that I had the opportunity to be able to purchase a bottle.

Lot 01 – Bottle 5/48
The thing I love about Sotol is that it tastes like the desert. If you’ve ever swan dived off a sand-dune and ended up with a mouthful of sand, it’s horrid (the sand) but silica, iron, calcified organics among other minerals make up that sand…. That is where I get my references for minerality. What I get from this Dasylirion Leiophyllum Sotol is that mineral taste that includes iron and clay. This is not a Sotol that will coat your mouth and leave your cheeks

Read more
Jonny

Jonny

700 reviews
Rated 3 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Lot 5. This smells like a wool sweater. Additional aromas of sandalwood, lilac, and cedar. The palate is full of pine, menthol, freshly cut hay, and anise. Sotoleros are all really unique and this one is differently that, but I’m not sure this is the one for me. This is like a guitar solo where the band cuts out completely for way too long. While I like guitar solos, eventually I want the band to kick back in. All the notes on this are way up the scale, high on the neck, without much in the way of bass/mids or any additional accompaniment.

Lot 5. This smells like a wool sweater. Additional aromas of sandalwood, lilac, and cedar. The palate is full of pine, menthol, freshly cut hay, and anise. Sotoleros are all really unique and this one is differently that, but I’m not sure this is the one for me. This is like a guitar solo where the band cuts out completely for way too long. While I like guitar solos, eventually I want the band to kick back in. All the notes on this are way up the scale, high on the neck, without much in th

Read more
Rakhal

Rakhal

421 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Lot 5. This is very woody tasting and a bit bitter. Like walking into an antique furniture store, varnish and all. Big sandalwood notes, bamboo, burdock root, gentian root, and menthol. It’s off putting at first but the more I sip it, the more I like it. All of the Sotoleros expressions are interesting and different, this is no exception.

Update 5/22
This has really improved in the bottle!!! It’s lost all bitterness and is now dried herbs, pine needles, incense, menthol, raspberries, and apples. So much better!!
I’ve added a star to my initial review.

Lot 5. This is very woody tasting and a bit bitter. Like walking into an antique furniture store, varnish and all. Big sandalwood notes, bamboo, burdock root, gentian root, and menthol. It’s off putting at first but the more I sip it, the more I like it. All of the Sotoleros expressions are interesting and different, this is no exception.
Update 5/22
This has really improved in the bottle!!! It’s lost all bitterness and is now dried herbs, pine needles, incense, menthol, raspberries, and app

Read more
TheAgaveFairy

TheAgaveFairy

169 reviews
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Nose: Wool?, earth, old cedar chest, lightly floral and nutty.

Palate: A little grippy and spicy and wooly. Not really a fan, funkier. Lots of dirt.

Thoughts: Not for me, though I get the potential appeal.

Conclusion and “t8ke” scale rating: 5/10. I’ll try again when there’s a different release!

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