Guerra Seca Sotol Review

With Matt Metras and Mike Morales

Publisher’s Note: Ai doesn’t quite understand tequila and agave spirits. Sadly, it will never taste them and, as yet, it’s ability to grasp English, Spanish, and the specialized language of agave spirit distillation is somewhat limited. But we welcome you to enjoy Ai’s attempt to transcribe this video and hope you’ll find a funny transcription worth mentioning in the comments below.

Mike Morales
Whoo. Hi folks you are watching and listening to sipping off the cuff on tequila aficionado media on all of our channels and networks, including Spotify. I’m Mike Morales here in Southern California gloomy Southern Cal that gentleman out there is

Matt Metras
Matt Metris in dark I can’t tell if it’s gloomy or not Rochester New York.

Mike Morales
Well, you know, Matt’s about three hours ahead of me so yeah, it’s dark. You know, it’s nighttime. We’re Matt is and it’s perfect time for this brand new on the market. So Don’s called Get Rasika and I liked the name. Yeah, it I think it’s it. It refers back to the to the era of prohibition in Mexico where I know Ibaka Nora was outlawed, and I imagined Sotol was also during, in fact so tall I know for a fact so Tola both back and Nora were smuggled into the United States during Prohibition. So there was a say on the back the legend of gamma sanka. Oh, there’s a legend. I didn’t like Yeah, but you know, we’re not going to read that right now. We’re just going to drink the stuff tasted they will read your own notes. Are we getting bubbles?

Matt Metras
Just a little bit.

Mike Morales
This is a really high ABV for for a Sotol I just, it’s it’s baesler in SPP is the Sotol parietal. And I liked it. It’s got like, so don’t paper fibers paper on it. It’s very tactile. It’s 48 ABV, folks. This is a no joke. So cool. I can’t wait. Because Matt’s in the middle of his tax season.

Matt Metras
On my Twitter bio, it says Daddy does taxes on tequila, but not at the same time but I saw that you can pay extra for that service. Yeah,

Mike Morales
he did say he did say that the refunds get bigger when he starts

Matt Metras
drinking tequila. Yes. You want a bigger refund go after eight o’clock at night and

Mike Morales
send him send them to say tequila to you. So

Matt Metras
we’ve had several Soto’s I don’t have you had to toll with with me have you and I’ve done this I don’t think we’ve done it together but I have quite a few in my personal collection.

Mike Morales
Oh, wow. Look at that lingering bubble. You know how I love a lingering

Matt Metras
bubble. That’s That’s your new band. Lingering bubbles are in bubble

Mike Morales
Yeah. Look at the legs and

Matt Metras
tears on that too. You can see all my tick tock lights.

Mike Morales
Yeah, you still you’re still dancing on tick tock.

Matt Metras
Oh yeah. All the

Mike Morales
all of taxis and he’s dancing, dancing drink and tax account

Matt Metras
up to four followers.

Mike Morales
Hey, what’s more, that’s more than we have because we’re not on tick tock I’ll get you there. I’ll get to there. Oh, whoa. Not using my stuff. So he told that we normally use for Miska obviously for higher ABVS Wow, this is got a nice Urian punch. Really guys. Let’s be let’s be clear here. This is not a mascara. This is made out of another plant. The smells the aromas are

Matt Metras
similar though. The very not not even technically an agave. No, no. Now they’re succulent. A desert spoon.

Mike Morales
Also known in that area as Sadecki, which I really like, I like that name. I like this Roman. Wow, this is really beautiful. We got no information on it. So we had to go backtrack and find the website of the importer that sent this to us and, and there’s a full page of everything you need to know. And we’ll we’ll get to that information. But

Matt Metras
I got like a pepper spice right up front.

Mike Morales
very fibrous and plant like obvious obviously a little bit of the alcohol but you know what, as high as the ABV is it’s not

Matt Metras
not super noticeable.

Mike Morales
No. And in fact, it’s it’s rather it’s even greener at the at the bottom of the glass if you

Matt Metras
Yeah, very much so.

Mike Morales
And the alcohol is not bad at all. I mean, it’s not there tequilas that are much stronger than this.

Matt Metras
Yeah, absolutely. You would expect something this high ABV to be more of a punch in your face, but it’s nice. It’s not.

Mike Morales
No it’s more it’s more of a plant punch. It’s a dance Larian punch versus the alcohol punch. No And no I’m not getting any fusible oil either none of that it doesn’t smell like jet fuel or anything you know as it opens up to you right I am getting a little bit more of a like a, like a jalapeno or chili spice of some sort. It’s fleeting.

Matt Metras
Yeah. It reminded me of like a like a Cholula hot sauce or something or tapa to hot sauce.

Mike Morales
Oh, yeah, okay

yeah, it doesn’t require a whole lot man. It’s right there. Yeah, it’s very pleasant. It’s not it’s not sweet on the nose. Like a mascot or even bright I’m just getting a dense fiber SNESs that that I’ve actually experienced with right where I see us

Matt Metras
or see us or fun to their Oh, yeah, just really cool. That’s one of the things I like about so tall is that the flavor profiles are not mezcal, right? They’re not tequila there’s something completely different and they’re my brother described it once it’s getting punched in the face by nature

Mike Morales
beautiful love that descriptor not well you know and I’ve said I’ve gone on record with you know when when I do other when we do other souls with my other DJs particularly with Jason or I think I’ve done a few with with Alex too. Is that was so tall. When it was first introduced to me I lived I was living in New Mexico I lived in Albuquerque for like 1518 years. And it’s it’s one of those where if you can it’s one of those areas you can smell rain landing before it gets to you. As long as the same way the Southwest you spent the summer out there I don’t know if you’ve got caught in the monsoon at all. But you can smell rain there are pockets of cells and it’s either very warm or hot and you can smell it evaporating off the pavement and it smells different off pavement than it does off a sidewalk that’s like wet cement versus wet pavement and I now that I’ve had enough of these from the from the three states called Wila Durango and in Chihuahua I’m more I’m I’m more familiar with Chihuahua because it’s it just it’s there’s majority of them were coming out of there but Durango and and the other state Coahuila they’re very different they’re very I think of all the plants we were talking about two are the so called plant this desert spoon really acquires that and I have had some really good Texas Sotol which is there’s a controversy on what we’re going to what they should call it but it smells like Texas prairie it tastes and smell the aroma it smells like that so I imagine that that every area that it grows you know it really you can almost tell by the by the smell where this is growing this is actually coming out of Chihuahua so right? Yeah me too. This is really opening up nicely

Matt Metras
oh man that is that’s pretty like a lot of spice black pepper plants. A lot of savoriness to it it’s not sweet at all. It’s very on the savory side warm pretty decently long finish too.

Mike Morales
I did get like a like on the retro nasal just initially on the on the on the on the intake. You could smell smoke when you just put it dissipates it just as it goes through over your tongue and the rest of your palate it’s gone. And you’re the pepper takes over. Nice warm fuzzy finish this and just this is wow man. I’m diggin it I got this is

Matt Metras
wow doesn’t necessarily drink like 48% either. So that could sneak up on a couple of these

Mike Morales
Yeah, this has got you know, even though it’s got the fiber SNESs and that translates right on the palate and once you get on the nose you’re getting on the palate except for more the like you said black pepper. The it’s better the spiciness. It really does remind me of our icea but the mouthfeel is it’s not as dance as I was expecting. Your right light mouthfeel which I’m okay with I you know I’m go

Matt Metras
with that. Yeah, especially when you look at the way like the tears are clinging on the glass. I don’t know how well you can see that but yeah, you expect it to be a little more viscous

Mike Morales
well to have more body you know, because it’s visually it’s beautiful with the with the legs, here’s your going oh, this is going to coat my palate and, and you and I’ve had miscarriages in the past where what actually coats your palate that reacts a lot like glycerin is the smoke you don’t even detect the smoke until you’ve had like two or three passes and then all of a sudden oh there’s the smoke and that’s what the smoke is supposed to do. Yeah wow

Matt Metras
I’m gonna residual a little bit of like woodiness to I know it’s not a barrel but maybe it’s just the the fibers themselves have that sort of woody quality. If not, like oh, like we experienced you know with tequila is it’s just sort

Mike Morales
of I say like sometimes I say it’s like a paper quality like you know, like a golf paper is a fibrous in this and I get that a lot with some with anything that’s been fermented with, you know, with the fibers in it. And we should probably get to some of that background information. I’m going to briefly read the back everything you need to know about this is on the back. Even gives you this is bottle 231 batch, I guess is je s 5000. I don’t know. The year was 2021. So this is a 2021 Vintage is this ancestors of the Aurora movie without a movie are said to have made the first Sotol under the Chihuahua desert sun in clay pots in circa 200 AD. The dry war get a seka against Sotol began in the 1910s when teetotaller Pancho via our hydro BNS right, emptied Soto barrows and executed Meister Soto little distillers because he he he actually didn’t drink. US speakeasies and Al Capone Li was with the lentils until the defeat of the US prohibition in 1933. So so the letters continued fighting Laguna Seca against all the new enemies and won the legal right to produce in 2002. And fun fact, the family that that had they acquired the first permit to export Sotol was the hotkey sped up Perez family which is currently the hotkeys family that makes porcine risotto don’t cook or Soto. They were the folks they were actually the folks that introduced me to so tall and I that’s to me, that’s a very high bar. Because they’re there. And currently, Jacob Hawke is the I think he’s fifth generation is is distilling? Chihuahuan Desert Sotol for for that brand for those brand owners in Marfa, Texas. So it’s clay and steel combined in our Olympic pots to give you a taste of ancestral history, and the exciting future so tall. You’ve got the website up, don’t you, Matt? Yeah,

Matt Metras
yeah, there’s not a ton of production information. There’s less storytelling. But there is some information about 10 days fermentation depending on weather conditions, distillation in a two inch clay line stainless steel pot with a copper top. During the second distillation, the so tall remains two weeks inside the still before being distilled.

Mike Morales
Yeah, the makers name is my social total Edmondo Horace on his apple orchard in the foothills of the 2000 person, town of butcher Neva pronouncing that correct, but Geneva Chihuahua at moonbot is a renaissance man. This is interesting to me. He runs the family farm, distills inventive spirits, and is a professor of food and agriculture science, agricultural science, at the research center and in food and development. And that’s a central bank mistake as shown in element has shown it as a royal. He doesn’t always drink beer, but when he does, it’s with Ganesa castle on yeah, there’s there’s pictures of him. He seems fairly young. I mean, this is a he’s a professor and a teacher. So he’s not your typical what you would consider Ahsoka ladle, of course, most most certainly lentils. You know, Matt, the people that I that I’ve seen doing Sotol have been more younger. They’re, you know, they’re not. They don’t they’re not the personalities that we see in their skull. You know, we’re They’re up in the hills, and they’re advanced in age and, you know, they have their own blankets and you have to, like, you know, hike to get to these places. So the letters by and larger are a little bit more younger and modernized, but but it’s still a it’s still a I handed down a skill, you know, each generation apprentices under the previous generation. And Jacob, Jacob really does a great job with with what he’s putting on it and lately, I I gotta tell you, man, I gotta agree with me here man brand a product. II. This is this is stellar. Do we have any price point on this thing? Because I know we have the importer.

Matt Metras
Yeah, I found one online store $91 on it.

Mike Morales
I’m okay. I’m okay with it. Yep, I pay. Yeah. 91 bucks. I probably now, the $64,000. Question is, will we put it in a cocktail?

Matt Metras
Yeah, no, I, I mean, it would probably do great in a cocktail. But it could, you know, it’s so first of all, the price point would make it very difficult to sell that go. But if price was no limit, and I’ve seen people order, you know, $50 margaritas with, you know, extra on your hosts that have no business being in a cocktail, anyway, but if if you weren’t going to do it, I would lead towards something like orange and a chili pepper. That’s what’s popping into my head like that sort of profile? I haven’t haven’t fleshed it out yet. Because I know you always ask this question. But you know, the cost would prevent me from doing that.

Mike Morales
But Well, I’m glad that that I asked you this question, because this is the kind of dilemma or factor that you know, the this is the type of element that needs to be factored into when you’re going to make a cocktail and put it on your menu. Is it cost effective for the for the venue? And yeah, you’re right when you when you break it down? So since we mentioned that it was savory, because it is it’s it’s a dense, you know, it’s not it’s not bright. Matter of fact, I haven’t really poured more than that one. That this initial pass I think a food pairing would be more appropriate. Because the savoriness I think it would be really great with a food and probably wouldn’t have to be Mexican food either. I’m thinking like a good Italian dinner maybe

Matt Metras
could be a Mexican, the first thing that popped into my mind was like a Malay. Okay, and I think that might pair well. Rosemary’s in my head, something like a rosemary chicken, if we’re going just standard fare. Yeah, it’s shouting things out, you know,

Mike Morales
but you know, we’re slipping off the cuff. We’re thinking off the cuff off the top of our heads. I wouldn’t I probably I would go as far as poultry or even meat. I think it’s just too dense for fish. I think it would overpower the fish. Not. Probably not. But you know, like a turkey. Like a beef. Yeah. That kind of thing. Or even even like I say an Italian Italian dinner with sauces. I think it would work really weirdly well. Yeah, absolutely. Hey, I got nothing else to say except I would buy would buy it. brand promise nominee. It’s a great. It’s a great addition. The I want to thank the importers. Matt, who made this happen. Not you met but

Matt Metras
we’re all the same. All the math,

Mike Morales
I believe. You know what? I lost his email. So let me get let me get back to his email. I think his name is Matt and Luke. Before I give him a shout out, let me let me just make sure I keep his name correct.

Matt Metras
The math will take credit either

Mike Morales
way. Yeah, I’m sure he will. There we go. His name is Matt Adams, Matthew Adams. And Matthew Adams is working with a he works for cultured spirits, which is the importer you can follow these folks on Instagram. And they also import another brand that I’m dying to get a hold up because we have had them we’ve had a few of their varietals, or expressions of their mascara that the import and the mascara the enforce glue and Ada, which we Rick and I had a couple years back and it’s a spectacular mess Cabo, but it did not have the type of input importers and distribution that it needed, I guess. But anyway, give it a sec. I love it. This is good stuff. Yeah. Congratulations. That’s our take on give it a second so don’t if you’ve had it tell us what you’re getting it where it’s available. Where did you find that price point? What was that a particular was that off their own website or was at like

Matt Metras
uptown spirits.com I do a Google that and you know, I go with the first couple results.

Mike Morales
Okay. Okay, so if you guys have bought it and are doing something with it, let us know in the comments. If you’re watching us on YouTube, you know, please subscribe, hit the notification bell give us a like, because that helps us with the algorithm. And it makes me feel good. Yeah, I will. Yeah, you know, so anyway. Mike Morales you’re in Southern California that guy out

Matt Metras
there is Matt Matrice in Rochester, New York. And you have been watching

Mike Morales
and listening to sipping off the cuff on tequila aficionado media follow us on all of our platforms like Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and follow Matt on just Twitter because you know now or tick tock for that. But whatever you do, the amount of savvy I’m in did that wisely.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai