SUMMER SPIRITS RELEASE
CRISTALINO Cristalino tequilas are aged tequilas, usually añejos and extra añejos, that are filtered through charcoal. This process aims to remove tannins, enhance fruity and floral notes, and achieve a clear blanco-esque appearance. Cristalinos aren’t an official category of tequila but they have been officially recognized by the CRT, so we may see official categorization coming soon. MEZCAL Mezcal is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from the cooked and fermented hearts, or piñas, of agave plants. Unlike tequila, mezcal can use any kind of agave plant. The traditional cooking process occurs in large underground pits lined with volcanic rock. This underground “oven” is fueled with burning wood and covered with dirt, allowing the agave hearts to smoke and bake until they’re ready for fermentation and then distilled. Usually, a smokier spirit than tequila. There are three legally defined mezcal categories: mezcal, mezcal artesanal, and mezcal ancestral. Each category dictates the methods and equipment producers can use to make the spirit. 1. Mezcal is the most industrial of the three and allows for modern production in a more processed, time-efficient setting. 2. Mezcal artesanal is primarily traditional but allows for the distillation in stainless steel or copper. 3. Mezcal ancestral—roasting takes place only in pit ovens, while fermentation can be carried out in a range of vessels including wooden tanks, hollowed-out stone or tree trunks, and animal skins. Mezcal Ancestral distillation exclusively uses clay pots fueled by fire. SOTOL Sotol is a distilled spirit from the Chihuahuan desert (northern Mexico, western Texas) sourced from the family of Asparagaceae; the genus Dasylirion called the desert spoon. The plant itself has thinner leaves then the blue agave, and maturation occurs in 10 to 15 years. The hearts are roasted with oak and/or mesquite wood in an earthen oven, similar to mezcal. It is then fermented and distilled like tequila. Sotol’s taste is usually described as bright and grassy.
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