Back
before we Returned to Garda, I’d been pricing up brands of
tequila, and had settled for one I wanted to buy at a price I wanted
to pay. The only problem was that it was out of stock at the retailer
that had it at that price. So I decided to wait. I came back from
Italy one pay day richer, and ready to have another quick peruse
before deciding one way or another. Arette Blanco was still
out of stock at Drink Supermarket, but at Amazon, they had
this on offer. It’s like tequila apparently, but it’s made from a
different plant (Desert Spoon or sotol instead of
agave) and is from the Chihuahua region of Mexico.
So
this was £26.91 (including delivery) for 70cl and it’s 38%
alcohol. It comes in an impressive (but ugly) mottled and [I don’t
know] tombstone shaped bottle, with clear labelling and some nice
silver text on the side. There’s a label around the neck and a
large stopper that is sealed with a kind of string-wax arrangement.
It looks a bit like one of those water containers that you see
cowboys drinking out of in old western films.
I
saved the moment of fulfilment for a games night with Pablo
and Veronica, breaking it out after a couple of beers. That
string-wax arrangement I mentioned looks nice enough, but it proved a
devilishly difficult obstacle for me to overcome. Seriously; it
shouldn’t take more than a few seconds to open a new bottle.
I
have to admit, I was disappointed at first, as the Hacienda de Chihuahua sotol doesn’t deliver any of the
qualities I look forward to in enjoying tequila. No rough edges, no
agave sting, no sharpness. If anything there was something creamy
about it. In its favour was that it didn’t just taste like cheap
alcohol – but on the flipside of that, it just didn’t really
taste like much.Whether or not these are characteristics of sotol in general I couldn't say, but I can't see any harm in finding out by trying another brand one day.
Fortunately the Chihuahua (a frustratingly difficult word to type on this laptop) proved to be easy drinking and provide a safe option for when I
couldn’t decide what to start an evening’s drinking with. I’d
still prefer something a bit more bold and demanding of my attention,
but this has turned out to be decent value and a worthwhile
investment. In the end even Mrs Cake enjoyed drinking it neat, and it
was nice to try something a bit different, and look all cultured when friends came round.
I
think I will go back to tequila next time – perhaps something of
the anejo variety - but if you have more than a passing
interest in the wide world of spirits, it’s worthwhile completing a
Mexican trilogy that starts with tequila, moves on to mezcal, and
finishes with this. I wonder if there are any more to try…
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