Last night, chef Julian Medina’s El Verano (10 Windmill Lane, Southampton, 631-377-3050) had a heady celebration of summer featuring Mexico’s lesser-known spirit, sotol (in this instance, from Casa Lotos), featuring a cocktail class and fun happy hour to sample it. It’s distilled from the desert spoon plant (aka, Daisylirion wheeleri), which looks a little like agave that hasn’t quite come into its own. Like tequila or mezcal, whose agave must be grown in certain states of Mexico and also made in those regions, by law, sotol also must be made in one of three Mexican states — Chihuahua (where the brunt of it comes from), Durango and Coahuila — from desert spoon grown there.
How is it different? Think of it like chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. With certain tequilas and mezcal — and certainly with aged versions — the spirit can lean into a richer mouthfeel and roasty, vegetal earthiness; with sotol, think grassy, peppery notes and bright and zippy impression on your palate.
If you missed the El Verano fun, don’t worry — you can grab Casa Lotos sotol at the Sag Harbor Liquor Store and Bridgehampton Wine Cellar, and give it a shot yourself this weekend.
Sandía de Chihuahua
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh watermelon, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2 oz Casa Lotos Sotol Blanco
- 1 1/4 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz agave or simple syrup
- 1 dash hot sauce such as Cholula or Valentina
- 1 oz Tajín
- 1 thin slice watermelon, rind on
Directions
- Place the watermelon pieces in the cocktail shaker and muddle well.
- Combine the remaining liquid ingredients in the cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until well-chilled, about 10 to 15 seconds.
- Wet the rim of a chilled margarita glass with the squeezed-out lime. Pour the Tajín onto a saucer and gently dip the rim of the glass in it, coating it entirely.
- Partly strain the cocktail into margarita glass, then pour without a strainer to include the muddled watermelon. Garnish with a thin slice of watermelon.
