16: Sotol The Spirit of the Chihuahuan Desert

In this episode of EPFV, Meredith E. Abaca speaks with Valeria Alcalde who grew up in Ciudad Juárez, and after traveling the world, returned to create her own brand of sotol, an alcohol made from a native yucca plant of the Chihuahuan Desert. Valeria describes the history and process of making this spirit. We learn from Valeria’s story, not only about the artisan process of making sotol, but also about her own spiritual journey that has taken her to  development of her own brand, Rarámuri sotol. In the process of learning about sotol, we also learn about the difference between this spirit and others such as mescal and tequila. Valeria to the popularity of the whiskey in history of beverages in Mexico. For those of us living in the Chihuahuan Desert, sotol should be embraced us our heritage drink of choice.