This cheeky little ‘kind-of-tequila’ was my first bottle of a decent, interesting spirit; in 2003/4 I was just getting my foot on the ladder in bar-tending, and working (well, ‘working’) at a new bar in Bath called Lounge. Lounge was a great place to start, as it seemed to be being run as a tax write-off and we were positively encouraged to experiment and create new drinks. Including a rather spectacular drink called the apple crumble which, due to the caramelised sugar on top, would explode about 50% of the times you made it.
I was dispatched off to great western wines before my shift one night, the local good booze pusher, for supplies, and decided to grab myself a bottle of this. Because I was fresh to this game and thought different might be better than definitely good, I went with the odd bottle the staff were evidently having trouble shifting (and what a lovely bottle it is, too). Which was a lucky guess in this case, as the Sotol is lovely; like tequila, but without any of the roughness and much, much more complex taste. Makes a fine margarita, too.
Get some at Vintage House in Soho: (and ignore the comments about the staff, they were lovely when I went in)
Drinking a gorgeous margarita with this stuff now; remember, no flavor crap, just straight up (also, not frozen); 2 Tequila, 2 lime, 1 triple sec.