Got agave? San Marcos distiller proposes local chapter of tequila academy
By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Thursday, September 14, 2006 9:14 AM PDT ∞
Philip Soto Mares stands behind a blue agave plant outside his San Marcos home. The plant is used to make tequila such as his El Duende brand which should hit shelves next February. Soto, the only person outside Mexico authorized to conduct tequila tastings, plans to propose a local chapter of La Academia Mexicana del Tequila in San Marcos. The school would include a tequila museum and a distillery for demonstrations.
GARY WARTH Staff Photographer
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San Marcos already has a university and college, but some day it may have a school with real spirit.
Philip Soto Mares, president of El Duende Tequila, said he soon will approach the city of San Marcos with a proposal to open the only American chapter of La Academia Mexicana del Tequila, founded in 2000 to protect the image of tequila and promote the industry with seminars and educational events.
"San Marcos would become the tequila capital of the United States," he said. "California is the largest market for tequila. What better place to have an educational center like this than San Marcos?"
In January 2004, La Academia Mexicana del Tequila awarded Soto a certificate as a catador (taster), making him the only one in the United States authorized to hold official tastings and to judge tequila. Since then, Soto has been holding his own tastings and evaluations in San Marcos, and officials in Mexico have asked him to be the first director outside their country to establish a chapter of the academy.
Mexico keeps tight reins on tequila, prohibiting distillers from even using the term outside their country. Soto makes El Duende at a distiller in Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico; the same alcohol would be called an "agave spirit" or another such name if it were brewed outside Mexico.
Soto said he plans to complete a business plan for a local tequila academy in about two weeks. The plan will call for a 6,000-square-foot building ---- large enough for seminars, tasting events, a tequila museum and a distillery ---- and three acres for agave plants and events such as demonstrations by charros, traditional Mexican cowboys in colorful outfits.
Soto envisions creating the center somewhere in Twin Oaks Valley, and he thinks construction could be about a year away. Financing would come from distillers and others in the industry, he said.
"There would be lectures for tourists and formal seminars held for catadors," Soto said. "There would be formal seminars for industry people, and it would also be for the general public to come on a tour to see how tequila is actually made, how it's grown, baked. The entire process."
Tequila is made from agave, a Southwestern succulent plant with thick, spiny leaves. At harvest, the leaves are chopped off and the center bulb is quartered and baked until caramelized, then crushed. An agave yields about five liters of clear, sweet mosto, which is fermented and condensed in a distiller.
Soto's own tequila, El Duende, will not be on shelves until at least next February. He originally thought it would be for sale this year, but the bottles he planned to use broke 99 percent of the time during stress tests. Fortunately for Soto, he never sent out a shipment with the faulty bottles and had not even ordered a large supply of them.
His new bottles are coming from Europe and have a subtle concavity that Soto said make them easy to grasp.
El Duende, named after a mythical Latin American gnome, will sell as a blanco for $45.99, a reposado for $55.99 and an anejo for $65.99. The three-year-reserve will sell for $150.
Although El Duende can't be purchased yet, people can try it this Sunday in San Diego when the tequila is served as part of the Spirits of Mexico festival to commemorate Mexican Independence Day.
Las Vegas high-rollers also can try the tequila at the Bellagio Hotel, where it was named the VIP tequila, meaning it is in gift baskets to elite guests.
Soto has been making tequila for friends and family members since 1994 after learning the process from his uncle. El Duende is his first commercial tequila.
Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.
Almost six dozen of the world's finest tequilas and mezcals will be poured Saturday night as part of the 4th annual Spirits of Mexico celebration in San Diego.
Guests will include San Marcos resident Phillip Soto Mares, president of El Duende de Don Felipe Tequila and catador oficial of the prestigious Academia Mexicana del Tequila. Soto will be pouring samples of his El Duende tequila, which will not be on the market until next year.
A silent auction will include gift baskets filled with rare bottles of tequila and mezcal. All proceeds of the auction go to the Sky Ranch Foundation for troubled youth.
Music will be provided by Mario Olivares and Latin Spice.
When: 4-9 p.m. Sept. 16
Where: San Diego Wine & Culinary Center, 200 Harbor Drive, San Diego
Cost: $50 in advance, $55 at door for 4 p.m. entry, $35 in advance, $40 at the door for 5 p.m. entry.
Tickets available at http://www.polishedpalate.com.
Call: (727) 812-6005
-- Philip Soto Mares stands behind a blue agave plant, left, outside his San Marcos home. The plant is used to make tequila, such as his El Duende brand, right, which should hit shelves next February. Soto, the only person outside Mexico authorized to conduct tequila tastings, plans to propose a local chapter of La Academia Mexicana del Tequila in San Marcos. The school would include a tequila museum and a distillery for demonstrations. Staff photo Gary Warth
