Mezcal and tequila are undoubtedly the most well-known Mexican spirits, yet there are many other categories worth exploring through a Mexican lens. For example, Mexican rum is a steadily growing category that comes with its own protected appellation of origin in the case of charanda rum from Michoachan. 

A must-try Mexican rum is Sol Tarasaco Hongos for how it tastes and for the story behind it.

Brand Story 

Sol Tarasaco Hongos is a charanda rum made by the Pacheco family of Uruapan, Michoacan under the brand name of Casa Tarasaco. The name charanda comes from the red volcanic soil in which the sugarcane used to make the spirit grows. It follows a similar distillation process to other kinds of rum, except the distillation happens in a copper pot still.  

The Pacheco family have been championing and making charanda rum since 1907. Currently run by Miriam Pacheco, her great grandfather Don Cleofas Murgia switched from producing mezcal in the early 1900s to distilling unrefined sugarcane in Filipino style alembics and this has been the case ever since. The Pacheco family produce their charanda with 10 hectares of sugarcane and do so in a seasonal manner to reflect the terroir of the land. 

The interesting part about Sol Tarasaco Hongos is that after the cane juice has been distilled twice in the copper pit stills and aged in ex-bourbon barrels for a minimum of 24 months, Cordyceps mushrooms are added and left to marinate in the spirit for three months before bottling. 

The mushrooms have been used for medicinal purposes in the village of Tarasco for thousands of years and are said to promote longevity and vitality. Perhaps this is the case when the mushrooms are used on their own. But with the mushrooms being used in alcohol, those health benefits are more tied to marketing rhetoric for the sake of the product. It’s still a cool story and interesting ingredient to use and I feel does impact the overfall flavour of the charanda.

Presentation

The bottle is dark brown and adorned with a white label that features a detailed sketch of the Cordyceps mushrooms. A clear denomination of origin label is also featured, along with a recognition of the rum being 40% ABV.

An added detail I like is the bottle being wrapped with a mushroom necklace that clinks when you pour the spirit out. Each chime is a reverent reminder that you are imbibing a product crafted from the essence of an ancient land with so much history and heritage.

Tasting Notes

Sol Tarasaco Hongos is a complex rum with multiple layers that keeps building with each sip. The first notes that come through are vanilla, banoffee pie, coffee and wood. After that settlement, the savouriness of the mushrooms comes in, mixed with a black pepper and rhubarb spice that leaves behind a warming sensation.

A third level of flavour is all chocolate and butterscotch. This is the aftertaste that lingers and gets caught up with more of the earthy notes of the mushrooms. As a man who’s partial to Caribbean rums with a thick molasses smoothness, I think Sol Tarasaco Hongos definitely follows in that legacy, but there is a deeper spiciness and earthiness that defines what Mexican rum is as a whole.