OIL Interviews Jon Darby
Sorbito is a new mezcal tasting room and bottle shop from The Sin Gusano Project, has just opened on Stoke Newington Road, cementing the area’s reputation as the capital’s hub for Latin nightlife and agave spirits.
Named after the Spanish for “little sip,” Sorbito lets guests explore rare mezcals through self-serve enomatic machines – the first of their kind in the UK for agave spirits. We chatted to Founder, Jon Darby, to find out more…
- What inspired the creation of Sorbito, and how did it come about through The Sin Gusano Project?
Sorbito is essentially the home of The Sin Gusano Project. It stems from us wanting to provide a place for people to learn more about and enjoy the very best of what agave spirits can offer. It also allows us to provide mezcal lovers a deeper understanding of the spirit outside of the online space we created with the Mezcal Appreciation Society. It’s also intended as a space for collaborations with like minded industry colleagues, local artists, etc.
2. Why did you choose Stoke Newington Road as the location for Sorbito?
It’s where I have lived for the past decade or so and where I began with my very first work with Mezcal in the form of my Sin Gusano pop ups in 2017. It also since then seems to have become a bit of a ‘Mezcal Mile’, with the great work done by the likes of Hacha, bar Dona and Corrochios. There seems to be a lovely community of local residents who are curious to explore other cultures and their delicacies.
3. What does the name “Sorbito” – meaning “little sip” – represent to you?
The name Sorbito embodies how we feel exceptional Mezcal should be drunk – Sipped and savoured. It also represents how the bar aims to achieve an accessibility to the the best mezcal you can find. Naturally, due to the rarity of the batches we source, they command a sort of ‘top shelf’ price. We offer 10ml pours a.k.a Sorbitos of these super rare mezcal, which means, for the price of one ‘top shelf’ Mezcal in elite bars in London, you can try about 10 Mezcals at Sorbito for the same price.
4. How does Sorbito differ from other mezcal bars or tasting rooms in London?
Our entire focus is on trying the agave spirits as close to their pure form. It’s a hill we are willing to die on, perhaps to the disappointment of the Margarita lover. We feel that we won’t make cocktails any better than the cocktail focused bars of London, but equally no one will be able to provide the same depth of flavour and variety that we can in terms of mezcal. Although, it might be worth popping by to try some of our under the counter creations we have been working on, particularly for the martini lover.
5. Can you tell us about the enomatic machines and how they enhance the mezcal-tasting experience?
The enomatic machines allow us to spend more time talking with customers about what they are trying and also gives us precise measurements for the Sorbito pours. It can also offer people a personal journey through the machines when it’s a little busier, you can jump from bottle to bottle like being in a sweet shop picking and mixing.
6. What types of mezcals can visitors expect to find at Sorbito?
Given that a lot of these mezcal will have been personally sourced by us, people can expect to try mezcal from places they may have never tried mezcal from and flavours that will be new to them. You will also find true scarcity, some of the batches we bring over are limited to a matter of a few litres and sadly, when they’re gone, they’re gone forever. There is so much flavour diversity that it’s hard to say what exactly to expect, especially as we regularly rotate what will be on the machines. What you can expect is far from what may usually be associated with Mezcal, which is a heavy smoky profile, the mezcal here will offer much more than just smokey flavours.
7. How do you go about sourcing such rare or unique agave spirits?
In a nutshell, I spend hours, days, weeks, even months, on the road in Mexico. It’s a genuine adventure heading off into the unknown, with perhaps the name of a remote community or the name of a mezcal producer to go on. Typically, these are rural areas who are essentially just making for their local community. You’ll find that this is where you can see incredible differences in production methods to making spirits from one community to the next. Over the last 10 years, we have created strong relationships with producers from all over Mexico and we aim to keep reaching new places and finding more incredible spirits.
8. What do you think Sorbito adds to “Dalston’s Latin Revival” scene?
We hope this will provide another slice of true authenticity and education. A new niche for people to explore.
9. How do you see the UK’s growing interest in mezcal shaping the future of agave culture here?
This is a really difficult question to answer in short. Mezcal is at a key crossroads moment in the UK, where the industry must make a strong effort to help people understand the spirit better. Rather than just seeing large scale, extra smokey Mezcal designed to make cocktails with a smokey twist, we have luckily found a growing number of enthusiasts who are interested in diving into the details of the really good stuff. We hope to keep growing this community and can envision a future where quality Mezcal is treated similarly to other exceptional spirits from around the world.
10. What do you hope guests take away from their visit to Sorbito?
We hope that everyone who comes to Sorbito leaves with a love for agave spirits and a better understanding of how incredible they are. And the memory of a great time
Find out more > www.singusano.com/pages/sorbito
