Anyone in the bar and restaurant industry interested in spirits or in southern Mexican culture has, no doubt, watched in horror or delight the rocket-like ascension of mezcal on the global drinks scene over the last few years. The agave-based spirit seems to have taken off on the coattails of tequila—which continues its own rapid climb to the top of alcohol sales mountain—on a mission to make itself the go-to drink of everyone. The agave spirits’ quantum leap in popularity and accessibility has left one question on every bar business-oriented mind: “What’s the next mezcal?” And some think they’ve already found the answer: sotol.
Sotol carries a variety of similar properties to mezcal. From its distinct smoky flavor to its Mexican agave-like plant origin, the resemblance is almost uncanny. Even making sotol “is a process very, very similar to that of mezcal,” says Wendy Eisenberg, cofounder of Casa Lotos Sotol. “The plant is harvested, the heads are cooked over a fire in an underground pit, which provides this very smoky flavor. The plant is then fermented in wooden vats, traditionally, and distilled in either copper or stainless-steel pot stills.”
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But sotol doesn’t come from agave, it comes from the Dasylirion wheeleri, a.k.a. the desert spoon, which, like agave, is part of the same botanical family as the asparagus plant. It grows in the northern deserts of Mexico (not the southern)—primarily in Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila—and in the Southwestern United States.
But sotol carries some distinct advantages: “Unlike agave, which you can harvest once and then it dies, the dasylirion plant, if you harvest it carefully, you can get several harvests throughout the plant’s life,” says Eisenberg.
So why hasn’t sotol caught on like mezcal or tequila? It’s a question with answers found across the spirit’s history.
“The plant was being used by the people who are native to this land for thousands of years,” explains Juan Pablo Carvajal, cofounder of Los Magos Sotol. On top of using it to make baskets and for sustenance, “They would ferment it for use in ritualistic purposes,” he adds. “They would have this brewed beer of sotol that they would use in celebrations. When the copper still was introduced to this territory, that use was already there. So, the easy thing was to take that fermented sotol, put it into the still, make a spirit. And that was when it started to become the spirit that we know today.” That was about 300 years ago.
However, everything went south around 100 years ago. “When Prohibition was happening in the States, we did something that we are known to do very well: contraband,” continues Carvajal. “We took our sotol to the border, and people like Al Capone were coming down to Juarez to buy sotol and corn whiskey that we were making down here. Because of that, the industry grew. And with that growth, a reputation for illegality and clandestine bootlegging grew with it.
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“So, what happened? The Mexican government and the Chihuahua government got together and persecuted a lot of the sotoleros. They prohibited the production and just distribution of sotol. The army would go to where the distilleries were and destroy the stills—some of the sotoleros were even killed. This legal prohibition lasted from the ’20s into the ’30s, but then there were actually a lot of de facto prohibitions. You couldn’t transport sotol, no permits were given for its production. From then until the late ’80s that was the rule. So sotol was still regarded as a very illegal moonshine type of thing.”
While sotol has been making inroads in the U.S. for a while now, there are a few brands that have established themselves. Some to look for: Los Magos fully grasps the history and place of sotol and wants to play a role in its future. Casa Lotos, crafted by fourth-generation master distillers the Ruelas family, makes their sotol in an aboveground brick oven, taking away some of the smokiness. Hacienda de Chihuahua makes nine different sotol-related products, from the base plata to an añejo to a creamy chocolate variety. Desert Door hails from West Texas and focuses on the herbaceous sweet - ness of sotol, but while it is one of the easier bottles to get your hands on, it’s not without controversy as the spirit has a protected domain of origin in northern Mexico (which dictates labeled sotol can only come from Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango). Any of these would make an excellent entre to sotol if you see them on shelves.
Mix It Up
Like tequila and mezcal, sotol’s versatility is one of its best qualities. Due to its natural herbal sweetness and smokiness (in most cases), it can be enjoyed on its own, with a single mixer or in a cocktail. Those who prefer to keep things simple can opt for it neat or on the rocks, while the most popular pour these days tends to be in the direction of Ranch Water: sotol, sparkling water, lime and salt.
And for those looking to take it behind the bar, bar and brand consultant and all-around cocktail aficionado Karl Steuck simply affirms, “Love it.” He notes that it’s particularly good in a Blanco Negroni as well as in his Toca Mi Timbre.
Toca Mi Timbre
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces sotol
- ½ ounce Faccia Brutto Apertivo
- 2 ounces oro blanco grapefruit
- ½ ounce lime juice
- ½ ounce serrano syrup (1:1 simple with chili heat)
- CR Citrus smoked dehydrated lime
- Black lava sea salt
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Fill with ice. Shake vigorously to combine and pour over one large ice cube. Garnish with smoked dehydrated lime and a pinch of black lava sea salt sprinkled over top.
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2024 of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!
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Published: June 6, 2024
