The ancient spirit fueling Mexico’s next drinks boom
As Tequila’s meteoric rise begins to plateau, sotol is stepping into the spotlight with bold flavours, sustainable production and deep regional roots. Kathleen Willcox explores how this little-known desert spirit is poised to become the next big thing behind the bar.
Contemporary drinks culture thrives on novelty. The second the industry thinks it knows how to quench cocktail lovers’ thirst, a fancy new aperitif appears. The current arriviste throwing elbows, generating interest and sparking jealous glares is sotol. It hails from a familiar place — Mexico — but is only tangentially related to its more well-established cohorts, Tequila and mezcal.
Sotol’s appearance is interestingly timed given Tequila and mezcal’s recent struggles. Sales of agave-based spirits like Tequila and mezcal surged impressively for years, but then sales fell off a cliff, catching many by surprise. According to IWSR, less than 10% of the ultra-premium spirits market was represented by Tequila just over a decade ago, but by 2022, close to one in three bottles of luxury spirits in the U.S. was agave-based, with Tequila representing the lion’s share of that market.
Last year, sales of Tequila overall were down -1% according to IWSR’s most recent data, with prestige Tequilas still managing to hold onto growth of 6%. Sotol volumes, meanwhile, grew 17% in 2022 from a small base, with CAGR growth projected through 2027 of 6%, per IWSR.
“Sotol is now at the point that Mezcal was at eight years ago,” says Luigi Ambrosi, who co-founded the sotol brand Cardenxe with Nitzan Podoswa. “But the growth is happening faster, and people are more open to trying it. It sits somewhere between Tequila and mezcal, because it has more flavour than Tequila, but is not as smoky as mezcal, and has some of the delicate flora notes of gin. It appeals to anyone who’s into esoteric spirits and who loves experimenting with cocktails.”
Sotol 101
Sotol is typically made from plants in the genus Dasylirion, a desert shrub commonly called desert spoon that grows wild in Northern Mexico and the southwestern United States in dry, rocky soils, in the valley and at higher elevations. It is from the same family (Asparagaceae) as agave.
The slow-to-mature evergreen shrub grows from late spring to summer, and resembles a spider plant with long, spiny leaves that grow outward to form a symmetrical circular globe. Depending on the species, it can grow up to 20 feet tall with a slowly developing trunk.
When the plant is harvested, the root remains in place, which means that it will regrow. Post-harvest, the desert spoon is typically roasted for several days, after which the resulting matter is milled and pressed. The resulting sap is fermented, then distilled.
And while there is evidence that indigenous communities in the Chihuahuan desert have been fermenting and consuming sotol in some form for millennia, it didn’t appear in the US until very recently. Its production was essentially prohibited in Mexico until 1994.
“Sotol has deep historical roots in northern Mexico, specifically in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango, where it has been traditionally produced and consumed by indigenous communities and rural populations,” says Alessandra Camino, CEO and co-founder of Acrónimo Spirits in Chihuahua. “However, its legal recognition and commercialisation were delayed due to a mix of political pressure, regional bias and a lack of formal regulation.”
An ancient spirit’s revival
The suppression of sotol dates back to the Prohibition era, when the US government pressured the powers that be in Mexico to restrict alcohol production near the border. Because sotol was largely produced in northern Mexico, the crackdown was intense.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that the secret, underground production of sotol became formally mainstreamed, legalised and recognised. In 2002, sotol production was granted protected status under a Denomination of Origin.
“Sotol’s lack of recognition was less about its intrinsic value and more about politics, geography and historical oversight,” says Camino. “Thanks to the persistence of local communities and visionaries, it is now emerging as a proud symbol of northern Mexico’s biodiversity and heritage.”
Rogelio Mercado, director general of Sotol Hacienda de Chihuahua, explains that the brand’s founders helped lay the groundwork for the legal recognition, with master distiller José Daumas essentially pioneering the modern style of sotol.
“The Denomination of Origin was a critical milestone for the category,” Mercado says. “It protects sotol’s identity and gives it the same legal recognition as Tequila, mezcal and other sought-after Mexican spirits. Our goal has always been to safeguard the category’s authenticity and ensure that only spirits made with wild Dasylirion in the defined geographical region could carry the ‘sotol’ name.”
A truly sustainable spirit
The foundation of legitimacy that sotol is now grounded in with official recognition is dependent on the sustainability and continuing health of wild Dasylirion, which appears to be better poised to withstand climate change than agave.
As the Tequila industry is beset with faltering sales and stories exposing ingredient and additive untruths, the nascent sotol business is eager to present itself as a green alternative.
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Casa Lotos Sotol was founded by fourth-generation master distillers who descend from Vincente Ruelas, the first distiller to legally obtain a permit to produce sotol in the 1930s. Today, co-founder Aaron Dujovne sees the legacy of the entire region on the line, with the viability of desert spoon paving the way for a healthy future, even in a drier and hotter world.
“The plant can grow in very difficult conditions, and extreme heat actually gives it its unique and complex flavour,” Dujovne says. “It has to be harvested following regulations designed to ensure its regrowth.”
Permits to harvest Dasylirion are given by a federal government agency in Mexico, Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Landowners must present a study showing their extraction plan, which can only entail harvesting 40% of fully mature adult plants.
In addition to practising sustainable harvesting techniques, Casa Lotos is powering its production practices with solar energy and is using recycled glass and labels.
“By using a solar-powered oven, it’s more sustainable on multiple fronts, especially because in the desert, wood isn’t freely available,” Dujovne explains. “Without the smoke from the wood burning, we eliminate that carbon, and also get a cleaner flavour in the final product that allows the cucumber, mint and lime notes to emerge on the finish.”
The team at Hacienda de Chihuahua also focuses on an earth-friendly production process.“We’ve implemented energy-efficient systems, water recycling practices, and we use an indirect heat hydrolysis method for cooking the hearts, which is more controlled and less damaging to the environment than traditional pit-roasting,” says senior brand manager Maria Elias.
At La Pulga Spirits, co-founder Andrew De La Torre says their Tequila, mezcal and sotol are all additive-free and organic. “We work with three distilleries for each distinct product in the regions they’re traditionally from,” he explains. “We want to focus on sustainability and giving back, and we work closely with our distilleries to ensure they share the same values.”
Leaning into terroir + education
Terroir is generally most associated with viticulture, but sotol producers are finding that where the desert spoon grows deeply affects the character and flavour of the finished product.
“We produce three expressions of Sotol, from the desert, the prairie and the mountain,” Ambrosi explains. “The flavours are completely different, and we have found that presenting them this way makes it easier to understand.”
The desert expression is drier and a little bitter, with a sweeter finish, thanks to the intense diurnal shift in the region. The prairie expression grows in land surrounded by fruit plantations and flowery grasslands, which deliver floral notes. In the mountains, the plants grow surrounded by conifers and trees, which lends a woodsy, piney flavour.
On the flipside, Camino says that celebrating the tapestry of flavours has helped open doors.
“We wanted to highlight its complexity by making it more approachable,” Camino explains. “One of the biggest breakthroughs came from blending two native Chihuahua varieties: Dasylirion Cedrosanum and Dasylirion Wheeleri. Each reflects its unique provenance — Cedrosanum, native to higher elevations, carries the freshness of its cooler, greener habitat, while Wheeleri, adapted to drier, more rugged terrain, brings depth shaped by the arid landscape.”
In a world where sotol still raises quizzical brows, producers are focused on outreach to cocktail enthusiasts and gatekeepers. “Sotol is on the verge of a breakout moment,” Camino says. “The world is ready for something new, and sotol offers a story, a taste, and a terroir that people haven’t experienced before. Just like bourbon put Kentucky on the map and mezcal redefined artisanal spirits from Mexico, I believe sotol can do the same for Chihuahua.”
For bar directors like Lauren Beckman, of the Michelin-starred Mixtli in San Antonio, TX, sotol has been an exciting vehicle for engagement with guests and a great addition to her bar.
“Sotol has started to generate interest among guests, especially those already into agave spirits, but looking for something off the beaten path,” Beckman says. “Most people are still unfamiliar with it, but once they get a quick explanation, they’re usually intrigued. It’s a spirit with centuries of tradition, originally used by Indigenous communities, and it brings a compelling sense of place.”
Plus, the product is approachable enough for first-timers, but nuanced enough to appeal to experienced spirits aficionados.
How long will the drink world’s crush on sotol last? And will it blossom into a love affair with (at least some) staying power? Tough to say. But for now, at least, it looks like sotol is the spirit everyone wants to get to know a little bit better.
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