Spirit of Mexico

Agave spirits have certainly been having a moment, but there’s a diverse world of unique Mexican distillates also ready for some limelight.

WORDS Courtney Iseman

The rise of tequila and mezcal in American bars is a success story for the ages. Tequila is ubiquitous, and dwindling are the days when a bar patron would ask of mezcal, “Wait, isn’t that just smoky tequila?” Entire bars have popped up dedicated to agave spirits, and overall, the category is expected to outsell vodka in U.S. bars in 2024, per hospitality engagement platform Union.

It might therefore be easy to forget there’s a varied world of alcoholic beverages crafted in Mexico to explore. The agave category is rich and diverse, but it’s time to start sharing the spotlight. Especially as tequila and mezcal have inspired American consumers to take an interest in different regional beverage categories, it’s high time to delve deeper into Mexican spirits and liqueurs not made from agave, or that are looking beyond agave for inspiration.

Sotol is a natural starting place. At New York City’s Bar Calico, Head Bartender Alex Dominguez has curated an unrivaled bar program that places the spirit front and center. If unfamiliar, he says he often asks patrons if they like mezcal, and if the answer is yes, he begins their introduction to sotol.

It’s a common misconception sotol is another agave spirit, but it’s made from a variety of shrub plant in the Dasylirion family, most commonly Dasylirion wheeleri, also known as desert spoon. It’s a succulent that grows wild in the Chihuahua region of Mexico as well as in Sonora, Mexico; Arizona, Texas and New Mexico.

Wherever desert spoon grows, people make sotol, but bottlings from Chihuahua tend to be the best examples and carry a Sotol Denomination of Origin (DO), along with those made in the Mexican states of Durango and Coahuila. Desert spoon grows in both desert and forest environments, and Dominguez points to differences in sotol made from desert plants versus forest plants. The desert expresses itself through leathery, spicy notes, while forest-grown desert spoon yields earthy, herbal characteristics.

Sotol has started making headlines because of sustainability factors in its sourcing. While agave spirits require the agave plant’s roots be dug up and then replanted, desert spoon’s roots can stay in place when it’s harvested and regrow on its own. The actual production process mirrors mezcal’s: A sotolero roasts desert spoon in an oven in a pit in the ground, adding more terroir with local wood. The resulting softened plant gets milled and pressed; that sap is then fermented for about four to seven days. Finally, the fermented sap is distilled to sotol’s average alcohol by volume (abv) of 50 percent.

Dominguez says the amount of sotol brands compared to that of mezcal, let alone tequila, is quite low. Even in Mexico, the agave spirits market has long gotten the lion’s share of attention and government support.

But sotol is special enough that it’s breaking through anyway, and agave spirit fans are now eager to learn the culture and methods behind this non-agave spirit. As more bars showcase sotol and more consumers demonstrate demand, more brands—like Sotol Por Siempre, Nocheluna, and Lamata Sotol Durango—spring up to answer the call.

Mexican distilleries are also innovating in categories born in other countries. Around the time Hillhamn Salome founded her distillery, Flor de Luna in Mexico City, and its anchor product, a liqueur named Xila, in 2016, she says gin distilleries were popping up all over Mexico. Best known, especially­ with its distribution in the United States, is Condesa Gin, a brand where Salome is also a partner—but she adds that there are dozens of other Mexican gin makers.

Other categories are, even if to a lesser degree, taking hold. Salome points to a growing Mexican wine scene alongside grappa made in the north and sake made on Mexico’s west coast.

Often, these distillers will take a type of beverage with its own regional traditions and reinvent it with Mexican twists. Salome knows a distiller who distills their gin in ollas de barro, the clay pots used for mezcal production, and another who makes liqueur with mazapán, Mexico’s popular marzipan candy.

Xila, one of Mexico’s first aperitif liqueurs, centers a category most often associated with European drinking culture squarely in Mexico. The base spirit is mezcal, and Salome and her team of distillers (all women, as Salome is driven by her own experiences working in bars and beverage alcohol to bring more women into distilling; xila is the Zapotec term for “woman”) macerate in lavender, hibiscus, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, caramelized pineapple and ancho chili.

“All the notes we use are very typical in Mexican cuisine and life,” says Salome. “I didn’t want to use stuff some people in Mexico might not even know exists. A lot of gins are made with complicated Mexican botanicals, and if I asked my sister, who’s lived here for over 27 years, she wouldn’t know what they are.”

Salome adds that every time someone from Mexico drinks Xila, they say it reminds them of spicy Mexican candy, which is her main inspiration.

Some people in Mexico still express confusion around Xila, thinking an aperitif can only be something bitter like Campari, but that education is something Salome and her team are ever at work on, and it crosses over to American consumers. The Mexican spirit and liqueur scene is one weaving together rich Mexican traditions, ingredients and flavors with outside influences, resulting in special drinks and new categories to discover.

VACAY

Recipe courtesy Flor de Luna

• 2 ounces Xila liqueur
• 1 ounce dry vermouth
• Tonic water, to top
• 3 olives, for garnish
• Orange wedge, for garnish

Add liqueur and vermouth to a stemmed glass with ice.

Top with tonic water, gently stir to combine and garnish.