5 Things You Need to Know About Sotol, With Master Distiller Gerardo Ruelas

(Photos: Casa Lotos)

In mid-September, a motley crew of distillers, brand representatives, importers and bartenders descended upon New York City to celebrate the industry’s first Sotol Week. Their goal was simple: To elevate a spirit, the third most famous in Mexico behind tequila and mezcal, to the next level of success in the American market.

Journalists were invited to a slate of events and hands-on demonstrations, where professionals fielded questions large and small. Yes, sotol is exclusive to the northern states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango; no, the spirit is not distilled from agave, contrary to popular belief. In between sips of the bright, characteristically vegetal liquor, PowerPoint presentations flickered onto screens across Manhattan. It was a city-wide briefing on the future of a once-niche category, and the mood — particularly among sotoleros who’ve staked their livelihood on the spirit — was ecstatic.

We’ve written about sotol a fair bit over the past few months but have often found ourselves left with more questions than answers. Owing to the spirit’s up-and-coming status, there aren’t a whole lot of comprehensive resources available online. Most FAQs run through the standard bullet points, explaining how sotol is trimmed, pit roasted and distilled much like a traditional mezcal. That’s all well and good, but we were looking for something a little more in-depth — a plunge into the finer details, complete with all the nerdy specifics omitted from the standard news releases.

During a live distillation demo in the Mexican Consulate, we had a chance to sit down with Gerardo Ruelas, the fourth-generation maestro sotolero behind Casa Lotos. Grown, distilled and exported from the state of Chihuahua, Casa Lotos is one of several brands making a big push into the U.S. market, and has thus found itself at the forefront of education efforts courting new consumers.

Here are five highlights from our conversation that reshaped our awareness of the iconic, though criminally misunderstood spirit.

1. Desert Spoon Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

Sotol is distilled from desert spoon, a plant in the asparagus family native to stretches of Northern Mexico and the American Southwest. Seen from a distance (as is often the case in the barren wilds of the Chihuahuan Desert), its thin, leathery stalks resemble a cluster of overgrown grass bursting in every direction. The plants can take anywhere between 15 and 25 years to grow to maturity, preferring elevations between 3,000 and 6,000 feet above sea level.

The vast majority of sotol found on American liquor store shelves is distilled from Dasylirion wheeleri, one of over 20 types of wild-grown desert spoon. Wheeleri is so common in the sotol world that you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s the only plant the spirit can be made from. Ruelas, however, says that wheeleri is one among many. Distillers can technically make use of any desert spoon varietal, the most common being berlandieri, cedrosanum, texanum and leiophyllum. According to Ruelas, the flavor of each plant depends more on nurture than nature, varying across differences in microclimate, altitude, terroir, soil and water type.

The possibilities are limitless. Casa Lotos’ version of the spirit emphasizes bright, vegetal hints of cucumber, pine needles and herbs. Elsewhere, you can find brands like Cardenxe, which leans toward a roasty barbecue note, and Señor Sotol, a funkier rendition chock full of green grape and subtle lactic flavor. If you’re purchasing a sotol for the first time, it’s always best to read up on the fine print — the profile varies a lot more from bottle to bottle than it would in a tequila.

2. Don’t Call it Agave

Industry professionals are quick to remind us that sotol isn’t distilled from agave. But how exactly is desert spoon different?

The biggest distinction comes by way of reproduction. Famously, agave stalks can be trimmed into so-called clonal shoots, which are planted in the ground to create a quick and easy, genetically identical sister plant. The method has created a monoculture of unprecedented size across the fields of Jalisco, millions upon millions of identical Blue Weber agaves supporting the entirety of tequila production. Though convenient, clonal shoots are notoriously susceptible to disease and tend to create a spirit lacking in variety.

Desert spoon demands a slower approach. In early spring, the plants sprout a flowering stalk that can reach as high as 15 feet, tempting in pollinators from across the sandy hills. This is where Casa Lotos’ mascot — the hummingbird — comes in. Ruelas explained that birds eat the desert spoon seeds, digesting and breaking down their husky outer coating in a process known as scarification. By the time the seeds, known as semillas, are excreted from the bird’s system, the beginnings of a new desert spoon plant are ready to take form.

Left to their own devices, the agaves used to distill tequila and mezcal undergo the same life cycle. Desert spoon, however, is unique in that these are the only means by which it can reproduce. Because of this, the plant has so far eluded mass cultivation, requiring distillers to trek into the wild, season after season, in search of naturally occurring crops.

3. No Water, No Problem

Water usage is one of the most debated sustainability issues in the alcohol industry, particularly when it comes to high-water crops in drought-struck regions (hint hint, California wine). Common sense suggests that the Chihuahuan Desert — the largest of its kind in North America — might fall victim to a similar issue. Ruelas says that’s not the case.

According to researchers, desert spoon shrubs require no more than 100 milliliters of water per year to thrive. We asked Ruelas to repeat that statistic a couple of times, as we were sure we’d misheard something. No, he insisted, 100 milliliters is really all it takes.

In theory, that means a standard bottle of water could power a desert spoon shrub for half a decade, or that a gallon jug could subsist two desert spoons for their entire lifespan and then some. Ruelas says that the plants have adapted to soak in every last drop they can get. Unlike agave, which collects water at its base, desert spoon absorbs water from its leaves, gathering the majority of its daily intake from drops of dew that collect in the early morning.

4. Legislative Battles

The history of sotol is defined by uphill battles. Chief among them, a nationwide ban enforced in Mexico between 1944 and 1994.

The how and why of sotol prohibition varies quite a bit depending on who you ask, though a common thread persists across most stories. In short, sotol was wrongly stereotyped as a form of moonshine, the kind distilled and consumed by rural countryfolk — a sharp contrast to the industrialized (and immensely lucrative) tequila facilities of Jalisco. Ignorance shrouded the spirit in obscurity for decades. It wasn’t until the mid-90s that the Mexican government rescinded its ban, and not until 2002 that sotol was recognized with a designation of origin specific to Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.

Life has eased up for distillers like Ruelas. But legalization, and its tricky web of fees, bureaucracy and protections, has opened a new can of worms. Since desert spoon is primarily grown in the wild, the plant is subject to myriad oversights from the state government. Ruelas claims that producers in Chihuahua have to fight tooth and nail for special permits, not only to distill, but to transport and harvest desert spoon shrubs across local municipalities. Agricultural engineers have to inspect the plants to ensure sufficient maturity, only so many shrubs can be harvested at a time and permits expire every five years.

It’s not an unusual level of bureaucracy for a Mexican-made spirit. But for small-batch, family-run distillers, many of whom are building their operations from scratch following decades of prohibition, the restrictions can prove overwhelming. Ruelas would like to see the government engage in an active dialogue with distillers, in the hope of broadening accessibility for future generations of sotoleros.

5. The Future of Sotol

Ruelas says that the biggest market for sotol is by far New York, followed by Texas, Colorado, California and Florida. The same states in which tequila records its biggest sales figures year after year. It stands to reason that sotol is gaining popularity among the niche, liquor-enthusiast crowd, the kind of consumer who’s willing to read up on the lore and shell out a few extra bucks in search of a particularly tasty bottling.

But that might be changing sooner rather than later. In 2022, the category found its first celebrity benefactor in four-time Grammy Award winner Lenny Kravitz. His brand, Nocheluna Sotol, was developed in partnership with Casa Lumbre and French spirits powerhouse Pernod Ricard. A couple of years later, “Scream” star Matthew Lillard unveiled his own twist on the concept by way of a barrel-aged, horror-themed sotol dubbed Macabre Spirits. Though their efforts have yet to tip sotol into the definitive mainstream, it’s a telling sign that A-listers are sensing the beginnings of the next potential hit.

For the time being, the movement is being spearheaded by distillers like Ruelas, who is working hand in hand with any brand willing to lend its voice and resources. Nowhere was the spirit of camaraderie more apparent than at Sotol Week. Ruelas’ distillation demo was attended by a crowd that burst out of the room and lined the halls. Owners from Hacienda de Chihuahua and Acronimo Sotol milled through the event, trading tips with fellow professionals and fielding questions from interested onlookers. The sotol industry’s best and brightest gathered under the same roof. United, working toward a common goal.

For more information on Casa Lotos, find the distiller’s website here.