Moonshine of the Agave Spirits World: 4 Bacanora Brands Worth Buying

Bacanora has emerged from decades of illegality to make a name of its own. Photo: Instagram/bacanoraranchotepua

Seemingly every good spirit has gone through an era of prohibition. In the state of Sonora, Mexico, that honor goes to bacanora.

A spirit made from wild-grown agave pacifica, bacanora is a missing link of sorts between tequila and mezcal. It bears a smoked flavor from its roasting process similar to that of mezcal but retains a noticeable smoothness which blue weber agave and agave pacific share in common. Sadly, few in the United States have ever tried this unique blend.

Bacanora was banned in its home state of Sonora in 1915. At the time, Sonora was at the epicenter of factional struggles occurring within the shadow of the ongoing Mexican Revolution. Suffice it to say, alcohol was not considered very highly in the government’s efforts to establish peace.

Though the ban was officially lifted in 1919, no guidelines were ever implemented for its production. Thus, for nearly a century, bacanora existed in limbo. It technically wasn’t illegal, but it also wasn’t supported by the kinds of regulations that would have facilitated its mass production or distribution.

Bacanora would be sold locally within Sonora as a moonshine of sorts for decades. It wouldn’t be until 1992 that the Mexican government would recognize bacanora through the implementation of norms for its production and commercialization. In 2000, bacanora was finally granted a denomination of origin in its home state of Sonora.

Now, distilleries which thrived in the shadows for decades on end have finally been able to bring their products to a larger audience. The recent popularization of bacanora has been a slow but steady one, aided in part by the exploding popularity of the agave spirits industry at large.

Bacanora on the Market

Understandably, the international distribution of bacanora has yet to catch up with the likes of other agave spirits. Nonetheless, here are four bacanora brands you can get your hands on with minimal hassle.

Sunora Bacanora

Proudly bearing its state of origin, Sunora Bacanora is probably the best-known bacanora brand with international distribution. Their flagship Bacanora Blanco was awarded the Double Gold medal at the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, lauded for vegetal-leaning flavors of artichoke, jalapeno, and oak. Their blanco, as well as their flavored Cream de Mocha and Cream de Pineapple Colada expressions, only cost around $40.

Find Sunora Bacanora Blanco near you.

Aguamiel Bacanora

Named after the sap of agave hearts used to make bacanora – aguamiel, or honey water – Aguamiel Bacanora packs a lot of flavor into their signature Bacanora Blanco. With crisp flavors of licorice root, anise and mesquite wood, a bottle of their blanco will cost $50.

Find Aguamiel Bacanora Blanco near you.

Rancho Tepúa Bacanora

Rancho Tepúa lives and breathes the history of bacanora. Made by 5th generation Bacanorero Roberto Contreras, the Contreras family has been producing the spirit since it was initially banned in 1915. For years, this meant making bacanora in hidden distilleries across their ranch.

Balancing light flashes of honey, banana and candied nuts with the aroma of wet wood and clay, their bacanora blanco costs $60.

Find Rancho Tepúa Bacanora Blanco near you.

Puntagave Bacanora

Puntagave is a brand that has sought to uplift local agave spirits of all sorts. Their label has forayed into virtually every established agave spirit on the market, including tequila, mezcal, raicilla, distilled pulque, and of course, bacanora.

Puntagave says that theirs is the first legal 90-proof bacanora imported to the United States. Within that noticeably high ABV are contained flavors of sweet roasted agave, minerality, lingering licorice notes and a hearty funk.

A bottle of Puntagave Bacanora will cost around $60. If you’re interested in their other agave spirits offerings, you can check out their website.

Find Puntagave Bacanora near you.

Here at The Daily Pour, we do more than write about current events in spirit. We are the only media property reviewing spirits and aggregating the scores and reviews of other significant voices in the spirit world in one place. If you’re interested in getting a shot of spirit in your morning email, sign up for our Whiskey Deal of the Day Newsletter