Sotol La Higuera Wheeleri

Sotol La Higuera Wheeleri is a young, unaged sotol made by Gerardo Ruelas in Aldama, Chihuahua, from Dasylirion wheeleri. The desert spoon is a slow growing plant of the higher Chihuahuan woodland and sits in a different botanical family from agave, so this is neither a mezcal nor an agave spirit, a distinction worth keeping crisp. Wheeleri is the most common sotol species and tends toward a forest leaning, green and herbal profile.

The hearts are roasted in a conical oven in the open air, then split by hand with axes before fermentation and distillation. The result carries a herbal nose with a hint of old oil and faint smoke, a palate of lemongrass and warm pineapple, and a balanced weave of smoke, herbs and fruit. Bottled at 44.2% to keep the high desert character forward and dry.