Clande Sotol Tavi Torres Agave

Clande Sotol Tavi Torres Agave is, despite the name, a destilado de agave rather than a true sotol. The Clande project gathers small batch distillates from northern Mexico, and this blue variant is bottled from 100% wild Agave shrevei in Chihuahua, where the local tradition calls such an agave distillate lechuguilla. Just 185 litres were filled in this batch.

Lechuguilla here is a regional term for distilled agave, not a botanical species, and the spirit reflects its high desert origin. The nose offers nut butter, vanilla and soft clay, with a sweetcorn note emerging alongside tarragon, light mint and black pepper. The palate is soft and mineral, with mulch, wood dust and pine and a good underlying sweetness, though it stays low on fruit. Bottled at 47.2%, with strength varying from batch to batch, it shows the earthen, savoury side of wild agave from Chihuahua.