Sotol La Higuera Leiophyllum

Sotol La Higuera Leiophyllum is a young, unaged sotol made in Aldama, Chihuahua, from Dasylirion leiophyllum, a woodland and grassland species drawn to calcareous, limestone ground. The desert spoon is not an agave but a plant of a separate lineage, so this is a sotol and not a mezcal, even where the roast lends it a familiar earthiness. Leiophyllum tends to mineral, savoury and herbaceous character that mirrors its limestone terroir.

The plants are cooked in a conical oven in the open air, then milled by hand with axes. The fibres ferment naturally on wild yeast in 1,000 litre pine vats before a double distillation in copper alembic stills. The nose opens on damp earth and ash, the palate turns surprisingly meaty with a salami note, and the finish swings fruity with peach and banana. Bottled at 48%.