Sotol Onó Joven

Sotol Onó Joven is a young, unaged sotol made entirely from Dasylirion cedrosanum in Aldama, Chihuahua, by Gerardo Ruelas, a third generation maestro sotolero from a family that has produced sotol in the state for generations. Dasylirion, the desert spoon, is not an agave but a separate desert plant, so this is a sotol rather than a mezcal. Cedrosanum takes some 12 to 15 years to mature, and the maker notes that a single piña yields only one bottle, a measure of how lean the plant runs.

In the vinata the hearts are roasted for about three days, then ground with axes and knives. Fermentation runs five to seven days depending on the weather, followed by a double distillation. The nose is complex, herbal and spicy with pepper, asparagus and damp earth, while the fresh palate is pointedly restrained and mild, with light traces of ginger and coconut. Bottled at 45%.