Sotomayor Sotol Leiophyllum

Sotomayor Sotol Leiophyllum is an unaged, clear sotol from Dasylirion leiophyllum, the woodland and grassland desert spoon prized for its mineral, savoury character. Sotol is not a mezcal and not an agave spirit, it is distilled from Dasylirion, a different desert plant, and this bottling is pitched at drinkers who find mezcal too smoky and tequila too smooth.

The wild plants take twelve to fifteen years to mature and are harvested from the desert floor under SEMARNAT permit. The piñas roast four days in conical stone ovens with mesquite wood and volcanic rock, then are milled by hand with an axe in the artesanal manner. The nose recalls a non smoky mezcal with cooked sweetness, lime, dried apricot, a flint and lime minerality and fresh wood, while the palate runs a wild mix of ash and lime against papaya fruit. Bottled at 44 percent.