No. Mezcal must be made from agave. Sotol comes from Dasylirion (desert spoon) and has its own Denomination of Origin covering Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.

What does sotol taste like?

Typically herbal and mineral — pine, green pepper, cucumber, wet stone — with far less smoke than most mezcal.

← Agave spiritsDesert spoon, not agave

Sotol

Sotol is a Mexican desert spirit distilled from Dasylirion — a desert spoon plant, not an agave — mostly in Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila.

Sotol comes from Dasylirion, a spiky desert plant that looks agave-like but belongs to a different family. It takes twelve to fifteen years to mature in the wild, and almost every bottle is made from wild-harvested plants.

Producers roast the piñas in earthen or brick ovens, mill them by hand or with a shredder, ferment in open wooden vats and double distil. The result is greener and more mineral than mezcal: pine, wet stone, cucumber and herbs where mezcal leans smoke and cooked sugar.

Terroir matters more than in almost any other spirit. Desert sotol reads dusty and peppery, mountain sotol is floral and bright, and grassland sotol sits between the two.

Sotol bottles in the catalogue

Yoowe

Yoowe Palmilla

Sonora

3.6(42)

Mezcalosfera de Mezcaloteca

Mezcalosfera Cucharillo – Pascual Canseco

Oaxaca

3.6(42)

Sotoleros

Sotoleros Paco and Salomon

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Desert Door Texas Sotol

Desert Door Original

3.6(42)

Balam

Balam Sotol Durango

Durango

3.6(42)

Parejo Sotol

Sotol Parejo Leiophyllum – Familia Arrieta

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Lamata

Lamata Sotol Chihuahua – Lupe López

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol H5

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua Reposado

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Gusto Histórico

Gusto Historico Cucharillo – Emanuel Ramos

Oaxaca

3.6(42)

Origen Raiz del Espiritu Mezcal

Origen Raiz Sotol

Durango

3.6(42)

La Pulga Spirits

La Pulga Sotol

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua Plata

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Maguey Melate

Maguey Melate Sotol – Salvador Isidro Derma Piñon

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Clande Sotol

Clande Sotol (Purple)

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Oro de Coyame Sotol

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Guerra Seca Sotol

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Parejo Sotol

Sotol Parejo Cedrosanum – Bienvenido Fernández

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Caminitos Agave Spirits

Caminitos Cucharillo – Wilfredo Garcia

Oaxaca

3.6(42)

Parejo Sotol

Sotol Parejo Wheeleri – Bienvenido Fernández

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Santo Cuviso

Santo Cuviso Sotol Chihuahua

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Vinatero de Corazón

Vinatero Sotol – Lencho y Julian

Durango

3.6(42)

Rancho Tepúa

Rancho Tepua Palmilla

Sonora

3.6(42)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Oro Puro

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Mesh & Bone

Mesh & Bone Sotol

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Flor del Desierto Sotol

Flor del Desierto Cascabel

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Los Cantiles 1905

Los Cantiles 1905 Palmilla Ensamble

Shrevei · Sonora

3.6(42)

Erstwhile Mezcal

Erstwhile Cucharillo Sotol

Oaxaca

3.6(42)

Parejo Sotol

Sotol Parejo Wheeleri – Juan Fernández

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Señor Sotol

Señor Sotol Ensamble

Durango

3.6(42)

Flor del Desierto Sotol

Flor del Desierto Veneno

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

La Higuera

La Higuera Wheeleri

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Sotoleros

Sotoleros Lupe Sotol

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Dixeebe Mezcal

Dixeebe Cucharillo

Oaxaca

3.6(42)

Rayo Seco

Rayo Seco Sotol Texanum

Durango

3.6(42)

Puntagave

Puntagave Rustico Sotol

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

La Higuera

La Higuera Texanum

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Sotoleros

Sotoleros Lalo and Nando

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

La Remilgosa

La Remilgosa Sotol Texanum

Durango

3.6(42)

Nocheluna Sotol

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Fabriquero Sotol

Fabriquero Coahuila

Coahuila

3.6(42)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Rustico

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Flor del Desierto Sotol

Flor del Desierto Carnei

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Sotomayor Sotol

Sotomayor Ensamble

Chihuahua

3.6(42)

Cardenxe Sotol

Cardenxe Sotol de Pradera

Durango

3.6(42)

Tr3s Tiempos Mezcal

Tr3s Tiempos Cucharilla – Diego Lucas Garcia

Oaxaca

3.6(42)

Lamata

Lamata Sotol Durango

Durango

3.6(42)

Maguey Melate

Maguey Melate Palmilla – Osman Sinohe Chacón Ezrre

Sonora

3.5(42)

Señor Sotol

Señor Sotol Ancestral

Durango

3.5(42)

Sotomayor Sotol

Sotomayor Leiophyllum

Chihuahua

3.5(42)

Marfa Spirits Co.

Marfa Spirits Sotol (80 Proof)

Chihuahua

3.5(42)

Fabriquero Sotol

Fabriquero Durango

Durango

3.5(42)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Añejo

Chihuahua

3.5(42)

Maguey Melate

Maguey Melate Cucharillo – Hermogenes Vasquez Garcia

Oaxaca

3.5(42)

Ono Sotol

Sotol Onó

Chihuahua

3.5(42)

Mazot Bacanora

Mazot Palmilla

Sonora

3.5(42)

La Higuera

La Higuera Cucharilla

Oaxaca

3.5(42)

Pizcadores

Pizcadores Sotol Silver

Chihuahua

3.5(42)

Oro de Coyame Sotol

Oro de Coyame Sotol Vibora

Chihuahua

3.5(42)

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol

Hacienda de Chihuahua Crema

Chihuahua

3.5(42)

Frequently asked

Is sotol a mezcal?: No. Mezcal must be made from agave. Sotol comes from Dasylirion (desert spoon) and has its own Denomination of Origin covering Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.
What does sotol taste like?: Typically herbal and mineral — pine, green pepper, cucumber, wet stone — with far less smoke than most mezcal.

Other agave spirits

RaicillaJalisco's coastal agave spirit BacanoraSonora's once-outlawed spirit LechuguillaWild highland agave distillate Destilado de AgaveOutside the denomination, inside the tradition TuxcaThe Colima–Jalisco border spirit