The complex Dasylirion plant is a cousin of the agave, but modern botany places it in the Nolinoideae family whose flat leaves don't produce sap like the agave. The desert spoon is prolific across Mexico and the American southwest and it's been harvest in the wild to make spirit for centuries. The plant, able to survive in diverse terroir, takes on the flavors of its environment more distinctly than even agave and they flowering portion of the plant, the quiote, is produced every year. The plants can take up to two decades to mature and at least 5 different varietals used for Sotol. The Sotol DO extends beyond Chihuahua into the neighboring states of Coahuila and Durango. The Pizcadores Distillery is the source for many of the modern marks of Sotol we see on the shelf today and the house brand. The pinas are wild harvested and cooked in stone ovens. The grinding is done by hand using specialized axes before a natural fermentation without the addition of any yeast or additives. Finally it is double distilled on small alembic pot stills. The flavor profile exhibits the typical grassy complexity associated with Sotol, pointed by intense smoky, citrus and floral aromatics. The palate is rich, spicy and filled with the dense minerality that's always associated with high quality Sotol. This is definitely a benchmark example of this up and coming spirit category.