Industry Report: Mexican Spirits
What's going on with tequila's lesser known cousins?
Dear Drink To That reader,
Recently, I conducted an industry report on the most compelling trends in tequila and mezcal.
Yet the world of Mexican spirits is so much broader, with the likes of bacanora, sotol and pechuga all having a place in the wider pantheon. This week’s industry report focuses on what’s happening with these lesser-known subcategories.
Bacanora-based cocktails
Bacanora is an agave-based spirit made in Sonora that has a long history of prohibition in Mexico. In recent years, it has steadily become more recognised in the wider conversation about tequila and mezcal but is still flying under the radar for the majority of Western consumers.
However, a cadre of US bartenders are experimenting with bacanora-based cocktails as a way of introducing it to a wider audience. Generally, bacanora is more floral and less smoky than mezcal, which explains the cocktail appeal.
For example, Tyson Buhler of bar chain Death and Co likes making a Pineapple Mint Smash cocktail with bacanora as a replacement for whisky. The bacanora used in the cocktail is called Kilinga, a brand that rose in sales by 235% in the US in 2023 according to Market Watch.
Sotol stokes controversy
Sotol is generally grouped in with agave spirits but it’s made from a different plant called the desert spoon. The taste of sotol ranges from herbal to fresh and it has weathered its fair share of controversy through the years.
An ongoing controversy is Texan distillers thumbing their nose at the Mexican definition of sotol. In 2002, Mexico brought out a denomination of origin (DO) for sotol that stated it could only be made in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Durango and Chihuahua. The US doesn’t recognise the DO and so Texan producers have taken to making their own liquor with desert spoons and calling it sotol. Perhaps the most mainstream Texan brand is Desert Door.
Daniel Fox, co-owner of El Paso’s Taconeta told Texas Monthly sotol “was looked upon as if it was the devil that you’re drinking” when it was illegal in Mexico from 1944 to 1994. “It really is kind of the spirit of the desert people. The winters get cold. The harsh winds, the intense summers and droughts…the sotol plant can withstand all of that.”
Despite its controversial aura, sotol is gaining more aficionados like other Mexican spirits. A report from International Wine and Spirit Research showed that the sales volume of sotol increased in the US by 17% in 2022 and has likely climbed higher in the last couple of years.
Pechuga rides the wave of animal fat distillation
Mezcal de pechuga is made when a mezcal is redistilled with grains, nuts or fruits and a protein like raw chicken is hung over the still. This distillation style is meant to add additional complexity to the spirit and may produce gamey and creamy flavours. A wide range of ingredients might be used in place of chicken such as turkey, crocodile or iguana.
The rise of pechuga coincides with the increase of animal fat distillation and stocktails (cocktails made with broth) across categories. For example, Snowdonia Wagyu created a beef-infused rum. Hong Kong cocktail bar Tell Camellia came up with an oyster gin. In London, Mexican-born chef Santiago Lastra champions a turkey-based pechuga in the mezcaleria beneath his Michelin-starred restaurant KOL.
A bartender, Liam Cullen, who works at the mezcaleria told the Telegraph “pechuga, particularly, can be difficult to get your head around. People’s first question tends to be: is the turkey cooked? It’s not. Thankfully, it’s a tradition - it has a track record. Interest is growing. But some London bars are now saying they make their own pechuga which is stretching the term. They may be putting meat in their mezcal and infusing it, but do they have a still? I just hope people don’t start doing it for shock value.”
What are your thoughts on these Mexican spirit trends? As always, you can get in touch via infodrinktothat@gmail.com
Cheers to you,
Jamie