The Spicy Matador
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By Ed Avis
You already use tequila and mezcal in your cocktails, and probably several non-agave liquors, too. But have you considered sotol? Sotol is a distillate of the Dasylirion plant, also known as desert spoon, which grows in northern Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States. It tastes different from mezcal and tequila, with a smooth, earthy flavor with citrus and mineral notes.
Putting a sotol cocktail on your menu would put your restaurant on-trend — the 2025 Hospitality Trends Report by AF & CO + Carbonate calls sotol “the next tequila” because of growing interest in the spirit.
Indeed, some very on-trend Mexican restaurants are using the spirit. For example, Bar Sotano in Chicago, one of Rick Bayless’ creations, serves the Hoja Santa Ramoz Fizz, which includes both sotol and mezcal, together with hoja santa syrup, lime, egg white, heavy cream (infused with sarsaparilla root), and Topo Chico. And the aptly named Sotol Modern Cocktail Kitchen in Gilbert, Arizona features the Sotol So Good, a cocktail with sotol, butterfly pea, coconut rum, pineapple, lime and orgeat.
Sotol So Good
Sotol is fairly easy to get in the United States; popular brands include Desert Door, Hacienda de Chihuahua and Los Magos. A variation called Crema de Sotol is a mixture of sotol, crema and pecan or chocolate flavor.
Sotol is close enough to agave distillates that it can be used in common agave cocktails, and it also can be used in Latin variations of non-Mexican cocktails. But it also is distinctive enough to deserve its own cocktails. Here are five potential cocktail menu additions that include sotol.
Sotol Margarita. You can substitute sotol for tequila one-to-one in a Margarita, but do it in your Cadillac version (using orange liqueur and lime juice instead of pre-made mix) so customers have the opportunity to appreciate the difference in the liquor. The sotol will give the Margarita a bit more earthy taste, but without the full smoky flavor that comes with mezcal.
Desert Paloma. Palomas are popular cocktails in Mexican restaurants already, so a version with sotol will not be a stretch for your guests. Make this cocktail with sotol, lime juice, grapefruit juice and agave syrup.
Ranch Water. This interesting cocktail, offered on Desert Door Texas Sotol’s website, calls for the bartender to pour about two ounces out of a bottle of Topo Chico, then add 1.5 ounces of Desert Door Original Texas Sotol and half an ounce of lime juice to the bottle, plus a lime wedge garnish.
Spicy Matador. This cocktail has a kick. According to the recipe from The Mixer by Campari Group, shake 1.5 ounces of sotol, 1 ounce of pineapple juice, 1 ounce of fresh lime juice, and 0.25 ounce of agave with ice, and strain it into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice and rimmed with chili-lime salt. Garnish with a slice of jalapeño.
Liquid Sunshine. This cocktail, from the Cocktails Away website, is made with 1.5 ounces of sotol, 1 ounce of lemon juice, a half ounce of passion fruit puree and 1 dash of spicy bitters. Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
As these five recipes reveal, using sotol in cocktails is not hard. It’s a spirit that mixes equally well with spicy, sweet or sour ingredients. Have fun experimenting!
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