Sotol, Bacanora and Raicilla

Where it started

Bacanora's appellation was published on November 6, 2000, and covers municipalities of Sonora's sierra and river valleys; the spirit takes its name from the town of Bacanora.⁵⁴ Sotol's declaration followed on August 8, 2002.⁷ The petition traced sotol back more than 800 years to the people of Paquimé and the Nahuatl word tzotollin.⁶ Raicilla was the latest: its declaration was published on June 28, 2019, and WIPO's summary says production appears to date back over 500 years.²

Where and how it's made

Raicilla is produced in 16 municipalities of Jalisco, including Puerto Vallarta, Mascota and Talpa de Allende, and in Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit.² It is 100 percent agave, 35 to 55 percent alcohol, and may use any agave except blue tequilana.¹ The declaration describes two styles by geography: Raicilla de la Costa from Agave angustifolia and rhodacantha, and Raicilla de la Sierra from maximiliana, inaequidens and valenciana.³ Like mezcal, it has three production categories: Raicilla, Raicilla Artesanal and Raicilla Tradición Ancestral.³

Bacanora is made only from Agave angustifolia Haw., wild or cultivated, inside the Sonora appellation, and must be labeled "Bacanora 100% de Agave."⁵ It is bottled at 38 to 55 percent alcohol, and its añejo must age at least a year in oak containers of 200 liters or less.⁵

Sotol comes from Dasylirion, which the sotol standard places in the family Nolinaceae.⁷ The appellation covers every municipality of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.⁶ Like tequila, sotol has a "100% puro" category and a second category that allows up to 49 percent other sugars.⁷

How to taste it

A copita at room temperature. Coastal raicilla often tastes tropical and bright; sierra raicilla more resinous. Bacanora tends toward roasted, savory and smoky. Sotol reads green and herbal: eucalyptus, cut grass, sometimes minerals and leather. Pairings: grilled shrimp with raicilla, carne asada with bacanora, aged cheese with sotol.

Styles and what the label means

• Blanco / joven / reposado / añejo — all three use the tequila-style class ladder; reposado needs two months in wood for both sotol and bacanora.⁷⁵
• Sotol añejo — at least one year in wood containers of 210 liters or less.⁷
• Raicilla classes — joven blanco; madurada en vidrio, over 12 months in glass; reposada, 2 to 12 months in wood; añejada, over 12 months in wood.³
• In the U.S. — the federal agave-spirits class requires at least 51 percent agave, so raicilla and bacanora fit it; sotol, made from Dasylirion, does not.⁸⁷

Related pages: mezcal → tequila →