Love mezcal? Try sotol next at these Denver spots

Love tequila cocktails or sampling a variety of smoky mezcals? Denver’s cocktail connoisseurs are eager to introduce you to sotol the next time you sidle up to the bar.

Earthy and herbaceous, and sometimes kissed with smoke, the desert spirit actually dates back 800 years to Chihuahua, Mexico, where sotol plants were roasted in cooking holes, and the juice was fermented and then served like beer. Today, it’s distilled and, while sotol draws comparisons to tequila and mezcal, it’s made from plants in the dasylirion genus rather than agave.

Cocktail connoisseurs in Denver love sotol for its versatility. It can be used in tandem with other spirits for split-base cocktails or it can sub in for tequilas and gins in drinks while also appealing to whiskey drinkers.

So why is this ancient spirit now in the spotlight?

Agave spirits as well as ancestral ones have been on the rise, said McLain Hedges, co-owner of Yacht Club, an award-winning, neighborhood-style bar in Denver’s Cole neighborhood.

Tequila has been the fastest-growing category for some time now mezcal is catching up. In 2023, tequila and mezcal sales were up nearly 8% totaling $6.5 billion, gaining ground on vodka, the top spirit, which had sales totaling $7.2 billion, but nearly flat growth, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

“It’s about due time that people are finally seeing and tasting the other amazing distillates being crafted in Mexico,” Hedges said.

Small producers are making some great bottles of the spirit, helping to drive interest, he added. “We saw this happen, and continue to see it, with tequila and mezcal, and now that people’s minds have opened, they’re ready to learn and take a deep dive into what else has been and is being created in Mexico.

Evan Flynn, bar lead at Death & Co Denver, explained that sotol bears a taxonomic relation to agave in that both are members of the asparagus family and because it is often processed with similar methods used to produce tequila and mezcal.

“While it can often depend on various factors of production from producer to producer, for me, sotol is rich in green, herbal flavors like mint and celery, with a touch of minerality or earth, as well,” Flynn said.

Due to its bright flavor and robust proof, it works really well in cocktails and can stand up to a variety of flavors you throw at it, he said.

For all those who celebrate, “National Tequila Day” is July 24. But for your next round, here are five spots in and around Denver where you can also sample sotol in a cocktail.

Yacht Club

Cutting Grass is made with sotol, a dry riesling, tomatillo, and savory herbs.  It’s verdant, bright, and garden-like, Hedges said.

“It’s textural and herbaceous on the palate with a thirst-quenching quality,” he said. “Sotol itself is grassy, peppery, fresh, and vibrant and works well in this drink, with all the ingredients coming together to lift each other up.”

3701 N. Williams St.; yachtclubbar.com

Death & Co

Currently, Death & Co is using sotol in its Pistolero, a variation on a margarita that showcases the spirit’s earthy, vegetal qualities by pairing it with other commonly found ingredients in a Mexican pantry, like cinnamon, pasilla chiles, cacao, and passionfruit, Flynn said. It’s refreshing, spiced and perfect for these unrelenting hot summer days, he said.

1280 25th St.; deathandcompany.com/location/death-and-company-denver

Lady Jane

At Lady Jane, a neighborhood cocktail bar in LoHi, general manager Stuart Weaver and the bar team have been experimenting with sotol for the past few years. He likes that it’s akin to mezcal, but a “bit brighter and greener.” The current sotol cocktail on the menu is called Petit Prince, a riff on Martinique’s national cocktail, Ti’Punch, that’s also built with Family Jones gin, La Cigarrera Manzanilla Sherry, and an English pea syrup. “It’s a very adventurous spirit,” Weaver said.

2021 W. 32nd Ave, Denver; ladyjanedenver.com