Sotols

Sotol is a spirit made from the Desert Spoon plant (Dasylirion), also called the sotol plant, which traditionally grows in northern Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States, including Texas. While it has historically been distilled primarily in Mexican states like Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, Texas producers have started distilling their own versions of sotol.

The debate around Texas-made sotol centers on regional authenticity and labeling rights, similar to how Champagne can only be labeled as such if it's produced in France's Champagne region. In Mexico, sotol is legally protected as a denomination of origin (DO), meaning only spirits distilled in certain Mexican regions can legally use the "sotol" name. However, because the sotol plant is indigenous to both northern Mexico and Texas, Texan distillers argue they should also have the right to call their product "sotol."

Texas distillers contend that the regional terroir of their native sotol plants brings unique flavors, and they believe that using local plants justifies calling it sotol, much like how American sparkling wines are made with similar grape varieties to Champagne. Currently, the U.S. does not enforce Mexico's DO for sotol, so Texas producers are legally allowed to label their spirits as sotol within the U.S. This lack of international consensus on the DO has given Texan distillers some flexibility, although tensions continue as Mexican sotol producers see it as a cultural and historical product.

For now, Texas sotol producers have a legal leg to stand on within the U.S.