‘Sotol’ is both the name of our unique spirit and the plant we make it from. The sotol plant is not an agave but a distinct and separate species. Which means Desert Door is not in fact a tequila. So, If we’re not a tequila what are we? Imagine if tequila had a smoother, more flavorful cousin - that’s Desert Door. Our Oak Aged starts life as Original Texas Sotol - our clear spirit - which is then aged in virgin white oak barrels for around a year.
‘Sotol’ is both the name of our unique spirit and the plant we make it from. The sotol plant is not an agave but a distinct and separate species. Which means Desert Door is not in fact a tequila. So, If we’re not a tequila what are we? Imagine if tequila had a smoother, more flavorful cousin - that’s Desert Door.
Our Oak Aged starts life as Original Texas Sotol - our clear spirit - which is then aged in virgin white oak barrels for around a year.
Desert Door was born in the West Texas desert, where our founders first encountered the Sotol plant. Sotol was used by indigenous residents for everything from tools, clothing and food to fermented drink. During Prohibition, enterprising Texans moonshined sotol.
We wild-harvest all our sotol; we don’t farm or cultivate any of our plant stock. Wild-harvesting helps conserve valuable resources such as land and water and is a more sustainable practice than monocropping.
On the nose, our Oak Aged is akin to a young whiskey, with pleasing notes of vanilla, cedar and caramel. Sipping reveals more vanilla, along with dried cherries and oak. The finish brings back caramel and a creamy smoothness like vanilla custard, with just a hint of eucalyptus.
Desert Door Oak Aged makes a great Old Fashioned and can substituted for brown spirits in most cocktail recipes. It’s also great when sipped neat or over an ice cube.
