Lechuguilla 375 mL – Dolores

Deep in the Copper Canyon, one family has been doing this since 1708.

Yerbaniz Batopilas is a remote village tucked into the Sierra Madre Occidental, inside Mexico's dramatic Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) — founded in 1708, and still home to one of the country's most singular agave spirit traditions. Dolores González Torres, a fourth-generation master distiller, works alongside his father-in-law Eligio Torres at a rustic vinata built deep in these mountains, continuing a craft passed down through the family for over a century.

Agave "Little Lettuce" of the Chihuahuan Desert

Lechuguilla — meaning "little lettuce" — isn't one single agave, but a catch-all term for several small, hardy species (including Agave shrevei) endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert. Dolores selects a one-year-old capón agave, harvests and roasts it in a cone-shaped earthen oven he builds himself using local stone and firewood, then crushes it entirely by hand with an ax.

The Sotol Secret

What makes Dolores' process genuinely unique is his fermentation: he adds a bit of mature sotol plant to the agave mash, which he says "calienta el fermento" — heats up the fermentation, helping it along. The mash ferments naturally in stone vats over 100 years old, some sealed with clay, using spring water carried down from the mountains. It's then distilled in a wood-and-copper still built by hand from hollowed oak.

What to Expect in the Glass

Wild, raw, and full of character — expect banana bread, honeydew melon, and a touch of yeasty earthiness on the nose, opening into anise, dried fig, black olive, and cooling peppermint on the palate. It's unlike anything from Oaxaca — rougher around the edges, but deeply alive.

Why This Bottle Matters

Chihuahua's Lechuguilla tradition is one of Mexico's most isolated and least understood agave spirit cultures — no two batches from Dolores taste quite the same, shaped by season, altitude, and decades-old technique. This is agave spirit at its most elemental, made exactly the way it's been made in this canyon since before Mexico's independence.

A must-try for anyone who thinks they've explored the full range of what agave spirits can be.