Sotol La Higuera Wheeleri
La Higuera set out to prove just how much a single word — species — can change everything about a spirit. Wheeleri is where that story begins: distilled from Dasylirion wheeleri, the most abundant sotol plant in the state of Chihuahua, it's the founding and most widely poured expression of the line. Founded by Esteban Morales, La Higuera crossed into the U.S. market in 2018 and is now distributed in more than 20 countries, recognised as one of the leading names in sotol today.
In Aldama, Chihuahua, third-generation Maestro Sotolero Don Gerardo Ruelas hand-harvests wild dasylirion from the surrounding hills and cooks the piñas in a traditional underground conical pit fired with black oak. The cooked hearts are hand-milled with machete and axe, fermented naturally with airborne wild yeasts in 1,000-litre pine vats, then double distilled in copper alembic stills.
Wheeleri shows the most rounded, approachable side of the range: fresh herbs and lemongrass on the nose, deepened by a note of old oil, opening onto a palate of warm pineapple, gentle smoke, and mint, with a soft, balanced finish. It's the ideal entry point into sotol — and, tasted side by side with Leiophyllum and Cedrosanum, the benchmark that shows how much terroir and species can shape a spirit from the same maker, oven, and hands.
- Master Sotolero: Gerardo Ruelas
- Species: Dasylirion Wheeleri
- Origin: Aldama, Chihuahua, México
- Oven: Underground conical pit, fired with black oak
- Milling: Hand-cut with machete & axe
- Fermentation: Wild yeast, 1,000L pine vats
- Distillation: Double, copper alembic
- Volume: 700 ml
- ABV: 44° to 47° (according to batch)
