As we strategy what seems to be peak tequila with new, celebrity-backed manufacturers launching each day, now’s a very good time to contemplate less-seen agave distillates. And inside that narrowly outlined class, maybe no agave distillate is less-seen than bacanora—although which may be altering, and quick.
What’s bacanora?
Bacanora is an agave spirit native to the Mexican state of Sonora. Whereas it has been distilled for the previous 300 years, a major quantity of that output was by bootlegging—an area prohibition towards bacanora remained on the books till 1992.
It’s distilled from a single sort of agave—agave angustifolia, generally referred to as “Caribbean agave” or “wild agave.” In distinction to different mezcals (the bigger umbrella class below which bacanora falls), it doesn’t possess a smoky taste, however is usually crisp, floral, and peppery.
Since receiving its Denomination of Origin in 1995, what could be labeled a bacanora has been decided by the Consejo Sonorense Regulador del Bacanora. The regulatory physique assures that the spirit is distilled from agave angustifolia that was planted and grown throughout the state of Sonora.
Due to its longtime prohibition, bacanora distillation was largely carried out by small mom-and-pop operations, and it remained just about unknown north of the border. But it surely’s slowly making its option to the states due to makers like Kilinga Bacanora, which is barely the second bacanora to obtain recognition by the Consejo Sonorense Regulador del Bacanora, and the primary formally acknowledged bacanora to be bought in the USA.
Two expressions of Kilinga Bacanora are at present out there on the U.S. market: Bacanora Silvestre, made with 7-to-8-year-old agave angustifolia acifica, and Bacanora Blanco which is distilled from agave angustifolia acifica allowed to achieve 10-12 years of age. Later this yr, Kilinga plans to introduce two further expressions: Bacanora Reposado, aged in American oak barrels, and Bacanora Añejo, which is aged in French purple wine casks.
Founder and Maestro Bacanorero Rodrigo Bojorquez Bours—who established the model in 2018—admits that there’s nonetheless work to be carried out.
“Bacanora is acknowledged by only a few folks within the U.S., interval,” he says. “Nonetheless, we’re working in the direction of having an increasing number of folks expertise it, so additionally they begin to acknowledge it.”
How do you drink bacanora?
As Bours explains, bacanora—whose taste is instantly linked to the terroir of the Sonoran Desert—has by way of most of its historical past been consumed neat.
“In Sonora, folks normally sip bacanora straight and chase it with beer or water. With Kilinga’s bacanora, you are able to do the identical or you possibly can sip it out of a snifter glass as a consequence of its easy, advanced character.”
That’s to not say that it’s off-limits to cocktail-making. The spirit is slowly making its method onto cocktail lists, and Bours believes that the perfect strategy is to combine it with components that may complement, moderately than masks, its distinct character.
“Kilinga Bacanora is utilized in cocktails with flavors that improve its uniqueness,” he says. “Flavors that additional stability Kilinga Bacanora’s floral and earthy notes, corresponding to oranges, kumquats, berries, and cucumbers to call a couple of.”
The way you take pleasure in bacanora shall be fully as much as you—however it might show to be the break from tequila all of us want.
