Desert Door Distillery
Desert Door Distillery, located in Driftwood, Texas, produces Texas Sotol from the sotol plant and offers tours, tastings, and a variety of cocktails. The distillery also hosts live music events and operates a food truck with locally sourced fare.
Services
Desert Door Distillery offers guided tours of their facilities every Saturday and Sunday. Visitors can explore their unique distillation process, from harvesting the sotol plant to the final aging in oak barrels. Additionally, Desert Door provides a tasting room experience where guests can sample various Texas Sotol products. The distillery also hosts live music events from Thursday to Sunday, providing a complete entertainment package.
Products
Desert Door Distillery produces Texas Sotol in several variants: Original, Oak-Aged, and the Conservation Series. Their Original Texas Sotol features tasting notes of vanilla, green grass, toffee, mint, and orange zest. The Oak-Aged variant, aged in virgin white oak barrels for about a year, offers flavors of vanilla, cedar, caramel, dried cherries, and oak. The Pollinator Sotol in the Conservation Series highlights floral notes, vanilla, honeysuckle, clover, mesquite bean, rosemary, persimmon, hibiscus, and sage. These products are distributed in multiple states including TX, CO, GA, TN, LA, FL, NM, AZ, KS, MO, SC, CA, OK, and AK.
Location
Desert Door Distillery is located in Driftwood, Texas. This site houses their entire production operation and offers a venue for tours, tastings, and live music events. The distillery setting also includes a tasting room where visitors can explore the various flavors of Texas Sotol produced on-site.
Conservation Efforts
Desert Door Distillery is deeply committed to conservation through their Conservation Series and associated non-profit, Wild Spirit Wild Places. This non-profit focuses on the restoration and preservation of wild lands across Texas and the U.S. A portion of the proceeds from the Conservation Series goes towards funding these conservation projects, supporting their mission to protect and restore natural habitats.
Distillation Process
The distillation process at Desert Door Distillery involves several key stages: selective harvesting, cooking, fermentation, distillation, and aging. Each step is meticulously managed to maintain the quality and distinct flavor of their Texas Sotol. The Oak-Aged variety undergoes additional aging in virgin white oak barrels for around a year to develop its unique taste profile.