Distillery
Desert Door
Texan producer specialized in handcrafted sotol: a spirit made from wild-harvested sotol plants, produced and bottled in Driftwood, Texas; the range includes expressions such as Original, Oak-Aged and Pollinator. (desertdoor.com)
- Driftwood · Texas · United States
- Since 2017
- 1 product
The story
Born as a project to recover and promote the sotol tradition, Desert Door began commercial production in 2017. The co-founders (including Ryan Campbell, Judson Kauffman and Brent Looby) are veterans who shaped the brand around local production and sustainable sotol harvesting in West Texas. Over time Desert Door became one of the leading figures in spreading 'Texas sotol' across the United States. (fox7austin.com)
Production philosophy
Strong focus on sustainability and land stewardship: use of hand-harvested wild sotol, responsible foraging practices and conservation initiatives (including the Wild Spirit non-profit founded in 2021). The aim is to highlight the 'ranch-to-glass' connection with attention to habitat protection. (desertdoor.com)
Territory
West Texas and the Chihuahuan Desert area; production site and tasting room in Driftwood, Texas. (desertdoor.com)
Awards and recognition
Silver - Sunset International Spirits Competition 2020 (Desert Door Original Texas Sotol). (sunsetcompetitions.com)
Production method
Artisanal production based on hand-harvesting sotol plants, extraction and cooking of the plant hearts, fermentation and distillation; the company states it developed a proprietary process through experimentation (full technical details are not public). (desertdoor.com)
Distillation
Small-batch distillation from cooked sotol hearts; proprietary process developed in-house (operational details not fully disclosed). (desertdoor.com)
Ageing
Some expressions are aged in wood (Oak-Aged). (desertdoor.com)
Characteristics
- Type
- Distillery
- City
- Driftwood
- Categories
- Texas sotol
- craft spirits
- plant-based distillates
- sotol producer
- Raw materials
- sotol (Dasylirion texanum)
- Casks and ageing vessels
- oak barrels
- Representative products
- Desert Door Original Texas Sotol
- Desert Door Oak-Aged Texas Sotol
- Desert Door Pollinator Texas Sotol
- Sotol Desert Door 70cl - Desert Door
What makes it distinctive
- Production and bottling in Driftwood, Texas
- Use of hand-harvested wild sotol
- Tasting room and distillery tours
- Wild Spirit conservation initiative (2021)
- One of the first commercial sotol producers in the USA