Sotol Don Celso

Sixth-generation maestro sotolero Jacob Jacquez learned the art of sotol production from his father, Celso Jacquez, who was the first sotolero to legally export sotol to the United States under the label Don Cuco—which was in turn named for Don Celso’s grandfather, Don Refugio Pérez Marquez aka Don Cuco, one of the few sotoleros to keep the distilling tradition alive through decades of persecution during the past century. A descendent of the indigenous Tarahumara people in Chihuahua, Don Celso was a pivotal figure in achieving the Mexican government’s ultimate recognition of the sotol category in 2004. Today, his family continues to preserve this heritage tradition, just over the border from Antelope Wells, New Mexico, where they also operate a small farm and roadside hotel for tourists visiting the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua.