sotol

American  

[soh-tohl, soh-tohl] / ˈsoʊ toʊl, soʊˈtoʊl /

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Dasylirion, of the agave family, native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, resembling the yucca.

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Etymology

Origin of sotol

1880–85, < Mexican Spanish < Nahuatl zōtōlin

Example Sentences

With locations in Palms, Torrance, West Hollywood and Santa Clarita, the restaurant boasts one of the most extensive mezcal collections in the country, including hard-to-find Mexican distillates such as sotol, raicilla and tequila.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2024

Like the springtime asparagus we know, which pops up somewhat comically, the sotol plant flowers with a tall and lanky stock that juts up from the low shrub.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2022

And if you replace that tequila with sotol, another smoky Mexican spirit made with an agave-like plant from the asparagus family, your drink is still … a margarita.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 16, 2021

For De León, the potential of sotol as force for good is clear.

From The Guardian • Oct. 19, 2018

But throughout the afternoon the only sign of man or beast that I saw was a lot of sotol plants recently uprooted, and their roots eaten by bears.

From The Red-Blooded Heroes of the Frontier by Bronson, Edgar Beecher