Valley-distilled Nopal is the signature Arizona spirit of our dreams.
Cole Cameron has worn many hats in his day – fashion model, semi-pro football player and commercial plant grower among them. But none felt like a keeper. Stricken with a minor case of existential angst after a “What do you do?” encounter in a Las Vegas cocktail lounge, the one-time Arizona State University student resolved to up his headwear game. As it turns out, he had to look no farther than his own 1-acre desert nursery in Scottsdale, filled fence-to-fence with opuntia cacti, better known as prickly pear. “I had a wild notion they would make for a nice spirit,” Cameron says of the plant, a traditional staple of Sonoran cooking. “They’re also much easier to grow than [tequila-producing] agave plants. More renewable.” Distilling the first few batches of the clear, slightly funky distillate confirmed his suspicions: The stuff was delicious. Dubbing the liquid “Nopal,” the 40-something distiller shifted into production mode, hacking through a jungle of local and federal licensing restrictions before bottling his first commercial batch in 2025 – and authoring an exciting new chapter in Arizona distilling history.
To make Nopal, Cameron harvests paddles from his personal stock of 500 cacti and runs them through an apple chipper to create a nopales “sludge,” he says. He then heats the sludge to 160 degrees F and adds enzymes to “release the fermentable sugars,” adding a touch of local honey.
Coleman pitches the sludge with distiller’s yeast and ferments it for three weeks to get a mash of 15 to 20 percent ABV. Using a 300-gallon pot-still system at his South Phoenix warehouse, he distills the liquid twice to 65 percent ABV.
Coleman barrels the nascent Nopal in stainless steel for two to three days to burn off volatiles and proofs it down to 40 percent ABV before hand-bottling the spirit in durable “Nordic round”-style vessels: “I’ve only broken one bottle in two years.” Lastly, he slaps on the label, which he designed in Adobe.
With its light, grassy, cocktail-friendly profile and singular Arizona provenance, Nopal was an instant favorite of the Valley’s cocktail intelligentsia upon its release last summer, appearing in drinks at Tell Your Friends, Course and Cocina Chiwas, among others. Coleman is heartened by the support. “It’s incredibly gratifying to see local people get excited about it.” Hat, found.
$35 | Nopal | Available at Tops, Trevor’s and major retailers
@desert_botanical_distillery
Under his Desert Botanical Distillery banner, Coleman also makes a mesquite pod liqueur called Madera, and has plans for an Arizona-sourced gin.
Beer of the Month
Huss Brewing Co. Imperial IPA
American IPA/8.8% ABV/43 IBU
Don’t you love it when people, and breweries, reach outside their comfort zone? Launched by Leah and Jeff Huss in 2013, Huss Brewing Co. is not known for its high-gravity bangers. Rather, the portfolio is dominated by moderate, drinkable styles like Scottsdale Blonde Kölsch and Arizona Light Lager. So we were delighted to spot a can of this 8.8 percent bruiser at Tops the other day. Though not technically a hazy, the Huss Imperial IPA has juicy, hazy-like tendencies, with honeyed aromas of melon and mango and moderate sweetness to counter the booze, which it hides very well. In other words, it drinks like a Huss, even if it looks out of place next to its siblings. hussbrewing.com
