tumbleweed lounge at tularosa distillery

 

 

I stopped in to hear Rhiannon Lace play at Black Bear Coffee when she mentioned that she was playing at Tularosa Distillery. "Wha?" I wha'd. A distillery? In Tulie? And a chance to hear Rhiannon again? Oh, hell yeah! Turned out I misheard: Rhiannon performed at the distillery the night before. Regardless, the visit to this gorgeous little distillery was well worth it. 

Peter and Heather Kauffman opened the distillery in November 2024, and it is glorious. Located on the northeastern edge of town, the distillery and breezeway-connected Tumbleweed Lounge are gorgeous, Corten-clad geometric objects rusting like old Ford pick-ups with unfettered views of the Sacramento foothills in their shattered rearview mirrors. At the moment, the Kauffmans are distilling and selling bottles of sotol with plans for agave. They are also seeking to sow and snare their own succulents, a nearly decade-long process.

The lounge is decidedly hip, smartly decorated, and wouldn't be out of place in Marfa or South Austin. Call it Tuliestyle: a little earthy, a little weatherworn, and a lot friendly. Peter and Heather work the place with Peter (at least when we were there) conjuring up the bevs while Heather attedned to details to keep the place awesome. The lounge was full and cozy for a Sunday night with a lonesome dove performing solo outside and a local food trailer slinging fried green chiles with ramekins of queso.

I tried the "Its Got a Bee on It" (Tularosa sotol, honey syrup, lemon juice, and egg white; $15), and it was in my Goldilocks Zone, tasty enough to be tempting but not so tasty as to encourage chugging (I have no self control). They sell bottles of their sotol at the bar, and I came home with one. My pal tried a virgin Rothko (no Red River Bourbon, Aradia apertivo, red wine, lemon juice, black walnut bitters). The drinks are fantastic, the owners great, and the locale amazing. Definitely worth the trip. 

I missed it on my visit, but there's a bottle shop in downtown Tulie called Desert Spoon, the common name for sotol. They have barware (I need a better shaker than the one I got at Wally World) as well as bottles of their sotol (and other bottles as well). 

Tularosa Distillery + Tumbleweed Lounge; 55 South Bookout Rd. Tularosa, NM 88352

Desert Spoon; 222 Granado Street, Tularosa, NM 88352



 
 





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