As Above So Below launches Ixchel Botanical Dry Curacao liqueur

There’s an intriguing new option on the scene when it comes to crafting summer cocktails.

As Above So Below co-founder and master distiller Caley Shoemaker’s latest creation is the Ixchel Botanical Dry Curacao, an orange liqueur ideal for making margaritas or mai tais.

“Many of the curacao and triple sec and orange liqueurs that you’ll see on the market are brandy-based,” Shoemaker said. “There’s quite a few that are made with aged brandy, so you get a little bit of that bittersweet orange flavor, but it’s balanced with this unique oakiness.”

This one, however, is a little bit different from the industry standard.

“Everything we make here at As Above So Below starts with malted barley,” Shoemaker said. “And so I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we did a whiskey-based orange curacao?’ So this is a whiskey that is aged for a couple years. It then is infused with all of the different botanicals. We went a little bit wider on the range of botanicals. So it’s not just orange peel and those types of things … It also has dates and clove and allspice and coriander and just additional botanicals to give it slightly more depth. After the whiskey is macerated with those things, it’s then aged again a second time in a barrel before it’s sweetened with cane sugar and cut to proof.”

Shoemaker likes to name all of her botanical spirits after what she refers to as “witch queens,” and the latest release is no different. The name Ixchel, or Ix chel, comes from Mayan culture and translates to “Lady Rainbow” or “She of the Pale Face.”

“There’s a lot of mythology where oranges and the moon sort of connect,” Shoemaker said. “And so Ixchel is sort of known as this Mayan moon goddess and patron of women, so she just felt like a really good fit to name the orange liqueur after, so she’s been added to our witch queens as part of this release.”

The drink officially launched at the As Above So Below Distillery lounge in Santa Fe on May 31, and the first batch sold out in short order. Ixchel is available throughout the state, and it will launch nationally for online ordering in mid-summer, according to a release. It will remain a staple on the As Above So Below spirit roster going forward.

“I’ve had a lot of folks tell me that they’ve tasted it alongside some of the bigger brands out there that they typically put (in) margaritas, and that this one’s so much more interesting and that they think it’s a better quality,” Shoemaker said. “It’s always exciting for me when someone tastes something that we make alongside one of those staples that you see on every menu and finds what we’re doing to be better.”

There will be more from As Above So Below in the months to come — including a couple new expressions in the fall.

“We’ve been distilling whiskey since we opened, and we have quite a few other botanical spirits in the hopper,” Shoemaker said. “We plan on having small releases like Ixchel periodically and then some big ones here once or twice a year as the years go by.

“It’s a lot of fun for me to create new stuff and get it out there. I’m always stoked when people like what we’re doing.”