Is Bacanora Illegal?
Once upon a time, you could be shot – for just doing a shot.
In the early 1900s the Sonoran government became concerned that bacanora consumption was becoming hedonistic, and the spirit to be immoral. It was during this time General Plutarco Elias Calles was appointed governor of Sonora. On August 8, 1915, he enacted a decree making the production, sale and possession of Bacanora a crime punishable by a five-year term. He then set out to eradicate “Mexican Moonshine”, or bacanora
It took Calles and his men five years to seemingly destroy the industry, and on occasion dispensed extreme punishment to offenders. Legend has it some of the distillers were either hung or executed by firing squad for the crime of making the spirit. Yet even outlawing bacanora couldn’t stop its production. Similar to the American backwoods moonshiners, brave bacanora distillers were forced into the shadows to secretly produce their recipes in hidden stills. Their customers, fearful of getting arrested, would often hide bottles in the backs of closets or other secret places — creating bacanora’s infamous reputation as “The Secret of Sonora”.