MEZCAL’S ELDER COUSIN
Raicilla is a spirit made from agaves distilled in remote areas only in Jalisco state. Raicilla is a mezcal – but not on the label, due to Mexican regulations. Raicilla goes way back in time; its distillation was introduced in the 1600s from the Spanish colonies in the Philippines, which results now in the common use of the “primitive” Philippine double-chamber clay still.
There are at least eight kinds of agave, all of them wild, some with several local varieties. More about Raicilla Agaves info
Both angustifolia (espadín) and rhodacantha are distilled in Oaxaca. Mezcals from the Jalisco varieties don’t taste like the Oaxacan ones: a bit more intense, among other things.
taken at the occasion of the formal denomination of raicilla 2019
Less commercialized, raicillas seem more individuated than Oaxaca mezcals
Two differences between raicilla and Oaxacan mezcal: a lot of good raicilla distillers and their customers prefer a lower alcoholic strength than Oaxacans, some 40-42%, and many distillers use only one distillation, producing raicillas that are strikingly soft, rich, and vegetal. Try the beautiful La Venenosa Sierra del Tigre, a single distillation raicilla at 46.5%.
many raicilla distillers use above-ground adobe oven: no smoky flavor. About raicilla ovens
Don Luis Contreras filling the bottom pot of a clay potstill