Raicilla is a spirit made in Jalisco state from agaves distilled in remote areas. Raicilla is a mezcal – but not on the label, due to Mexican regulations. Raicilleros use at least nine kinds of agave, all of them wild, some with several differing local varieties. Raicilla goes way back in time; its distillation was introduced in the 1600s from the Spanish colonies in the Philippines, which resulted in the common use of the primitive Filipino double-chamber clay still.
Raicilla, Sotol, & Churique
BALAM
From Xavier Villegran, whose family has been involved with mezcal for three generations. His main focus is Raicilla de Costa, distilled in El Tuito on the mountainous Cabo Corientes peninsula south of Puerto Vallarta, where raicillero Rosalio Rodriquez has substantial hillside plantings of chico aquilar (angustifolia). Balam also produces mezcal, sotol, and the rare churique.
LAS PERLAS de JALISCO
Raicilla Las Perlas comes from Nikhil Bahadur and 5th-generation raicillero Santigo Diaz Ramos, whom Nikhil encountered while doing business in Tequila. The taberna is near the Diaz Ramos hacienda in the small pueblo of Las Guasimos (pop. 42), located inland from the Pacific coast on the Cabo Corrientes peninsula, south of Puerto Vallarta. The agaves are roasted in an above-ground oven.
MEXICAT
Mexicat is the brainchild of Jorge Alvarez, who discovered raicilla while working in the tequila industry. He sees raicilla as the highest form of spirits distilled from agave. He helps support a massive sustainability project in the Sierra.
There is more. Each bottle has a beaded cat face, an individual handmade creation of a Huichol artist. It takes a full day to make three cat faces. Preserving traditional artisanal craftsmanship is a deliberate Mexicat goal, both by sponsoring a craft agave spirit and by providing a livelihood to Huichol artisans.
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Mexicat Rare Agave Spirits Gold
Another hand-distillation by Don Lupe Castro in Mezquital de Oro, Zacatecas, close to tequila and raicilla territory. The agave is a variant of agave Maximiliana called Masparillo. Small & scarce, at high altitudes on thin soils. Don Lupe's stone-enclosure stills bring out a clean, focused, floral, and mineral spirit. Masparillo is uncommon.
750 ml / 40% abv
$72.00
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Mexicat Rare Agave Spirits Silver
Distilled by hand by Don Lupe Castro in Mezquital de Oro, Zacatecas, close to tequila and raicilla territory. Salmiana is a cultivated agave, here called manso. Don Lupe's version is beautifully & softly rich, round citric, and spicy. Extremely well distilled
750 ml / 40% abv
$54.00
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Mexicat Raicilla Sierra
From the El Mosco distillery near Mascota in the Jalisco Sierra Occidental, operatated by 4th generation Benito and Jose Salceda, agronomist brothers and Raicilla pioneers deeply engaged in a large sustainability project using agave Maximiliana (called lechuguilla). The 40% abv nicely balances the intensity of the large wild Maximiliana. Flavorful and soft. Double distillation shows a smoother side of raicilla.
750 ml / 40% abv
$60.00
Sotol
SOTOL is distilled from the desert plant dasylirion wheeleri (Sotol is its Spanish name) in Durango and Chihuahua, using the same artisanal methods as for mezcal. The piña, the central core, is small and dense, not easy to harvest and prepare for distillation: the yield: one bottle per plant.
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MEXICAT Sotol Artesanal
From 4th and 5th generation distillers Norma & Bienvenido Fernandez using artisanal methods in Madera, Chihuahua. Smoky, earthy, but very clean; fruity and intense; long finish: best sotol we have tasted. The Nahuatl word from which sotol derives is tzotollin, meaning sweetness of (in) the head, and that's what this is.
750 ml / 42% abv
$66.00
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Sotol Tasting Pack
The folks at The Crafty Cask featured our BALAM Sotol Desierto & MEXICAT Sotol Artesanal at their Virtual Sotol Tasting on July 30th. Whether you attended or not, we've put together this tasting pack to introduce you to the expressions that were poured during the event. Individual bottles also available.
750 ml
$138.00
Churique
CHURIQUE is distilled from the small and rare agave lechugilla, a high-desert cousin of agave potatorum (the agave of mezcal tobala). It can take up to 30 years to mature.
