Tasting

Sierra Raicilla often tastes herbal and earthy. A fine sharpness recalls freshly cut grass or dry wood. Coastal Raicilla, by contrast, comes across brighter and more mineral, with salty, sometimes almost cheesy notes—an echo of the sea air in which the agave there matures. Taste both back to back, and the difference between mountain and sea feels almost like two different drinks.

One example from the Sierra side is La Venenosa Raicilla Sierra Occidental. It's distilled from agaves grown in the mountains around Mascota, with a light, floral tone and hints of apple and pear. Representing the coast is La Venenosa Raicilla Costa, made by Maestro Tabernero Don Alberto Hernández in the village of El Tuito in the municipality of Cabo Corrientes. He often uses Agave rhodacantha, known locally as mexicano.

Mascota now has its own tasting room dedicated solely to Raicilla. In Puerto Vallarta on the coast, an entire bar is devoted to the spirit. It's usually tasted neat, from a small copita. More traditional is the jícara, a halved, hollowed-out fruit from the calabash tree.

With both styles, it's important to nose the spirit slowly before drinking. Raicilla isn't a shot to knock back. It's a distillate that reveals its origin through aroma, spicy from the highlands or salty from the sea, depending on which agave and which climate lie behind it. Raicilla is almost never served on ice, since that would only dilute the delicate aromas of agave and terroir.