What is Raicilla? How does it differ from Tequila and Mezcal?

Raicilla is a distilled agave spirit from the mountainous region of Jalisco in Mexico which leads to its association with Mezcal and Tequila. However, they are all distinctive in their own right.

Raicilla can be made from many varieties of agave plant, unlike Tequila which can only be from blue agave. It is technically a type of Mezcal, in that is is made from the Pina (the heart of the plant) and roasted in a similar way, but it is only single distilled, whilst Mezcal is double. Mezcal can also come from 9 states in Mexico, but Jalisco is not one of them, giving a climactic point of difference.

In terms of flavour, Raicilla has an earthy, smoky, fruity taste with floral notes. Generally speaking, it is more floral than Tequila, but less smoky than Mezcal. There are some terroir differences worth bearing in mind, where Raicilla from the coast tends to be dry, whilst the mountain produced ones have a sweeter note.

Raicilla shares similar categories to Mezcal:

• Joven - unaged and clear.
• Madurado en vidrio - matured in glass.
• Reposado - aged in wood.
• Anejo - aged in wood for over a year.
• Abocado - infused with herbs, fruits and flowers to impart more flavour.
• Double distilled - an exclusive process to artisanal and traditional Raicilla.