Raicilla

• Raicilla produced by Estancia Distillery in La Estancia de Landeros, Jalisco
• Maestro Raicillero Alfredo Salvatierra
• Distilled from 100% Maximiliana (Agave maximiliana)
• Cooked in an adobe oven (akin to a pizza oven)
• Fermented in oak vats and amphora clay pots
• Distilled twice using a traditional copper and steel pot stills
• Tasting notes include green herbs, cracked black pepper, hibiscus, citrus zest, and goat cheese
• 45% ABV

Tasting Notes

A form of mezcal unique to the western mountains and coast of Jalisco, raicilla has been quietly produced for hundreds of years. While the state is of course known for the goliath industry of Tequila, raicilleros have arguably been producing this agave spirit since before the Spanish conquest.

Maestro raicillero Alfredo Salvatierra begins production by roasting Agave maximiliana for 2 days in an adobe oven, similar to a large pizza oven. The agave is milled, then fermented in oak vats and amphora clay, using wild yeast and volcanic spring water from a mountain ridge above the distillery (or “taberna”). The results are distilled twice, using traditional copper and steel pot stills, then rested in glass & stainless steel before bottling.

Maximiliana is known for its herbal and floral characteristics, and Estancia leans into this with a heady bouquet of cracked black pepper, sweet and savory green herbs, delicate hibiscus, beach plum, pineapple skin and soft goat cheese that lingers on the palate like plate of crudités.