Viamundi Raicilla: The Ultimate Bottle Guide

As a college student, David Weissman, co-founder of Viamundi Spirits, found himself in an interesting position. He had started a spicy tequila company as part of a college entrepreneurship program, which then turned into a full-time job. He had plenty of bars and restaurants in his college town interested in buying his spicy infusion, but then he tried raicilla and everything changed.

"At the end of those five years, I tried raicilla for the first time, the same raicilla we have bottled for Viamundi, and my life was changed as it opened my eyes to all the incredible distilling heritage Mexico has to offer outside of what everyone knew about tequila," he said.

Unfamiliar with raicilla? You're not the only one. While still a fairly unknown product in the larger category of Mexican-made spirits, raicilla is slowly but surely starting to gain traction in the larger liquor market. Viamundi raicilla, an agave-based spirit produced in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in Jalisco, is doing its part to not only set itself apart from other agave-based products that come from Mexico, but to move past its rather rocky history. Consider this ultimate bottle guide a raicilla 101, giving you a better understanding and appreciation for this vibrant, unique spirit.

Raicilla is a distilled spirit made from the agave plant. Before you start referring to it as a type of tequila or mezcal, take a beat. Raicilla may be made from the same plant, but it is a different distilled spirit entirely. According to Adam Castelsky and David Weissman, co-founders of Viamundi Spirits, raicilla is divided into two geographic territories, each with its own distinct cultures regarding production. On one side is coastal raicilla, or Raicilla de la Costa in Spanish, which is made at distilleries near Puerto Vallarta. The other, mountain raicilla, or Raicilla de la Sierra, is made at distilleries in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range.

These different territories make a big difference when it comes to the type of agave used as well as the production, as the types of agave that raicilla can be made with either grow in one or the other, not both. Coastal raicilla roasts its agave in earth or stone-lined pits, similar to mezcal, whereas the agave for mountain raicilla is roasted in above-ground clay stoves. Coastal raicilla is only distilled once in copper, Filipino-style stills, while mountain raicilla is twice distilled in a copper alembic pot still. Viamundi raicilla falls into the mountain raicilla category, coming from the town of El Mosco, a small mountain town 7,000 feet above sea level, and uses the maximiliana agave plant found in the mountains for the spirit.

Pour yourself a glass of Viamundi raicilla, give it a few healthy swirls in the glass, and let the aromatic bouquet introduce itself to your olfactory. Right away, there are floral notes — bright with a little bit of sweetness to them, as well as ripe melon and lemongrass. The more you swirl, the more you get on the nose, with some gentle pine notes coming through each time. Additionally, that oddly satisfying scent of a freshly opened tube of tennis balls.

On the palate, everything changes. The flavor of cooked agave is there, and unlike a tequila or mezcal, it never gets drowned away, and it never really fades into the background. Instead, it's joined by the flavor of cantaloupe, Granny Smith apples, and lime zest. It's clean and fresh, with some gentle spice on the finish. Viamundi raicilla is a pleasant sip, whether it's chilled in a glass all on its own or joined by a gentle squeeze of lime.

As a mountain-made raicilla, the production process starts with the harvesting of the maximiliana agave plant found in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. The agave is roasted in the above-ground clay stoves, which resemble pizza ovens, according to David Weissman and Adam Castelsky, and it is then shredded and placed in fermentation tanks. Depending on the weather and the elevation, fermentation can take anywhere from a week if it's warm in the lowlands or up to a month in colder temperatures and higher elevation.

After the fermentation process is done, the liquid is double distilled in a copper alembic pot still and then bottled. The entire process is done by Benito and Jose Salcedo Rios, both third-generation raicilleros who have spent years learning and mastering the art of raicilla production. Benito, with a background in engineering and agronomy, tends to the harvesting of the agave, while Jose oversees the cooking, fermenting, and distilling process.

Traditionally, raicilla is typically enjoyed neat. However, the versatility in the flavor profile lends it to some fairly inspired cocktails, showing off the notes of ripe melon, fresh citrus, apples, and subtle spice. To really highlight the spirit itself, start with a martini made with raicilla, Cocchi Americano, dry vermouth, and Blue Curaçao. Prepare it like you would a classic martini, and serve it up in a coupe glass with a blue cheese-stuffed olive for garnish. Think of this as a creative interpretation of a Corpse Reviver, swapping in the raicilla for the gin. For something with a more sweet and sour vibe, make yourself a Jalisco Swizzle, made with raicilla, passionfruit liqueur, orgeat liqueur, fresh lime juice, grapefruit bitters, and mint leaves.

While the flavor of raicilla is noticeably different than that of tequila or mezcal, it wouldn't be too outside the box to treat raicilla as you would either of these spirits. Chilled in a glass with a lime wedge would be only too perfect for sipping on, but if you're looking to spice up your classic margaritas or paloma cocktails, swapping in raicilla as your base spirit makes for a delightful tipple.

At $55, Viamundi raicilla falls into the mid-range, moving into the top-shelf price category. For the consumer looking to get into this category for the first time, this price can seem a bit daunting, but compared to other raicilla brands, the $55 price tag is quite reasonable. As a category, raicilla is quite small — it tends to only be available in certain regions of the country in actual liquor stores, but ordering online is also an option.

A quick search through various liquor distributors around the U.S. shows various raicilla brands for purchase, ranging in price from $21.99 to close to $200. With this in mind, it's safe to say that Viamundi raicilla, while certainly not an inexpensive purchase, falls into the reasonably priced tier when compared to other brands in the category.

Raicilla has only been available to purchase legally in the United States for a handful of years, and as a result, there aren't too many other brands to compare Viamundi raicilla to. However, Estancia raicilla is one of the more well-known brands that is readily available for purchase around the country, so we chose this brand to give a side-by-side comparison.

Starting with the makeup of each spirit, they share several similarities. Both brands are produced in the highlands of Jalisco in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains, and both use the maximiliana agave plant as the base of the raicilla. They are both cooked in the above-ground adobe ovens, fermented in clay pots, and distilled twice. They are also bottled at similar proofs, with Estancia at 43% ABV and Viamundi at 45%, and both are very close in price, with Estancia at $50 a bottle and Viamundi at $55. For the raicilla curious who's interested in adding this spirit to their home bar, buying both and comparing tasting notes may be the best way to determine which reigns supreme.

The history of raicilla production in Mexico is an interesting one, not so different from sotol, another Mexican-made spirit with a rough background. According to David Weissman and Adam Castelsky, when the Spanish conquered Mexico and wanted to implement trade policies to promote Spanish-made goods, there was no differentiation between the different types of agave spirits. Despite what they actually may have been, everything was just called "mezcal," and as a result, the Spanish levied a tax on all the local spirits that fell into this category, encouraging native Mexicans to buy the alcohol that was being imported from Spain instead. To avoid paying the tax, "mezcal" producers referred to their products as "raicilla," a term the Spanish didn't recognize.

Even after the Spanish left Mexico, and for centuries after, raicilla continued to be produced underground and in the shadows, as producers were only making raicilla for their friends and neighbors instead of spreading the word to a wider audience. However, in the early 2000s, raicilla started to gain more attention on the global stage, and as a result, the Mexican government finally made it legal. In 2019, raicilla became officially official, gaining its own denomination of origin.

When it comes to the production of raicilla, it's not all that different from another one of its Mexican-born spirited siblings, tequila. The biggest similarity between the two is that they're both made from the agave plant. However, tequila can only be made using 100% blue weber agave, while raicilla has a little more wiggle room with the kinds of agave it can use. There are five distinct types of agave that can be used to make raicilla. Several different varieties of agave angustifolia and agave rhodacantha are typically used for the coastal raicillas, while agave maximiliana and agave inaequidens are used for the mountain raicillas.

In the raicilla regions where these semi-wild or cultivated agave varietals are harvested for production, raicilleros are looking for mature agave, meaning the plant has been maturing for an average of eight years. When the plant is ready to use, raicilleros come in with machetes to harvest the agave and begin the cooking process.

Sustainability in alcohol production has become a significant talking point for those who are choosing to consider the environment when shopping for household goods. With that in mind, the brother duo, Benito and Jose, who are in charge of the raicilla production for Viamundi, have become pioneers in their own right when it comes to sustainable farming practices. According to David Weissman and Adam Castelsky, their sustainable, semi-wild farming technique has become so popular in the world of raicilla production that many other brands are now copying it for themselves.

"On the premises of our distillery and many others in the region, there are patches of completely arid land," explains Weissman. "Jose built an irrigation system on that land, plants the agave, and then does absolutely nothing to it (no pesticides or any other human intervention), letting it grow in an entirely natural way." There are other ways to harvest the agave, notes Weissman, including cutting down trees and other plants to make room for the agave, which is a far more destructive method, destroying the environment rather than nurturing it.