Richard-ModernDrinking
Mezonte Raicilla Japo
Mezcal Joven — Mexico
Reviewed
June 20, 2020 (edited July 4, 2020)
Sweet, savory, smoky, minty, oily. A lovely introduction to the mezcal-style agaves of Jalisco.
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Here’s some more information I just received, courtesy of Eli’s Tasting Room, which organized the online tasting that included this bottle: Hildegardo "Japo" Joya raicilla, bottled by Mezonte, a well-known independent bottler and educational/cultural organization based in Guadalajara. From Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, on the coast not far from Puerto Vallarta. Made with a local variety of Agave rhodacantha called "amarillo." Cooked in underground earth oven, mashed by hand with wooden mallets, fermented with spring water, distilled in a "filipino"-style internal-condensation still made from a copper "cazo" (shallow pot) bottom with a top condensation chamber of tropical parota wood. 400 liters, 2018, batch 1 (this is a larger export batch). 47% alcohol. The term "raicilla" refers to a certain subset of mezcal produced in Jalisco, near the coast.
I believe most raicilla is also only single distilled.
@PBMichiganWolverine It’s effectively mezcal - they just give it a different name in this part of Mexico.
Raicilla ? How is it different than mezcal ( smoky grassy ) or tequila ( crisp ) ?