The complete guide to all things raicilla Once virtually unknown outside of rural Jalisco, raicilla is now generating buzz among mezcal and cocktail afficionados. Unfortunately, raicilla remains mysterious because very little has been written about it, and nearly every non-academic article is riddled with egregious inaccuracies. We’re here to set the record straight.  What is raicilla?  Raicilla is a regional mezcal from western Jalisco, Mexico. Like all mezcal, raicilla is distilled from the roasted heart of the agave plant, commonly called a piña because it resembles a giant pineap ..read more

The agave news story trend in April was all about the crashing of agave prices. It was interesting to see the coverage, with most of it presented in a manner of the sky is falling alongside predictions that it was a sign that the agave spirits boom was over. The fact is, this is something everyone in the industry saw coming beginning last spring. When I was in Jalisco last June folks were already talking about the over abundance of agave and the falling price but no one was surprised as this is a cyclical occurrence – the demand for agave spirits increases so people jump in to plant more agave ..read more

Is raicilla ready for its moment? We can smell the woodsmoke first, and then the carnitas. Fernando carries a cake, and Arturo carries a cooler. People are drinking beer in the shade of a  palapa while shrieking children run around the dirt yard. We are here in Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, at the taberna of Don Adrián Rodríguez, for the birthday party of his son Paulo. The rustic distillery is in the heart of raicilla country. The taberna, what would be called a palenque in Oaxaca, is just above the palapa where the party is taking place. Both are open air structures with thatched roofs. I’m ..read more

The important role of mezcal tour guides It is really quite difficult to overstate the effect of tourism on both the conservation and evolution of Mexico’s cultures and traditional products. On the one hand, it creates markets that can save a product from disappearing, but on the other, those same markets create pressure for change. The cautionary tale here is that of tequila, which like mezcal, was a drink for the rural poor, made in small stills for local consumption. US Prohibition, then its popularity as a cheap “party” drink in the US not only created the huge demand that exists today, it ..read more

Tickets and special package now on sale After 10 years of celebrating mezcal in the United States we are thrilled to take the show on the road to Nombre de Dios, Durango, Mexico. Join us June 8th-9th for a multi day celebration of all things mezcal. The big tasting event will happen on Saturday, June 8th on the grounds of the Cuero Viejo vinata where we’ll be showcasing beautiful mezcals from all over Durango and México. The town of Nombre de Dios is about 40 minutes from Durango city. Not only is it the primary area of mezcal production in Durango, it is beautiful and picturesque and is one o ..read more

Education, networking and deliciousness await bartenders at the festival A bar stool, for me, is almost always the best seat in the house. Not just because I often go out solo, but because it’s where the best conversations evolve. These conversations transpire with your bar stool neighbor, which by evenings end you might be friends, or possibly the bartender. It seems, at least at bars serving agave spirits, long gone are patrons quickly throwing back shots of cheap tequila. Today’s bar stool cowboy, or cowgirl, appears to be more curious about what’s in their glass, and are sipping a bit slow ..read more

The case of Mexican corn whiskey “When our corn leaves the civilization that gave it origin, the subject and the object split; corn loses its ‘humanity’ and transforms into an object: a traveling plant that produces grain and seed. But in Mesoamerica, ‘the cyclical vision of the grain that is buried as a seed to give life remained alive,as the foundational thread upon which the Mesoamerican civilization was woven for thousands of years. In the indigenous and peasant communities of Mexico, corn never lost its humanity’ (Solares, 2007).” In today’s era of environmental consciousness, there’s a ..read more

Journalism in the United States is in disarray. Every publication and news outlet has seriously downsized over the past 10 years, with 2023 being one of the most brutal in terms of layoffs and closures of online publications like BuzzFeed and Vice. The decline of ad revenues, the expectation that all content should be free, and the increasing perception of social media as a trustworthy source for news have also contributed to the current situation. The irony, of course, is that journalism is more important than ever given the proliferation of sponsored posts, AI-generated content and re-postin ..read more

A proposal for a new denominacion de origin (DO) for an agave spirit raises crucial questions about a DO’s real purpose. The latest point of contention in these debates comes to us from Jalisco and Colima, where officials have proposed a new DO for “tuxca,” supposedly a regional mezcal from southern Jalisco.  Like the DOs for tequila, mezcal, and raicilla, this geographical indication would specify a region where certified distillers, or taberneros, are allowed to label their spirits as tuxca. Although the area is home to one of the oldest mezcal producing traditions in Western Mexico (1 ..read more

When we first hear “Oaxaca”, many of us think of mezcal. A beautiful, clear spirit, rich with flavor. This richness comes from a diverse terroir that informs both the agave as it grows and the process of production.  An essential element of this terroir is the water that nourishes it. On average it takes 10 liters of water to make one liter of mezcal. Almost 72.3 million liters of water were used to make the mezcal exported to the US in 2023.  Water is a resource that is becoming less reliable in Oaxaca, raising concerns for agave growers, mezcal producers and everyone else besides ..read more