What is Raicilla?
Raicilla is a small-batch agave spirit distilled in the mountains and coasts of Jalisco, Mexico.
For more than 100 years it was made in secret — banned, hidden, and passed hand to hand.
Today, it stands apart from Tequila and Mezcal as one of Mexico’s most complex, terroir-driven spirits.
Table of Contents
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Definition
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Origins
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Craft
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Culture
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Comparison
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Renaissance
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Record
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FAQ
THE ORIGINS
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Origin in the 1600s as a local, unregulated agave spirit.
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Geographic zones: Sierra Madre Occidental and costal Jalisco.
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Connection to mezcal-making traditions but unique due to local agave species and environment.
Learn more about how we preserve Raicilla’s past → The Record
THE CRAFT
From Agave to Raicilla
Raicilla begins with the heart of the agave, called the piña. In Jalisco, producers rely on wild and semi-cultivated species, most notably Agave maximiliana, A. Angustifolia, and A. rhodacantha.
Each plant takes six to 12 years to mature before it is harvested, roasted, and crushed. The sweet juice is then left to undergo wild fermentation, driven by the native yeasts of the Sierra and the coast.
This process gives Raicilla its natural complexity long before distillation ever begins.
Raicilla de la Sierra vs Raicilla de la Costa
Cooking The Agave
Two traditional oven types define how Raicilla is cooked, each tied to the geography of Jalisco.
Along the coast, producers use underground conical pits with volcanic stone and hardwood. The capacity of these pits can be up to 10,000 kilos.
In the mountains, producers rely on masonry ovens built from clay, brick, and also powered with firewood. These above-ground ovens typically have capacities of around 3,000 kilos.
Both ovens can reach up to about 1,000 degrees celcius before the agaves are pleaced inside. And the agave hearts roast slowly beneath the ground for around three days.
Ancestral and Artisanal Milling Methods
Milling is one of the most defining steps in Raicilla production — how the cooked agave is broken down determines flavor during fermentation.
The oldest way to mill agave is by hand. Typically, on the coast after the agaves are cooked, they are chopped with machetes and crushed with mallets in a wooden canoe.
Producers in the mountains usually opt to shred their agave in a mulcher, a small piece of farming equipment. This may be due to the tougher fibers that Agave maximiliana typically has.
Fermentation
One common trait between coastal and mountain producers is the use of plastic containers for fermentation.
There is a slight difference, though: coastal producers prefer to ferment in 600-liter Rotoplas water storage tanks, while mountain producers tend to use 200-liter plastic tambos.
In both cases, the containers are readily available, easy to clean, and widely used for many purposes throughout Mexico.
Fermentation is almost always done with fiber, and water is added to the tank anywhere from one to three days later.
Typically, raicilleros cover their containers to keep out vinegar flies and other pests.
Traditional Distillation Methods
After fermentation, the spirit is refined through distillation—most often twice—using either wood or stainless steel, depending on the region and maker.
The famous Filipino-style wooden stills, introduced to the coasts of Jalisco in the 17th century, recall a more rustic era of distillation. These stills yield spirits with a distinctly natural profile — notes of forest floor, smoke, earth, and umami.
By contrast, Raicilla from the mountains develops a cleaner, more herbal and floral profile, shaped by its use of stainless-steel and copper stills. These materials yield a brighter spirit — a reflection of altitude and precision.
Aging / Maturation
Although some barrel aging exists, it is not a common practice among ancestral and artisanal producers.
What is traditional is rectification in glass damajuanas. Some producers allow their spirits to rest for months or even years.
Some of the best Raicilla has been aged for three years or more.
It is on the coast where you will hear the stories of fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers smuggling Raicilla in the shadows of the night by donkey or canoe.
They might even say that the mountain producers “took the word Raicilla” from them.
But the fact remains that Raicilla wouldn’t be where it is today without the help of the mountain producers who helped commercialize the spirit. Without them, coastal Raicilla might still be hidden from view.
It is important to note that most raicilleros are not doing this as a full-time job. Many are construction workers, farmers, or hold other occupations for sustenance.
However, without a doubt, the passion remains — and if given the chance, they would likely pursue that love full-time.
THE CULTURE
THE COMPARISON
Raicilla is often grouped together with Tequila and Mezcal, but it stands apart in nearly every way—its geography, its agave species, its distillation methods, and its cultural history.
While Tequila relies solely on Blue Weber agave and is produced in industrial or semi-industrial facilities across designated regions, Raicilla is made from a range of wild and semi-wild agaves such as Agave maximiliana, inaequidens, rhodacantha, and angustifolia.
Its production is limited to specific coastal and mountain zones of Jalisco, giving it a much more intimate and regional identity.
Mezcal, by contrast, is produced in many different states and can be made from over thirty agave species, resulting in a broader and often smokier flavor spectrum.
What truly separates Raicilla is its dual terroir. Coastal Raicilla tends to be bright, saline, citrus-driven, and lightly smoky due to tropical humidity and pit-oven cooking. Mountain Raicilla—distilled at higher elevations—expresses itself with mineral, herbal, and floral notes. No other agave spirit has this built-in duality between coast and sierra, and this contrast defines Raicilla’s personality.
Raicilla’s distillation methods are equally distinct. On the coast, many producers still use Filipino-style wooden stills—an extremely old technique that produces earthy, savory, umami-rich spirits. In the mountains, distillers use copper pot stills, which create cleaner, more aromatic profiles. Mezcal typically relies on clay or copper stills, and Tequila is distilled largely in stainless steel or modern copper systems. Raicilla’s combination of wooden, copper, and region-specific equipment gives it a unique place within Mexico’s distillation traditions.
Raicilla also carries a unique smuggling heritage. While distillers were rarely targeted by authorities after the 1930s, the smugglers who transported Raicilla along the coastline by canoe often faced real danger. Police sometimes confiscated their cargo, searched the beaches, or even sank their boats. Smugglers hid or buried bottles along the coast to avoid detection. This coastal contraband history is a defining part of Raicilla’s mythology — a story of ingenuity, secrecy, and survival that Tequila and Mezcal do not share.
Finally, Raicilla’s Denomination of Origin (2019) protects this identity while keeping production small, artisanal, and tied to specific communities. In simple terms:
Tequila is controlled, industrial, and global.
Mezcal is vast, diverse, and ancestral.
Raicilla is intimate, dual, mysterious — Mexico’s hidden refinement, born in secrecy and shaped by the coast and the mountains.
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