La Venenosa Raicilla Sierra

Lot 46 from December 2022.

Different, interesting and pretty tasty. On the nose I get apple cider vinegar, but on the palate it’s more like preserved Moroccan lemons, then a kick of tart lime before the sweetness comes through. There’s also an interesting kind of tingle on your tongue. Well worth trying.

Also, you cannot but be intrigued by the note above that reads: “Rumor has it that Don Ruben discovered chemical compounds in the agave Maximiliana that are outside of what is regularly seen in the agave family, and that these compounds have strong therapeutic and health benefits. Some attribute this Raicilla to Don Ruben’s ability to have 17 children, all of them female.”

I straight up laughed when I first smelt this one. ‘What the **** am I drinking?’ Initially wasn’t a fan of raicilla, but the spirits been grew on me a lot when I was in Puerto Vallarta in April.
Aroma of Old Dutch Sour Cream & Cheddar chips, grapefruit Jelly Belly and grass after a rainstorm.
Somehow these flavors blend amazingly together.
Savory notes of onion, parsley and bit of parm. Sweet grapefruit Jarritos and vanilla frosting. A tart berry I can’t put a name on.
The mouthfeel got some getting used to, as it’s got this certain viscosity I associate with a certain rough night of Cointreau shots.
Not what I’d call a crowd pleaser, but a unique spirit definitely worth picking up for a unique agave adventure.
Also, easily worth the price point.
Got a bottle of the Costa on the way, eyeing the Volcanes and Tabernas too

04/2019; Lot 28; Bot 316/890
?- clear
?- soft warming impact.
Aromas of resinous savory herbs, laurel, garrigue, chamomile, floral, light plastic synthetics, sour cream, wet clay or terracotta, lightly cooked sweet potato.
Adequate & complex production.
Average length and ordinary character.
?- astringent effect with some coating and warming; sufficient smooth alcohol; light to medium body.
Primarily sweet &sour taste, with light salty highlights; buttery-oily smoothness.
Flavors of sweet potato, savory herb, laurel, peppercorn, grapefruit, citrus zests, light honey & chamomile, ginger.
Concentrated flavor intensity, slightly complex, harmonious balance.
Straightforward and very long finish.
Very good overall impression.

*well balanced, fair complexity, nice typicity; nothing extraordinary.

Learn more about organoleptic evaluation at the International Wine & Spirits Guild’s seminar in Fine Spirits,
or more on Agave Spirits certifications through the Agave Spirits Institute.

Lot 27, Date 12-18, Bottle 524/920, ABV 43.3%

Ok, this is nice. So much acidity!! This is a food pairing dream come true; there are too many good options to serve it with. I mean, it makes sense that a chef selected this expression for his raicilla brand.

Peaches and cream on the nose, with fresh herbs and other vegetal notes. WOW – the palate is straight fresh ground black pepper followed by slight apple cider vinegar meets cilantro. Very saline and tangy. This won’t impress most mezcal drinkers in its own due to the mouthfeel and single distillation, but with food this is simply fantastic. That mouthwatering acidity kept me coming back for more throughout the entire meal.

Whoa! I was not expecting that. Like the other reviewers, I agree that this is an incredibly unique spirit. I don’t think I like it as much as the other reviews, however. (I should mention this is my first Raicilla)

The smell is definitely funky and my first few sips I got tasted like salty cheese. After spending some time with it, it started to taste a little more metallic, like I was chewing on some aluminum, and eventually I started to taste lime juice, but with no bite. There was a sourness throughout, and no smoke really. Eventually I settled on it tasting like if you squeezed some lime and grapefruit juice on some aluminum and let it sit overnight. By the end of the glass the inside of my mouth had kind of pruned up like I had something very salty. Now that I think of it, this tastes a lot like some preserved lemons I made a while back, just more like lime than lemon. Think fermented limes or watery lime vinegar (with less bite than vinegar).

It might be because I got the end of the bottle where I tried it, but this had almost no body (thin/watery) and no bite, just kind of disappeared after sipping. This site has the abv at 42%, I didn’t catch the strength of my particular bottle but it must have been lower.

I would not necessarily doubt the ‘therapeutic benefits’ I recently had kava tea for the first time and I think this gave me a similar sensation. Overall, I’m very glad I tried it but I certainly won’t be buying a bottle of it.

Lot 23, Date 03-18, Bottle 123/290, 39.4% ABV. Was excited to finally get my hands on this one, and it doesn’t disappoint. You can smell agave, a little vinegar, and ripe fruit. Tasting, the first thing I notice is sweetness on the tip of the tongue, followed by cooked agave and a flavor that’s reminiscent of peaches or apricots. Tasty, if not super complex. Very little burn and a somewhat short finish, perhaps because of the lower ABV. I wanted to give it 5 stars because it’s delicious, but it falls slightly short. Would love to taste a higher ABV lot. Maybe just the thing to put it over the top.

One of the most unique agave spirits that will ever touch your tongue. This raicilla from maximiliana agave is supposed to have health benefits. This is dangerously easy to enjoy. On the nose there are aromas of apple and vinegar. The taste itself is oddly familiar.. I can’t quite put my finger on it, or rather my mouth. It’s both sweet and sour with flavors of sour cherry with sweet nectar. The ABV is a bit low at 42% but the flavors linger on the palate nicely. Lote 12 from 05-15.