Balam Raicilla Costa is produced by Don Rosalio Rodriguez in El Tuito, Jalisco. There are at least two versions of this that are made with different agave.
About this raicilla
Balam Raicilla Costa de Jalisco is produced by Don Rosalio Rodriguez in El Tuito, Jalisco. Some batches of this are made using 100% agave Rhodacantha, others are made using an agave Angustifolia that is known locally as Chico Aguiar. After being cooked and crushed, the agaves are naturally fermented for 23 days before being double-distilled in Huichol Alambic stills. This raicilla has aromas of wood and wildflowers with a hint of citrus. On the palate there are notes of cooked green agave, roasted fruits, and cold ash.
Balam
Balam Raicilla and Sotol was launched in 2016 by Xavier Villagran. He has taken careful consideration to find raicilleros that were previously not commercializing their raicilla, which has a reputation of being the moonshine of Mexico. Balam was the second brand of raicilla to legally enter the United States market. Villagrán sources artisanal spirits: mezcals in Oaxaca, raicilla in each of the three distilling regions of Jalisco (costa, sierra, llano), sotols from Chihuahua and Durango, and the rare churique from the tiny agave lechugilla.
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Jam
184 reviews47% abv, batch RR-X-18
Review # 87: Nose is ashy, green banana, asparagus, and cinnamon red hots. Palate has vanilla, green banana, cigarette smoke, dry dirt, cinnamon red hots, and smoked jalapeño.
I must say, at 1 star on here at the time of writing this i was expecting the worst and I did not find that. The flavors were decent and the off notes weren’t too bad. It was a bit light on flavor the ashy notes were a bit brash, but i found this alright.
MoreMezMoreProblems
1 reviewThis bums me out so much. Handed a server 50 usd in Puerto Vallarta for a bottle of the mezcal they had poured for me that night, he said return the next night for the bottle. The next night he returned with this and said it was the best he could do. It tastes like 3/4 high proof Vodka, 1/8 mild Joven espadin mezcal, and 1/8 Blanco Tequila. I love Raicilla, this is not representative of any Raicilla I’ve had out of a 1 litre sprite bottle out of Taco stands in Mexico or at bars in San Francisco, a real bummer.
This bums me out so much. Handed a server 50 usd in Puerto Vallarta for a bottle of the mezcal they had poured for me that night, he said return the next night for the bottle. The next night he returned with this and said it was the best he could do. It tastes like 3/4 high proof Vodka, 1/8 mild Joven espadin mezcal, and 1/8 Blanco Tequila. I love Raicilla, this is not representative of any Raicilla I’ve had out of a 1 litre sprite bottle out of Taco stands in Mexico or at bars in San Fran
Bennn1234
1 reviewRacilla is delicious, unfortunately this one is terrible. Not recommended, it has no depth and will make every drink taste awful.
Rakhal
430 reviewsCH04-16. Thin and watery with a distracting band-aid flavor, some artichoke and brown sugar but mostly band-aid.