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La Venenosa Raicilla Sierra del Tigre

La Venenosa Raicilla Sierra del Tigre is typically served at the end of the night due to it’s strong flavor and scent of blue cheese.

About this raicilla

La Venenosa Raicilla Sierra del Tigre is made by master Taberenero Don Luis Contreras in the village of Manzanilla de la Paz, which is approximately 2,000 metres above sea level.  This Raicilla is made from agave Inaquidens, which is locally known as Bruto.  This agave grows wild in coniferous forests and it is roasted over wood embers in an earthen oven.  The still used for this Raicilla is ceramic, Filipino style.  Don Luis produces about 700 litres per year.  This is a rare La Venenosa, and it is typically served at the end of the night due to it’s strong flavor and scent of blue cheese.

La Venenosa Raicilla

Raicilla has been produced for over 500 years in the Mexican state of Jalisco, Mexico. Jalisco offers a plethora of agave species, second only to Oaxaca, however the Tequila made in Jalisco can only be made with the blue agave. Raicilla from Jalisco can be made with many different types of agave that are scattered across the landscape. These, along with great diversity in terroir, equipment and techniques, give Raicilla an amazing spectrum of flavor and history.

La Venenosa Raicilla range was created by Chef Esteban Morales to bring these hidden jewels to the global market. Esteban traversed the state in search of the best producers in each region. Every one of these Raicilla expressions is unique; created by different Maestro Taberneros in distinct regions, from different species of agave using diverse techniques, the individual results are astounding. Due to the relatively raw nature of Raicilla production, the ABV of each La Venenosa may vary slightly by batch.

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Member rating

3.96 out of 5

27 reviews

Arlo

Arlo

7 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars2 months ago

On the nose strong blue cheese and pineapple, a little nouget. Sweet on the palette with a little salinity. Notes of concord grape. I like it!

Wayside Loop

Wayside Loop

4 reviews
Rated 5 out of 5 stars2 months ago

I had this bottle several months ago and was blown away by how amazingly funky it was.
Nose- funk, cheese, dawn patrol on the ocean, green veggies, dusty rocks
Palate- smoky blue cheese blueberry cheesecake, orange peel, agave sweetness, and more funk
Finish lingers and oils the mouth. I can still taste this today and it brings me back to enjoying this underneath a backyard palapa in the extreme summer heat. One of my favorites and so unique.

Forpowder

Forpowder

76 reviews
Rated 1 out of 5 stars4 months ago

Lot A34 bottle 580T date 03/22 Aromas out of the bottle are like I’m not sure if I can drink this. Smells like sours stinky feet. After a long time, I got brave and finally took a sip. This is not for me. After airing out for a hour it became more drinkable, but what’s the point. Not my style.

Ben P

Ben P

107 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars6 months ago

43.2% version

Nose: Chalky candy like candy cigarettes, honey goat cheese, blue cheese, stanky melon

Palate and finish: big cheese on the front end, like sharp cheddar, then drying leather (I always get this with Inaequidens), soft cream cheese on the back end. The finish is tart yogurt.

I understand why many enjoy this but it isn’t really my thing. It’s funky, cheesy yogurt, and at those things it excels!

KyraNicole

KyraNicole

42 reviews
Rated 5 out of 5 stars7 months ago

Creamy, funky. Like a funky cream cheese frosting. Love!

Average José

Average José

54 reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars8 months ago

* Date: 05-22
* Lot: 37
* Bottle: 128/350
* ABV: 43.2%

Orale! Wild and way past “funk”… By far the most heavy sour crema and blue cheese pour I’ve ever had.

Fruity, complex, floral with a fairly long lasting cream finish. Apricots and oranges with a sour nose. Not much smoke and more clay than I was expecting.

So unique, so wild… borderline offensive. I love Raicillas though and highly recommend trying this beast or La Venenosa’s Tabernas Edition III if you want a more tame option.

* Date: 05-22
* Lot: 37
* Bottle: 128/350
* ABV: 43.2%
Orale! Wild and way past “funk”… By far the most heavy sour crema and blue cheese pour I’ve ever had.
Fruity, complex, floral with a fairly long lasting cream finish. Apricots and oranges with a sour nose. Not much smoke and more clay than I was expecting.
So unique, so wild… borderline offensive. I love Raicillas though and highly recommend trying this beast or La Venenosa’s Tabernas Edition III if you want a more tame opti

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Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars8 months ago

My favorite of the bunch.Bottle 172-260 harvest year 10-22. Nose of goat cheese, cherries, orange peel. Yeast like with lite smoke. funky but delicious! I collect this one on my shelf.

Jam

Jam

149 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars9 months ago

Lot 37, 05/22 production date, bottle 184-350, 43.2% abv

Review #6: moderate creaminess. Big burst of orange, reminding me of an orange creamsicle, a bit of fruity berries, and there’s some bell peppers with cheese around it. Lots of flavor on this for the low abv. This tasted like a dessert pour for me. Im a big fan, and didn’t get blue cheese on this newer batch like others mentioned on older ones (although i do like blue cheese). This is top tier

daydrinking

daydrinking

1 review
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars1 year ago

Lot 29. Feb 2021. Bottle 47 of 340.
Sour Cream and Onion Pringles.

I’ve tasted several different batches of this bottle at different bars over 3 years. Highly recommend for those who want to try something new and don’t know Raicilla. Better than Black or Green Label at least as a beginner. Very easy to smell so it’s easier to explain to newcomers.

On the nose is sharp cheese and salt, but with a deeper focus I get fruit like blueberries and also farmland with cornfields. Very complex but great for someone who is scared of agaves. Everyone will find something they smell. On the palate it starts light with fruit and salt. Spice comes through near the end. Cinnamon type flavors. The finish is fairly short (at least this lot…)

Overall it’s a great bottle to sip and find new things every taste. Coming in at 45% or higher it’s a great buy.

Lot 29. Feb 2021. Bottle 47 of 340.
Sour Cream and Onion Pringles.
I’ve tasted several different batches of this bottle at different bars over 3 years. Highly recommend for those who want to try something new and don’t know Raicilla. Better than Black or Green Label at least as a beginner. Very easy to smell so it’s easier to explain to newcomers.
On the nose is sharp cheese and salt, but with a deeper focus I get fruit like blueberries and also farmland with cornfields. Very c

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Jonny

Jonny

700 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Very funky aromas that continue to open up the longer this sits in the glass. The initial note is blue cheese, and there are some really nice additional notes of blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. This smells like pure berries and cheese. The palate matches the nose in terms of blue cheese + fresh berries, with an additional leathery tone and highly viscous mouthfeel. I’ve tasted a few batches of this and they’re fairly consistent. The notes above are from an unlabeled bottle purchased at the viñata.

Very funky aromas that continue to open up the longer this sits in the glass. The initial note is blue cheese, and there are some really nice additional notes of blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. This smells like pure berries and cheese. The palate matches the nose in terms of blue cheese + fresh berries, with an additional leathery tone and highly viscous mouthfeel. I’ve tasted a few batches of this and they’re fairly consistent. The notes above are from an unlabeled bottle purcha

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exileonmorrison

exileonmorrison

10 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Lot A25. This Mezcal is something else. It has a big, bright citrus nose of orange and lime peels. At first taste, it is all orange sorbet with some floral orange blossom and unsweetened yogurt, then it finishes with a lingering creamy meringue feel. This Mezcal is very unique, but probably not a daily sipper.

Americana Kyle

Americana Kyle

60 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars2 years ago

This was funkkkk and I liked it. It had a cheese salt popcorn characteristic about it that makes it very intriguing to me. I like weird, this is weird.

aarild

aarild

152 reviews
Rated 5 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Lot 30, April 2021. I had to rewrite this review after finally buying a full bottle. Popping the cork releases a smell of fromage blanc dessert with lemon, along with light smoke. From the glass, clay aroma and some hay are added. A fruit explosion follows on the palate, sour at first like fried bananas with greek yoghurt, but then the sourness is turning sweeter, with mascarpone cheese, papaya, charred pineapple, peach, lemon rind preserves. Eventually parboiled strawberries are dominating for a second, before a brief notion of proper Italian tiramisù with pastry cream, cocoa powder and amaretto. Finish starts with a hint of china bark and dried basil adding a nice herbal touch for balance. It’s triggering a vague memory of mezcal from Michoacán, perhaps? The aftertaste lingers forever.
It is simply amazing that it has been distilled with just a single pass, in clay pot stills. The sour aspect is the only thing that could possibly be polarising about this raicilla, because the craftsmanship is just excellent. I love it more for every sip.

Lot 30, April 2021. I had to rewrite this review after finally buying a full bottle. Popping the cork releases a smell of fromage blanc dessert with lemon, along with light smoke. From the glass, clay aroma and some hay are added. A fruit explosion follows on the palate, sour at first like fried bananas with greek yoghurt, but then the sourness is turning sweeter, with mascarpone cheese, papaya, charred pineapple, peach, lemon rind preserves. Eventually parboiled strawberries are dominating for

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El_Roberto

El_Roberto

23 reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Bottle 34 of 70, lot 13, destilled 03/2018. Love this brand and their wild funky flavours. Smells like blue cheese, Boysenberry on the palate. Such a delicious berry flavour.

DaveMaguey

DaveMaguey

1 review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Date 11-19, Lot 21, Bottle 48/390
I like this a lot! Strawberry cream cheese or something like that. Suave and a bit creamy feeling. Very unique, find a bottle and try it.

Rakhal

Rakhal

421 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

This is one of the most polarizing agave spirits I’ve ever come across. In a recent Raicilla tasting two of our group loved it and the rest couldn’t stand it. I appreciate it for its uniqueness but I probably wouldn’t reach for it often if I had a bottle. Apparently the still that he uses to make this is quite unique, I’d love to visit his Taberna. As for the tasting notes… when I lived in Thailand there was a fermented yogurt drink called Yakult that we would drink to settle our stomach’s when we weren’t feeling well. This spirit reminds me of Yakult. Fermented milk, dried aged Mexican cheese, sour Pulque, the slight sweetness of fruit on the edge of rotting, and dirt. Definitely worth trying because you may just love it.

This is one of the most polarizing agave spirits I’ve ever come across. In a recent Raicilla tasting two of our group loved it and the rest couldn’t stand it. I appreciate it for its uniqueness but I probably wouldn’t reach for it often if I had a bottle. Apparently the still that he uses to make this is quite unique, I’d love to visit his Taberna. As for the tasting notes… when I lived in Thailand there was a fermented yogurt drink called Yakult that we would drink to settle our s

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meserole

meserole

73 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Wow – this really is surprising and funky. Lactic/microbial/yogurt/sour cheese on the nose and mouth, with a sort of burnt cacao or fudge aftertaste. Like chocolate cheescake? Weird and exciting — easy sipper once you get used to it.

PhilBrunski

PhilBrunski

25 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Big orange and blue cheese flavors. At first I wasn’t a fan of how thin the body and the abv felt but now im really enjoying this. As unique as it gets!

Nick

Nick

25 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

This is a great raicilla to enjoy with summer salads – throw some fetta or blue cheese in (ok, a bit of balsamic vinegar, some cherry tomatoes…I digress). Rich, robust and yes funky, but the palette seems to want to come back for more. You’ll find more flavours hidden if you wait a bit and enjoy the back palette – breathe out slowly. Del tigre can surprise with a few more fruit flavours, some tempered with a bit of age. It’s certainly not a run of the mill raicilla. Don Luis Contreras, 46.7%, Lot 13, 03/18. Bottle 35/70.

This is a great raicilla to enjoy with summer salads – throw some fetta or blue cheese in (ok, a bit of balsamic vinegar, some cherry tomatoes…I digress). Rich, robust and yes funky, but the palette seems to want to come back for more. You’ll find more flavours hidden if you wait a bit and enjoy the back palette – breathe out slowly. Del tigre can surprise with a few more fruit flavours, some tempered with a bit of age. It’s certainly not a run of the mill raicilla.

Read more
spasta

spasta

22 reviews
Rated 3 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Strong butterscotch vibes. I am not a huge fan of butterscotch, but this is no doubt an interesting bottle for those who are.

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