Really nice! Elegant and refined, its pretty well integrated. Agree that I dont get the typical tepextate notes. Sweet cinnamon butter – dont get the lactic notes that rakhal got at all (which is a good thing imo)
Definitely get the mushroom funk Rakhal is talking about – not too savory but definitely not sweet. mushroom, nutmeg, sweet potato and moss.
Now that I ordered a second bottle for my archives, I can tell you that this is a very special mezcal. Reminds me a lot of juju dhau, a sweet custard made in Nepal that is often made with cloves, cardamom, coconut and cashew. Very rich, enveloping and distinctive, this mezcal is extremely complex.
Light body, river water and river stones. Smells like skittles if you have sucked off the flavored part… Much hotter nose than it actually is in your mouth. Some bitter herbs/thyme, yellow gatorade… If it was a little more oily this would be unreal, but still very very good!
Pretty magical! clean mineral presence but a full mouthfeel and long finish
Tried this at Mexico in a Bottle in Denver and went back for more twice. It was my favorite of the day of a lot of great stuff. Plenty of earth and must but really easy to drink. Very distinct and long aftertaste that kept me coming back for more.
First bottle I had was 47.5% (lot 5) but I picked up a second bottle at Astor in NYC and it’s 45%. Very enveloping and rich, river rocks and clay. Not the most complex thing but the few notes it hits are fantastic.
I love this. One of the best and most interesting mezcals I’ve had. Not sure of the lot, but I had it at Ghost Donkey in NYC. Definitely floral, perfumey and complex with taste of lemon curd or dried lemon peel throughout, which is the really unique flavor that makes this special
Really amazing! lot 1 from 2018. Was excited to see this and got a pour at Please Don’t Tell in NYC. I paid the price for not asking the price ($50)… Not worth that for a pour but it really was fantastic, enveloping mouthfeel, strong but well integrated flavors and and a wonderful aftertaste that lasted till the next day
You can definitely tell this has a lower abv. While this isnt bad at all, it tastes pretty similar to plain old tequila. I’ve had other sotols and there is none of the earthy, wet concrete taste that I have loved about those. At this price you might as well buy some Espalon blanco, it is much more accessible and more expressive.
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.
