OK, to any lovers of agave spirits, this raicilla may be my favorite yet. Raicilla is another appellation that would fall under the mezcal family, but is in Jalisco (the home of tequila, which is also a mezcal) where Mezcal is concentrated in Oaxaca and to a lesser extent Durango, Guerrero, and some other states. It's confusing, but in the classification, Mezcal appears twice, once to cover agave spirits in general, and then again under that classification to indicate a regional appellation.
ANYWAY, raicillas are typically single-distilled and use whatever sub-breeds of agave are in Jalisco (which would include Weber blue agave which is what tequila must use).
EDIT: found a cool article
here.
Anyway, this thing has a light mouthfeel, fruit with a little mineral background, and almost an airy taste with a very pungent, lactic, cheesy nose that gets funkier as you drink it. A wild ride! It is not overly smoky and would make a great (if expensive for a full fifth at around $120-140) introduction. Kicking myself for having passed on a fifth for $100 months ago, which it is easily worth.
Of course, I also love sazeracs made with $25 bottles.
