LIMÓN: REFRESH YOUR SPIRIT WITH RAÍZEE CRYSTAL LIMÓN, 15% ABV AGAVE SPIRIT, HARMONIOUSLY BLENDED WITH RAICILLA DE LA SIERRA
Behind the scenes
THE PROCESS
Although the zone protected by the denomination of origin encompasses 16 municipalities of Jalisco, Raízee Crystal is produced in the municipalities of mascota and Mixtlan, in the heart of the Sierra Occidental region of Jalisco.
1.
JIMA
Once the agaves are ripe and ready to be harvested, the plants are extracted from the soil by a process called “Jima” during which the leaves or “pencas” are cut off by using a “coa”, the main tool of a jimador
2.
THE DISTILLERIES
Once the pencas are cut off, the heart of the agave or “piña” is then extracted whole from the ground. This piña is then chopped into small pieces and transported to the “taberna,” the name for Raicilla distilleries.
3.
BAKING
Once at the taberna, a clay or stone oven is fired up with oak wood and heated until it reaches about 1000 degrees Celsius. Once the oven is at the right temperature, the agave hearts are thrown in the oven, the oven gets sealed completely to conserve the heat usually with clay or mud. The agave hearts are then roasted for approximately 72 hours.
4.
FERMENTATION
Once the bake is complete, the oven is opened and the agave comes out roasted, sweet and delicious. The agave is then grinded either by hand or mill and thrown into fermentation tubs made either from plastic, wood or stainless steel. The “gabazo” or milled roasted agave is then left to ferment in the fermentation room at the right temperature for 3-5 days until all that delicious sugar becomes alcohol.
5.
DISTILLATION
Once the fermentation reaches the desired level, the gabazo is put into stainless steel Arabic or Filipino style stills and distilled into delicious Raicilla. All of this process is made by hand in small batches to preserve the ancient ways of manufacturing Raicilla and to keep that amazing taste right where it needs to be. The results are simply masterful.
20
YEARS OF MATURATION
The typical period of maturation for one agave plant is anywhere from 5 to 20 years! Altitude, climate, and the amount of sunlight are factors that determine the amount of time it takes one agave plant to mature
TWO RAICILLA CATEGORIES
RAICILLA DE LA COSTA (OF THE COAST)
RAICILLA DE LA SIERRA (OF THE MOUNTAINS)