We’d been falling hard for tequila for years, the more premium the better, by the time its renegade cousin mezcal, known for its smoldering funk, became a sensation. Now young American entrepreneurs David Weissman and Adam Castelsky want us to dive even deeper into the wild world of Mexican spirits. Through their new company, Viamundi, they hope to ignite a new craze for raicilla and sotol, among other traditional distillates still virtually unknown north of the border.
“When I first tasted raicilla, it blew my mind,” says Weissman, of this hand-crafted spirit, distilled from semi-wild agaves grown in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains of southwestern Jalisco. With its aromas of lemongrass, lime zest and cantaloupe, its avocado and pineapple notes, raicilla brings a zesty twist to a classic Negroni or Margarita.
Sotol, made in the state of Chihuahua from the desert spoon plant—a flowering succulent, like agave, in the asparagus family—has even more complex aromatics, of eucalyptus and lemongrass, and tastes of licorice, spice and plum. There’s even a touch of blue cheese funk. “Though herbaceousness is the predominant impression, sotol’s most appealing characteristics are its fresh vibrancy and a desert-earth dustiness on the nose,” says Castelsky. “It makes a particularly great 50/50 Martini.”
The first kernel of the business started when Weissman, as a fledgling twentysomething entrepreneur, approached Castelsky with a new spirit he’d launched fresh out of college, Soltado, a spicy anejo tequila infused with fresh serrano peppers. Though it had been racking up accolades, winning spirit competitions, Castelsky, who was running the craft spirits portfolio of Southern Glazer’s, a huge beverage distributor, didn’t take on the tiny brand. Instead, a professional friendship took root.
Weissman had been scouring Mexico in search of unique, hand-crafted artisanal spirits. Traveling along the 150-mile Ruta de la Raicilla, between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, he sampled raicilla from almost a hundred tiny palenques (as small distilleries are known). He also drank plenty of sotol on his travels. He began sending samples of his favorite discoveries to Castelsky. Earlier this year they decided to join forces to import a few, launching with a mezcal, a sotol and a raicilla, to start.
Castelsky thinks sotol, in particular, will be the next big thing in Mexican spirits. Lenny Kravitz has released Nocheluna sotol with Pernod Ricard, at 86 proof, that’s mildly herbal and shows lavender aromas. Six popular brands—Cardenxe, Sotol La Higuera, Los Magos, Sotol Ono, Flor del Desierto, and Compania Elaboradora—are also vying to be sotol stars.
Sotol was officially outlawed in the 1920’s as a goodwill gesture from Mexico to the US during the Prohibition era. It remained contraband until 1988, and only earned an official denomination of origin from the Mexican government in 2004. Raicilla, derided for decades as Mexican moonshine, only received its DO in 2019.
Viamundi’s sotol is produced by third generation distiller Bienvenido Fernandez and distilled 6500 feet above sea level. During prohibition, Fernandez’s grandfather devised a mobile still that could be wheeled out of the reach of the federales, who would literally poke holes in the operation by firing shots at the still.
Viamundi has plans to expand its portfolio beyond raicilla and sotol, with a goal of importing every genre of officially recognized Mexican spirit—there are six altogether. Next up: Charanda, a rum-like spirit distilled from sugarcane in the state of Michoacán, and Bacanora, an agave distillate from the coast of Sonora.
If Castelsky and Weissman have their way, instead of tequila and mezcal we might all soon be drinking much more outlaw Mexican spirits.