6 + Rio Chenery / Raicilla

Hey Hey Agave

6 + Rio Chenery

/ I wish more people knew about this beautiful thing

Rio Chenery is the producer and owner of Estancia Raicilla located in the town of La Estancia de Landeros in the state of Jalisco where they produce raicilla using the traditional production practices of the region.

Raicilla is a lesser know agave distillate, that for all intents and purposes is a mezcal.

Rio explains the production process in great detail. We discuss the Lechuguilla (little lettuce) agave. This agave is actually from two different species: Maximiliana and Inaequidens, which is a good example of how common names can get confusing really fast! These agaves mostly (but not always) propagate from seed - similar to the Cenizo in Durango. Rio predominantly uses the Maximiliana species. They also use adobe brick above ground ovens. Check out our Instagram to see videos of Rio and his crew loading the ovens!

Rio also gave us his thoughts about the recent negotiations to create a NOM for raicilla, a spirited and passionate forum between members of the Raicilla Council and the community (in attendance were reps from the Centro Universitario de Ciencias, Biologicas y Agropecuarias as well as mezcal producers from Oaxaca).

We were also joined by Tiffany Collings, Estancia’s NYC brand ambassador who shares her story of how she came to work with Estancia and how she introduces people to the distillate.

Born in Australia, Rio spent a good deal of time in Mexico visiting his maternal family. His grandfather instilled a great love for raicilla in Rio, it was always a part of family meals and celebrations. After studying international relations and commerce, Rio worked in advertising and start-ups in NYC before he founded his Taverna, where he produces and bottles Estancia Raicilla.

Images of topics discussed in this episode can be found at TUYO NYC

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Music: Milagro Verde

Production: Sabrina Lessard and Gabriel Velazquez Zazueta

Editor: Brittany Prater