Secreto del Oeste, The 3 Raicilleros, and The Prize
From Wikipedia:
Raicilla ([raj.ˈsi.ʝa]], “little root”) is a distilled spirit originating in the south western part of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Like tequila and mezcal, it is a product of the agave plant.
Raicilla is a traditional beverage with about 300 years of history and a protected Denomination of Origin.[1] Its aroma and flavor are derived from the species of agave and characterized by the soil, topography, climate, water, producer (“Maestro Raicillero”), yeasts, and other factors. Raicilla is colorless when it is matured in glass or yellowish when it is matured in wood.
We have now established the what and where. As we look to the who, why, and when, the story will unfold. And a dandy it is!
This is a story of Jamie and Dave, who now live, where else, but in Bucerias. They are both from Western Canada. In 2012 they started living here for six months of the year. A couple of years later and they became full time residents. They retired to a life of boating, and volunteering in the community. Not a bad deal you might think, but it was not enough for Jamie and Dave. They began to explore the Sierra Madre Occidental Montanas, and soon were splitting their time between Bucerias and La Estancia, close to San Sebastian.
During a visit to the mountains, they met Don Lalo, who is the producer of Don Lalin Raicilla. His raicilla won Gold Standard in France in 2020 for the worlds finest raicilla spirit. Neither Jamie nor Dave were very forthcoming about whether there was any sampling when they met Lalo. In any event, they decided the time was right to get a new raicilla brand to market. SECRETO del Oeste Raicilla was launched in 2021.
As with many of our stories, there is a little twist. Our son Ryan and soon to be daughter-in-law Emily are marrying in November of this year, and a Buck and Doe has been scheduled in June. You must wonder how much raicilla I imbibed to make some kind of sense now. Their friends who are organizing the party are looking for raffle prizes. BIG LIGHTBULB! What better raffle prize than a bottle of Secreto raicilla? Anyway, I acquired the bottle and it is on its way to Southern Ontario, just a mere 4,490 km north!
Life is so full of interesting people. Meeting Jamie and Dave, learning about their raicilla adventure, sending a bottle of Secreto to Ryan and Emily. Calls for a small raicilla!
Jamie describes their first few years in the area:
“Initially, we kept ourselves very busy between volunteering in the community, particularly with high risk children, as well as enjoying time on the Bay in our boat. We have fabulous memories of all the many, many people whom we took out on the ocean for the very first time to enjoy the wonders of sea life and water.”
Jimadors are what the skilled workers are called that are responsible for how agave is cut. They chop the agave with a sharp tool called a ‘Coa.’ The trade is typically passed down from one generation to the next.
Jamie describes, as the pandemic hit in 2020, the three collaborated to get a new brand of raicilla out into the world. “With the help of a marketing and branding team out of Guadalajara, we brainstormed names and branding ideas. Secreto del Oeste continues to have the original Don Lalín artisanal smokey, smooth taste, however has an additional ‘secret’ to the process resulting in a very exotic taste for the palate.”
Jamie and Dave spend weekends in La Estancia, “where we tend to agave plantations in an ever expanding interest in an ever increasing agave spirits market.”
Contact Secreto del Oeste for your raicilla, the one with the “secreto!” info@secretodeloeste.com OR http://www.secretodeloeste.com OR telephone 322 303 2994, and find them on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Secreto-Del-Oeste-100223235416437/?tsid+0.8692909535200911&source+result
Dave also has a second career here in Bahia de Banderas. We will let him tell you all about it in a future post.
