Jose Cuervo nearby regions in central Mexico. All Jose Cuervo tequila continues to be made in the town of Tequila in the state of Jalisco in Mexico. The blue agave plant has spiked leaves and a round, fleshy core (the piña). The leaves are chopped off and the core is cooked and crushed to create juice, which is fermented and distilled to make tequila. The resulting unaged, clear tequila is then diluted with water to bring the alcohol content down to around 40%. Pure tequila is distilled 100% from the sap of the blue agave plant, while mixto tequilas only need to
Raicilla Raicilla Raicilla is a distilled spirit, originating in the south western portion of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Like tequila and mezcal, it is a product of the agave plant. Traditionally raicilla has been created and sold as a "moonshine" product without government sanction or approval. Recently a distiller, La Venenosa, has begun to market a variety of legal brands of raicilla. It is distilled in crude, primitive stills from a fermented mash made from the central stem ("piña") of the maguey plant. The mash is slow cooked, and the steam condensed on a copper cone cooled, traditionally, by spring