Ice, salt and lime? Forget it. We explain how to taste, serve and order raicilla de la Costa to get all its character: what temperature, which glass, what to ask at a bar, and where to begin. Along the way we bust the myth of the pearls—what they really are and what they tell you about the spirit. A confident, no-pressure guide, told from Las Guásimas, Cabo Corrientes.

Is raicilla a tequila? A mezcal under another name? All three are relatives, not the same drink. From Las Guásimas, Cabo Corrientes, we explain what sets raicilla, mezcal, and tequila apart—appellation of origin, agaves, and process—and bust three common myths. The detail that says it all: the one agave raicilla can't use is, of all things, tequila's.

Where does the word "raicilla" come from? Not from a root, as many believe, nor from the name of a town. From Las Guásimas, Cabo Corrientes, we tell the real story behind the name: a spirit that for more than 400 years had to hide in order to survive—and the word that learned to hide along with it.