Cinco Sentidos La colección Mixteca Edition 4--Papalome

Most mezcal spends a few days fermenting. This bottle spent 17. Mezcalero Atelo Ramirez and his wife Laura Arriaga started with wild Papalome agaves harvested from the rugged Mixteca Poblana region of Puebla, crushing 263 piñas the old-school way with wooden mallets instead of a tahona wheel. After roasting for five days in an earthen pit lined with pirúl leaves and heated with mesquite, the crushed agave was left to dry-ferment for five days before Atelo added spring water and let it continue for another 12 days. That extended timeline pulls more complexity from the mash, coaxing out layers you don't always find in faster-fermented mezcal. The distillation setup here is just as unusual: a hybrid rig combining galvanized steel, a clay pot, and a copper serpentine. It's a rare configuration that borrows from both clay pot tradition and copper column efficiency, resulting in a spirit that's textured but still refined. Atelo proofed the final batch with a blend of heads, hearts, and tails, then let it rest in glass for a full year before bottling in June 2024. Only 216 liters were made. Papalome is part of the Agave potatorum family, known for its earthy, herbaceous profile with floral high notes. Expect green bell pepper, wet stone, roasted pineapple, and a thread of smoke from the mesquite roast. The pirúl leaves add a subtle resinous quality that lingers in the finish. This is not a beginner bottle, but it's approachable if you like your mezcal savory and aromatic rather than sweet. Cinco Sentidos was founded by Jason Cox at Oaxaca City's El Destilado restaurant and imported to the US by PM Spirits. Every bottle names the producer, village, agave, still type, and batch number, and Cox pays above-market rates with a 10% profit-share back to mezcaleros. The label reads "Drink With Respect," and Atelo and Laura's names are printed front and center, not Cox's. Pair this with grilled octopus, mole verde, or aged manchego. Off Premise Chicago carries the full Cinco Sentidos lineup in Lincoln Park, including rare regional expressions like this one from Los Reyes Metzontla.