Off Premise Batch Cinco Sentidos Arroqueno [Was $150]

This batch of Arroqueño from Cinco Sentidos marks the first time the project has bottled a spirit made by Andrés "Andresón" Jarquín, the father-in-law of young mezcalero Eduardo "Lalo" Pérez. Distilled in El Nanche, Oaxaca in March 2023, only fifty liters were produced, and forty of those were set aside to rest in glass demijohns for over a year before being bottled exclusively for Off Premise in Chicago in May 2025. Arroqueño is a semi-wild agave that takes up to twenty years to mature, and its scarcity makes single-producer batches like this one a rare window into individual palenque style. Andrés Jarquín roasted the agave Arroqueño in an underground earthen oven using mesquite and oak as firewood, then crushed the cooked piñas with a wooden mallet rather than a tahona or mechanical mill. He fermented the crushed agave in cypress sabino tanks with local well water from the village, allowing wild yeasts to drive the process, and double-distilled the fermented mash in a copper alembic still. The spirit was proofed with a blend of heads, hearts, and tails, a traditional Oaxacan technique that preserves the full aromatic range of the distillation run. Cinco Sentidos works with mezcaleros across the Sierra Sur, Sierra Mazateca, and Valles Centrales, bottling single-village, single-producer batches that document the diversity of Oaxacan palenque traditions. The extended rest in glass has softened the spirit without adding oak or oxidative notes, letting the minerality and vegetal depth of the Arroqueño come through clearly. Expect green bell pepper, wet stone, unripe pineapple, and a long, savory finish with hints of sage and cracked black pepper. This is a mezcal for sipping slowly and contemplatively, ideally alongside grilled vegetables, aged sheep's milk cheese, or ceviche with lime and cilantro. The small production run and year-plus rest make this batch a snapshot of a single palenque at a single moment in time. Available for pickup at our Lincoln Park shop at 1128 W Armitage Ave, local Chicago delivery, or nationwide shipping.