Cinco Sentidos Sierra Negra (92 proof), Reynaldo Alejandro

Item Number: 20847

UPC: 0-714770233925

Country: Mexico
Region: Oaxaca
Sub Region: Santa Catarina Albarradas
Estate Grown Wine: No
Grape(s): Sierra Negra Agave
Type: Spirits - Mezcal
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 6
Closure: T Top
Alc by Vol(%): 46

Reynaldo Alejandro distilled this Sierra Negra (agave Americana) at his newly built Palenque La llusión in Santa Catarina Albarradas, located in the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca. The Sierra Negra harvested for this batch were cultivated almost 7,500 feet above sea level. While Alberto mashes the cooked agave with mallets, Alberto's wife and daughter strip bark from oak tree branches called tepehuaje.

Tepehuaje bark is crucial to cold-weather fermenting in Albarradas. Santa Catarina Albarradas is higher in altitude than practically any other mezcal-producing town in Oaxaca, and the diurnal temperature shift between day and night is significant. The temperature fluctuations can hinder spontaneous fermentation of ambient yeasts. Tepehuaje bark is a natural source of nitrogen and is added into the concrete tanks with spring water during fermentation to help stabilize it during the cold night climate. The same logs from which the bark is stripped are then used to fire the stills.

Mezcalero: Reynaldo Alejandro
Agave Source: Santa Catarina Albarradas
Cooking Method: Underground oven for 20 days with oak firewood and leaves from plantain and acacia trees as an insulator
Crushing Method: By hand with axes and wooden mallets
Fermentation: Concrete tank with tepehuaje bark
Distillation: Twice distilled
Still Style: Clay pot
Water Source: Spring water

Nose: Eucalyptus, stone fruit
Palate: Pineapple, currants, sweet herbs, dusty, minerals, acidic