Cinco (5) Sentidos Madrecuixe Tio Tello

Leading with vegetables and savory herbs, the nose expresses a bouquet of eucalyptus, tarragon, rosemary, and petrichor. On the palate, orange compote, zucchini, shishito pepper take the lead, with a soft astringency akin to yerba mate grounding. Finish is bright and clean with lemon pith, thai basil and pine needles. –DI, March 2026

“This 160-liter batch of cultivated Madrecuixe (A. karwinskii) was made by maestro mezcalero Eduardo “Lalo” Perez, son of Eleuterio “Tio Tello” Perez Ramos. Lalo harvested the ripe agaves from Tio Tello’s land in El Nanche, Oaxaca, at approximately 5,500 feet above sea level. Post harvest, he roasted the agaves in a conical oven with mesquite firewood for approximately six days. After cooking the agaves, Lalo, along with friends and family members, chopped the agave into small pieces with a machete, and then mashed them with large hammers made of mesquite in a wooden trough. Once mashed, Tio Tello allowed the mash to dry-ferment for two days then added well water to the mash and allowed it to ferment for an additional week in two cypress sabino tanks. Lalo then double-distilled the fermented mash in two copper alembic-style stills at the small family palenque in December 2024. 160 total liters produced. Adjusted with heads, hearts, and tails by Lalo. Bottled January 2025.” -Cinco Sentidos