5SentidosTobala-ReynaldoOaxaca,Mexico

<p>This small bottling of wild-harvested Tobalá (a.Potatorum + Seemanniana) was produced byyoung mezcalero Reynaldo Alejandro in his hometown of Santa Catarina Albarradas, Oaxaca.</p><p>Along with friends and family, Reynaldo hikedinto the surrounding mountains to harvest 135mature agaves. Using banana leaves as an insulator and oak as firewood, he roasted the agave hearts for seven days to convert the starchy piñas into fermentable sugars. After the roast, Reynaldo uncovered the oven and proceeded to manually crush the cooked agaves with wooden mallets, creating a fermentable mash. That mash was eventually heaped into a stone tank, where it was allowed to ferment with spring water and few buckets of encino de agua bark for three days.</p><p>Once fermentation was complete, Reynaldo distilled the mash twice before blending withheads, hearts, and tails in March 2023. Just 103 liters were produced, all of which were bottled exclusively for the New York market to commemorate Reynaldo’s first ever visit to theUnited States.</p><p>-From Cinco Sentidos</p>