5 Sentidos started as the house spirit of the acclaimed restaurant in Oaxaca city "El Destilado" and has become a platform to uplift numerous traditional producers who otherwise wouldn't be able to sell their products on the international stage. There's a stigma in Mexico of exporting uncertified agave spirits, driven by the idea that mezcal's denomination of origin is synonymous with quality. In fact, the system shuts out many traditional producers and allows countless industrial practices that should be considered inferior. That's why many of the greatest mezcals are being bottled without certification. This exceptional nano-batch mezcal is one of the finest we've ever tasted from any producer. Alberto Martinez's palenque, "La Escondida" is located above 6500 feet in the town of Santa Catarina Albarradas. Here it is the Sierra Negra that is most often cultivated. The ubiquitous Espadin grows extremely slowly at these high altitudes and Alberto only manages to cultivate enough from his fields (near 7000 feet) to produce a batch of Espadin every 2-3 years. This batch consisted of only 31 pinas roasted over oak and acacia leaves. The agave is mashed with wooden mallet and mixed for fermentation in stone with Tepehuaje bark, a nitrogen rich fermentation aid crucial to kick starting the process in the nearly freezing temperatures. The mash is then double distilled on small clay pots. The resulting 120-liter batch is nearly unprecedented in its deliciousness. Truly outstanding.