5 Sentidos Candelillo is a limited release that is part of “La Colección Mixteca” from Cinco Sentidos. Many people believe that Agave Karwinskii is found only in Oaxaca, but there are small pockets of Agave “Candelillo,” or “Cachetún” as it is known locally, in the Zapotitlan Salinas region. When regional mezcaleros work with this agave, they roast with a considerable amount of “penca” before shaving it off after the roast. Post-roast, the cooked Candellilo is mashed with wooden mallets and distilled in a makeshift galvanized steel and “cazuela” still. Due to the scarcity of agave Candelillo, it is unlikely that this batch will be repeated in the near future. The 2019 batch of this was just 128 liters.

“La Colección Mixteca” is a curated selection of small-batch agave spirits crafted in the rustic distilleries of the mountainous Mixteca region of Oaxaca and Puebla. Each bottling explores the maestro mezcalero’s interpretation of subjecting agave endemic to the region to peculiar production methods and styles that have largely fallen out of favor in modern times. A significant portion of sales from the collection will be used for palenque improvement projects.