Reviews / 5 Sentidos Flor y Colas de Chino

Review · · by The Editors

5 Sentidos Flor y Colas de Chino

Michoacán chino through a Filipino still – José Ines Vieyra keeps the old process alive

Score: 4.0/5 agaves

5 Sentidos Flor y Colas de Chino bottle
  • Producer: 5 Sentidos
  • Maestro: Jose Ines Vieyra
  • Region: El Aguacatito, Michoacán
  • Agave: Chino
  • ABV: 46.8%
  • Price: $159 ($)

Verdict

Michoacán's mezcal tradition doesn't get the airtime Oaxaca does and bottles from Vieyra are part of why it should. The Filipino still – a pre-Hispanic hollow-log setup, yields a drier, more aromatic spirit than copper does, and this one shows what that technique can do with a wild agave. One consensus rating sells it short; we'd mark it at 4.0 on the strength of method alone. Compared to a Cuentacuentos Michoacán release, this is less blunt and more floral.

A production method this rare should cost more than this

Tasting notes

Nose: Fresh corn walks in first. Then green herbs, wet wood, a pale mineral undertone

Palate: The Filipino-style still is nearly extinct in the category; at 46.8% the liquid reads more delicate than Oaxacan mezcales, with the chino agave's mild herbal sweetness preserved rather than cooked flat

Finish: Medium-long, herbal, clean

The bottom line

Buy it. Filipino-still mezcal is a category you won't see much of

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