Cinco Elementos Mezcal

Agave spirits – ancient roots & new profiles

The world of mezcal is a fascinating mixture of old and new. Very old traditional methods for making spirits going way back. Some of the mezcal families are making mezcal for the fourth or fifth generation and the process is almost excactly the same as it was 200 years ago. What’s changed is often mostly plastic jugs to collect the spirits. But mezcal is also new. The business has attracted a whole generation of really bright young people who have made the entire category explode in innovation and plain fun.

Brand background

Mezcal Cinco Elementos is one of these products. Super cool logo, bottle and smart website. And the juice – the five variants of mezcal they produce – THAT is quality straight out of the old days! Strong, smoky with explosive tasting profiles. The curious name “Cinco Elementos Mezcal” is a humorous reference to the four elements, eart, water, wind and fire. AND, in this case, agave. Making it the five elements, “Cinco Elements”. The family company is running on the third generation as mezcaleros and Mezcal Cinco Elementos Tepeztate is produced from 100% maguey Tepeztate (agave Marmorara) in San Lorenzo Albarradas, Oaxaca. The harvested agave hearts are cooked underground, mashed with a tahona, fermented in pine wood tanks, and then distilled twice in copper alembic stills. This mezcal has an herbal mint flavor.

Overall tasting profile

Mezcal Cinco Elementos produces four different variant of mezcal – each based upon a single, unmixed agave species. It is not uncommon in mezcal to make socalled “Ensemble en barros”, which are mezcal made with more than one agave species. The mezcals out of Cinco Elementos, however are one species per variant. The company produces mezcals based on Espadin, Cuishe, Tobalá and Tepeztate.