PAL’ALMA AGUARDIENTE DE AGAVE A SALMIANA
100% DE AGAVE
BOTTLE SIZE: 750 ML
- WHY: There are few agave spirits on the market anywhere more coveted and sought after than Erick Rodriquez’s Alma products. For years, customers have been making appointments with him at his shop in Mexico City just to get access to his products; many of which were bootlegged back across the border and sold for double and triple the price. This Salmiana distillate is like an explosion of flavor on the palate, moving from salty and savory, to sweetly vegetal, to boldly-spiced and with plenty of fruit. It’s more of an experience than a beverage.
- HOW: The first batch of Pal’Alma’s uncertified mezcal (or Aguardiente de Agave) is distilled from Salmiana agave, which grows around 6,000 feet above sea level. Known for its thick dark leaves, which curve and twist as they mature, it can grow to more than seven feet wide and tall, taking anywhere from 12 to 25 years to reach maturity. Erick works with Maestro Patricio Hernandez, who cooks the piñas in a stone oven, then mills the cooked agave using a traditional tahona.
- WHAT: Pal’Alma is the export brand for Almamezcalera, the bottling label from Mexico City’s notorious “INDIANA JONES OF AGAVE” ERICK RODRIGUEZ. Equal parts historian and adventurer, Erick travels to remote production sites all over Mexico and is deeply committed to local traditions that are rooted in rustic ingenuity. His collaborators are all bonafide local legends in their own right, and—to make things even cooler—Erick only works with a single mezcalero in each st
