Cinco Sentidos Jabali-Tobala is made in a small palenque that is built into the side of a mountain about one hour from the nearest paved road.
About this destilado de agave
5 Sentidos Jabali-Tobala is an ensamble of wild maguey Jabali and wild maguey Tobala from the Sierra Norte. The first special bottling from 5 Sentidos in the United States was this ensamble and it was only released in the city of Chicago (EN01 – 60 liters). Other batches are available at Oaxaca’s El Destilado. The same style of ensamble was also the third special release from 5 Sentidos (EN03 – 110 liters). The maguey Jabali and Tobala are cooked together in an underground horno, milled by hand with axes and mallets, fermented with Tepehuaje for four days, and double distilled in small clay pots. The clay pot still used to make this mezcal is artistically rendered on the front label of the bottle. Read about our visit with maestro mezcalero Alberto Martinez in the blog post Cinco Sentidos and El Destilado
Notable batches:
- EN01 – 60-liters
- EN03 – 110-liters
5 Sentidos
5 Sentidos (or Cinco Sentidos) is named after the five senses that their mezcaleros use to produce their agave spirits. The producers of this mezcal do not use any model machinery or tools, being guided only by their senses throughout the production process. The brand was launched by El Destilado restaurant in centro Oaxaca. The restaurant is known for it’s creative menu, unique cocktails, and exception agave spirits. The brand is a curated tour of Mexico with a wide range of expressions that are made by some of the best mezcaleros in the region. Cinco Sentidos is uncertified mezcal and is labeled as “Destilado de Agave”.
Learn more about 5 Sentidos:
- Cinco Sentidos and El Destilado on Mezcal Reviews
- Santa María Ixcatlán: Rawhide Fermentation with Amando Alvarez on Mezcal Reviews
- What’s in A Name? on the K&L Wines Spirits Journal blog
Review this bottle
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MinorThreet
7 reviewsJBTBB08-20 alberto/reynaldo 111 tobala 53 jabali
Nose: mango, papaya, tropical notes mixed with a nice minerality, guava cream cheese, rotten banana peel, complex and ever changing as previously mention
Palate: flint, slate, sweet pineapple, funky overripe fruit, vanilla, lime peel, waxy
Finish: fruity almost manzanilla sherry, ash
Charred corn and faint pipe tobacco
jmehrk35
39 reviewsBatch JT06-19
Bottle 123/132
46.9% ABV
123 ltr batch
Harvested 94 Tobalá / 70 Jabali piñas
This is an incredibly complex mezcal, each time you go back to it, it shows more ankle. Could review the same bottle next week and add to the notes.
Slightly drying initial nasal impact.
Aroma of clay, musty attic, very ripe tropical fruit.
A buttery mouthfeel and drying with very generous alcohol. Pleasingly sweet.
Where to begin on the palate? Green banana, cherry flavored cream soda (if there is such a thing), jasmine, gauva, smoked Brie cheese, rain soaked clay pot, wildflower honey, mint, orange blossom, pineapple cooked with brown sugar…… the more you sip, the more it develops. And oh yeah, there is smoke or char that is very present but unbelievably balanced.
The finish is long and complex, continuingly adding depth. Overall impression is beyond excellent. This mezcal from the great Alberto Martinez and his son in law Reynaldo is a MUST have. Just remarkable
Batch JT06-19
Bottle 123/132
46.9% ABV
123 ltr batch
Harvested 94 Tobalá / 70 Jabali piñas
This is an incredibly complex mezcal, each time you go back to it, it shows more ankle. Could review the same bottle next week and add to the notes.
Slightly drying initial nasal impact.
Aroma of clay, musty attic, very ripe tropical fruit.
A buttery mouthfeel and drying with very generous alcohol. Pleasingly sweet.
Where to begin on the palate? Green banana, cherry flavored cream soda (if there is such
James Christian
45 reviewsBatch JBTB 10-21
I agree with Zack… there is SO MUCH happening here. Banana, “smoked cream soda,” an almost perfect mouthfeel…. lingering smoke (cherry-vanilla smoked coke for me) – and a finish that I seriously timed at over a minute. yeah.. one of those perfect mezcals for me.
Zack Klamn
512 reviewsNose – Crushed pineapple. Cream soda. Banana cream. Smoky oak. An incredible sweet, dessert-rich nose.
Palate – Ripe banana. Vanilla milkshake. A very, very nice viscosity. Finish of cinnamon candied apple slices, fine leather and cigar wrapper. Man, so much going on here. Aftertaste of cherry vanilla 7up. This is high quality and complex – amazing stuff!
El-Dawg
182 reviewsEN01 (batch made from 65x jabali piñas & 50x tobalas)
Did a side-by-side comparison with both the jabali & tobala standalone mezcals, and can definitely taste both agaves in this ensamble. Mixture of fruit, nail polish, spice, mint, all balanced with some clay funk and heat at the end. Might prefer this one to any of the single varietals!
Review #77, 2oz sample
GreenspointTexas
385 reviewsFunky. Lotta double bubble bubble gum, chamomile, lavender. I really dont get much Jabali, imo. I’d hit it again, but not really gonna seek this out, per se
Rakhal
398 reviewsLot: JT05-19. Alberto Martinez is one of my favorite Mezcaleros. I always wait awhile to review his Mezcals because they are so complex and they change over time so it takes me time to wrap my head around them. This batch of 120 Liters at 46.9% is very floral and fruity. Jasmine, clover honey, pineapple, vanilla ice cream, very light caramel, old cedar chest, with a finish of orange peel and lavender. Damn this is good!
COak
210 reviewsMarch 2017 Bottle 63/75 51%. Lote JT01 Alberto Martinez makes elite mezcal. This is a hard mezcal you describe, been waiting a while to review it . The nose is vegetal and old books. The taste can change from sip to sip. It’s Jabali forward. Taste mint, minerals and cinnamon.
Soxfan
18 reviewsBATCH JT03-18, 46.5%ABV, BOTTLE 51/119. My first taste upon opening the bottle, perhaps a year ago, was enjoyable if not remarkable. A few months later, still nice and perhaps a smidge better subjectively, as I was comparing it to another Jabali that night. Tonight, very much more impressive. Really excellent! Perhaps the time in the bottle? Worth recommending to anyone who likes that unique Jabali flavor jumping all around their palate.
ajandernoa
4 reviewsOne of my favorite distillates from an incredible line up. This strikes a perfect balance between the sweet leathery and ripened fruit notes of the tobala and the intense citrusy punch of the jabali. This is one to sip over a long period of time as it changes its flavors through out it time in the glass.
justsomedude
28 reviewsSome 5 Sentidos bottles need to be open for a while before they come into their own and this is one of them. But boy does it open up! It’s almost like the Jabali and Tobala flavors are dancing, sometimes one or the other taking lead, sometimes working perfectly in sync. One of the more complex and evolving spirits I’ve tasted. Nose has citrus, overripe fruit, a hint of sweat cream and cow, all carried by that signature Jabali nail polish, though much less pronounced than Alberto Martinez’s straight Jabali. Palate is sweet cream at the very beginning, quickly followed by the two dancers. One of them is bright fruit, stone, tropical and citrus, the other is earth, agave, hay, chili pepper, to a lesser extent herbs and green veggies. Mouthfeel is rich and smooth, but could be heavier and is a bit astringent. Finish is much less sweet than the palate, very long, lemongrass, herbs, minerality, clay pot, sharp and refreshing. Tough to place on the scale of Alberto Martinez offerings, I think it’s more complex than the straight Jabali or straight Tobala but not as complex as the Sierra Negra-Tobala and not quite as tasty as that or the straight Jabali. It certainly stands out as unique from any of those and is worth adding to the collection. 90/100
Some 5 Sentidos bottles need to be open for a while before they come into their own and this is one of them. But boy does it open up! It’s almost like the Jabali and Tobala flavors are dancing, sometimes one or the other taking lead, sometimes working perfectly in sync. One of the more complex and evolving spirits I’ve tasted. Nose has citrus, overripe fruit, a hint of sweat cream and cow, all carried by that signature Jabali nail polish, though much less pronounced than Alberto Mar
El_Cura
31 reviewsBatch EN01, 47.9%, 7/66. Very leathery tack room funk for the first third of bottle. Ended up taking top off for 4-5 hours for a couple of days and it came out of the shell. The last third was nothing like the first. Superbly smooth and fruity.
thamthong
47 reviewsbatch EN03. 48.1% abv. bottle 48/87. i’m having a hard time picking this one apart, as there is a ton going on and it’s rather elusive in the glass. seems to morph and develop by the minute. like the 5 sentidos sierra negra from the same mezcalero, it’s at once rustic and refined. HUGE nose. upfront is a fragrant fruitiness that i can’t quite pin (overripe apples, grilled pineapple, ???) , roasted agave, toasted oak, slight barnyard funk. sweetness on the palate is very earthy, slightly vegetal, with musty minerality and all the fruitiness from the nose harmonizing in the background. very deep and round in the mouth, unbelievably smooth with a pleasant warming buzz as it goes down. long, long finish elegantly fades into hot desert rocks. tremendous mezcal. must try the rest of the line.
batch EN03. 48.1% abv. bottle 48/87. i’m having a hard time picking this one apart, as there is a ton going on and it’s rather elusive in the glass. seems to morph and develop by the minute. like the 5 sentidos sierra negra from the same mezcalero, it’s at once rustic and refined. HUGE nose. upfront is a fragrant fruitiness that i can’t quite pin (overripe apples, grilled pineapple, ???) , roasted agave, toasted oak, slight barnyard funk. sweetness on the palate i
Jonny
634 reviews51% ABV. Batch from March 2017. Bottle 45/75. Sweet aromas of caramel, honey, and brown sugar. More vegatal aromas of dried tobacco and fresh green olives. The palate has notes of cream cheese. brie, banana peels, unripe pineapple, and prickly pear cactus. This is really awesome. Super round, big bold flavors. Everything I’ve had from Alberto Martinez has been pure magic and this is no exception.