Pal’alma San Luis Potosi is the long-awaited first official US release from Erick Rodriquez, who is known as the Indiana Jones of Mezcal.
About this destilado de agave
Pal’alma San Luis Potosi is the first batch of Pal’Alma’s Aguardiente de Agave to be available in the US. This is made with maguey Salmiana, which grows at around 6,000 feet above sea level. The agave has thick dark pencas which curve and twist as they mature, and it can grow to more than seven feet wide and tall, and takes anywhere from 12 to 25 years to reach maturity. Maestro Patricio Hernandez cooks the piñas in a stone oven, then mills the cooked agave using a traditional tahona. For fermentation, he adds around 30% fresh pulque to the crushed agave in a pine vat. After eight days, the resulting fermented tepache is distilled twice in a copper refrescadera still.
Pal'alma
Pal’alma (or Mezcalito Pal’alma) is curated by Erick Rodriguez. Erick also bottles under the brand Almamezcalera. Known by many as the Indiana Jones of Mezcal, Erick Rodriguez works with agave spirits producers from the 20+ states of Mexico. Anywhere he finds agave fields and a freshwater stream, there’s a good chance that someone is making mezcal nearby. He has a private tasting room in Mexico City, which we visited in 2017, and wrote about in our post Almamezcalera & Mezcalito Pal’alma.
Review this bottle
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bpCLT
37 reviewsNose: Parmesan, red clay mud, playdoh, bbq chips, light honey, light smoke
Palate & Finish: Grilled peppers with a bit of honey, bbq sauce, soil and mud, sort of chalky lime which sort of ends up being cocoa powder as you move into the finish. On the finish, veggies with some brine, tobacco, soil, spicy cocoa, lemon lime zest and bitter rind
I’ve enjoyed the salmiana batches I have tried and this one is no exception. There’s something about the earthy, peppery, light citrus, and cheesy elements that make me want to have another sip. Overall this fits the mold of what I come to expect with a SLP Salmiana and is solid to sip in summer.
Nose: Parmesan, red clay mud, playdoh, bbq chips, light honey, light smoke
Palate & Finish: Grilled peppers with a bit of honey, bbq sauce, soil and mud, sort of chalky lime which sort of ends up being cocoa powder as you move into the finish. On the finish, veggies with some brine, tobacco, soil, spicy cocoa, lemon lime zest and bitter rind
I’ve enjoyed the salmiana batches I have tried and this one is no exception. There’s something about the earthy, peppery, light citrus, and cheesy e
Imperium
86 reviewsNose: cactus like in the tacos you get in Mexico. Green pepper and jalapeño and funky cheese. BBQ sauce and grill ash. Corn.
Palate: GREEN with a capital G. Umami cheese, bell pepper, banana peppers, and honeycomb. Smoky, peppered beef off the grill.
This is incredibly smooth with almost no burn at all in the aftertaste. Crazy that it’s 50% as it drinks like half that. Hands down best salmiana I’ve had.
Zack Klamn
531 reviewsNose – Chopped green pepper. Granulated white sugar. Parmesan cheese wafer. A block of white cheddar. Geraniums. Licorice pastel assorted candies.
Palate – A comforting, medium viscosity mouth feel. Roasted Anaheim pepper. Chopped scallions. A hint of baking cocoa. A nice, gentle poblano-level heat in the finish. I am really picking up on Red Hots candy that Greenspoint flawlessly mentioned – but I’m a fan of these. The finish has a definite (and great) dry Sav Blanc note. The smoke level is perfect, the cheesy notes are just right (not too funky) and the sugary sweetness is well balanced.
I did a back to back San Luis Potosi tasting with this and the Luneta Verde-Chino – these are both incredibly close in quality (same rating, although I’d say Luneta by a nose).
Nose – Chopped green pepper. Granulated white sugar. Parmesan cheese wafer. A block of white cheddar. Geraniums. Licorice pastel assorted candies.
Palate – A comforting, medium viscosity mouth feel. Roasted Anaheim pepper. Chopped scallions. A hint of baking cocoa. A nice, gentle poblano-level heat in the finish. I am really picking up on Red Hots candy that Greenspoint flawlessly mentioned – but I’m a fan of these. The finish has a definite (and great) dry Sav Blanc note
AdamCA
16 reviewsComplex and flavorful. Smells like honeyed green vegetables (green bell and cucumber, maybe), and tastes similarly with a roasted/fermented funk running underneath it. The sweet greenness of the salmiana and the honey funk pulque are both present and they blend beautifully. It has a long finish. I also have a very good bottle of an Alto with pulque from Mezcaloteca, but this is a cut above. It’s everything I’d hoped for out of the first US release from Almamezcalera. Also worth noting that pulque is said to have some psychotropic effects and this mezcal pleasantly warms the brain in a way that’s different than other mezcals.
Complex and flavorful. Smells like honeyed green vegetables (green bell and cucumber, maybe), and tastes similarly with a roasted/fermented funk running underneath it. The sweet greenness of the salmiana and the honey funk pulque are both present and they blend beautifully. It has a long finish. I also have a very good bottle of an Alto with pulque from Mezcaloteca, but this is a cut above. It’s everything I’d hoped for out of the first US release from Almamezcalera. Also worth noti
Tyler
625 reviewsWhen I first tried this I got a lot of fresh carpet notes. Lot 1. Bottle 287/672. That has gone away somewhat. There are the classic bell pepper Salmiana notes. I’m not getting cheese but there are definitely some funky notes from the pulque. Also noticing some anise and menthol. This has opened up nicely – before I would have given it a lower rating. That said, I have a May 2016 bottle of Almamezcalera SLP from Venustiana Huerta which I prefer over this.
SwatSaladin
19 reviewsMan, what a ride the nose is. Pickled jalapeños. And when it doesn’t smell like pickled jalapeños, it smells like pickled banana peppers. It’s also lemon-scented dish soap. Funky, sharp cheese. Some rosemary hiding the back, along with anise and some other green herbs that I can’t really discern.
On the palate, this packs a punch with the sharp acidity. Tons and tons of cheese. Cumin. Chives. Tomato juice. Banana peppers. Heavy, heavy lactic influence. The texture seems almost grainy, and is certainly a little grippy and tongue-numbing.
The lactic acidity lingers, though a lot of the funkier flavors don’t last quite as long.
To be quite honest, the Pal’Alma is not my preferred mezcal profile but it’s explosive, complex, and flavorful—not much to complain about! It reminds me very much of cumin lamb skewers, and so it definitely gets bonus points for that.
Man, what a ride the nose is. Pickled jalapeños. And when it doesn’t smell like pickled jalapeños, it smells like pickled banana peppers. It’s also lemon-scented dish soap. Funky, sharp cheese. Some rosemary hiding the back, along with anise and some other green herbs that I can’t really discern.
On the palate, this packs a punch with the sharp acidity. Tons and tons of cheese. Cumin. Chives. Tomato juice. Banana peppers. Heavy, heavy lactic influence. The texture seems almost grainy, an
donpedro
39 reviewsNose: loads of jalapeño and green bell pepper! Good Lord. Maybe a tiny bit of menthol and some cinnamon on the back end.
Palate: jalapeño is so prevalent in this bottle! It does give way to some other notes, however, including bacon fat (bordering on pancetta), that cheese umami (think parmigiano-reggiano), and chives. This is a solid bottle, but it falls short of what I had expected from the legend of Erick.
Jonny
682 reviewsLot 1. Bottle 287/672. Cheese and Pepper! Both those notes are strong on the nose and the palate. The aromas are a bit cheesier than the flavors, but the element of hard cheese (Parmesan and Cheddar mostly) are present on both. The palate has a variety of black pepper corns, jalapeno, green peppers, and a hint of anise. There are high expectations for this brand, now that it’s being legally imported to the US. I’ve tasted a lot of stuff from Erick and this is not my favorite. It’s still very good and very interesting, but I’ve had other batches and releases from him that I’ve liked more. Still very tasty and enjoyable though.
Lot 1. Bottle 287/672. Cheese and Pepper! Both those notes are strong on the nose and the palate. The aromas are a bit cheesier than the flavors, but the element of hard cheese (Parmesan and Cheddar mostly) are present on both. The palate has a variety of black pepper corns, jalapeno, green peppers, and a hint of anise. There are high expectations for this brand, now that it’s being legally imported to the US. I’ve tasted a lot of stuff from Erick and this is not my favorite. It̵
Dylan
7 reviewsLote 001, bottle 41/672 50% ABV
Bright floral nose on this with licorice, honeycomb, and new carpet. Sharp on the palate but opens to a nice roasted agave finish.
marco
14 reviewsHands down one of the best mezcals you can buy on the market right now. I will avoid metaphoric wordplay and poetic rambling. This bottle is transcendental. And it’s from San Luis Potosi, not Oaxaca. (Also, one of Mr Rodriquez’s 1st commercially available imports. Get in line & find it online.)
tallchad
99 reviewsLote 001 bottle 204 (out of 672). At 50% alcohol I thought it would be hot. Not so. Aroma is strong with agave and cut flowers. The taste is sensational with fresh mint and pine (maybe from the fermentation vats) sweet fruit in the background. The best part though is the finish-smooth and warm with pleasant farm-like tastes going down.
GreenspointTexas
385 reviewsI know there will be a parade of 5 stars following this review, but I dont consider it perfect for my tastes. Ive had this iteration from Erick’s label, as well as the Wahaka VdM series. It IS wonderful. Brie, squash, cilantro, kiwi, ginger, and juicy fruit… maybe. I dunno, its very complex. The finish is the only thing keeping this one from a perfect score. Its harsh, peppery, and I detect a slight taste of Red Hots candy (which I loathe).
However, that being said, I wish I had another bottle at home. I enjoy it for sure.
I know there will be a parade of 5 stars following this review, but I dont consider it perfect for my tastes. Ive had this iteration from Erick’s label, as well as the Wahaka VdM series. It IS wonderful. Brie, squash, cilantro, kiwi, ginger, and juicy fruit… maybe. I dunno, its very complex. The finish is the only thing keeping this one from a perfect score. Its harsh, peppery, and I detect a slight taste of Red Hots candy (which I loathe).
However, that being said, I wish I had another