Mezcalosfera, Papalote Mezcal (Erika Meneses)

Papalote is a wild agave, which means nobody planted it and nobody can hurry it. Agave cupreata grows on rocky hillsides and gets harvested when it is ready rather than when anyone would like it to be, so every bottle of it is a small act of patience. Erika Meneses distilled this one, and Mezcalosfera says so right on the label, along with the agave and the method, because that is the entire ethos of the project. Wild agave tends to speak in a different register than cultivated espadin: more floral, more stony, less sweetly smoky. Expect roasted agave, herbs, wet rock and a bright, high-toned finish that lingers. Room temperature, copita, no ice and no lime. This one is for sipping and paying attention.