Campanilla del Palmar Chino, Cuerno from M. Maria de la Luz is produced with and ensamble of Agave salmiana.
About this destilado de agave
Campanilla del Palmar Chino, Cuerno from M. Maria de la Luz is produced with and ensamble of Agave salmiana subspecies Crassispina that takes 15-25 years to reach maturity. During fermentation, 40 liters of pulque are added to jumpstart the sugar-yeast interaction. The distillation is done in extremely small batches using a campanilla style still.
The first batch to arrive in the US was produced in April 2023 and the breakdown of agave types is as follows: 60% Chino and 40% Cuerno.
Campanilla del Palmar
Campanilla del Palmar is produced by the highly acclaimed Maestra Maria de La Luz Martinez and her two sons Jaime and Manuel Navarro in the community of Palmar Segundo in the state of San Luis Potosi, in Central Mexico. The family has been producing mezcal or destilados de agave using rare and very labor intensive clay pot stills for 8 generations.
The Navarro’s work with 4 different subspecies of Agave salmiana that are locally known as Verde, Cuerno, Chino, and Blanco. For all of their destilados, they only ferment the agave juice, the fibers from the heart of the agave, and pulque, which helps to jump-start the fermentation process.
Unlike the Filipino stills, which have an exit spout in the top chamber of the still, their stills are very different in that the top clay pot chamber (caparote) has a smaller 15-liter clay pot hanging inside it that is used for collecting the condensed spirits. The suspended catchment vessel resembles a little bell, or campanilla, which has historically been referred to as being a Mongolian type of still.
Also unique to this clay pot distillation method, is that the water in the copper condenser dish is hand-ladled to keep it cool throughout both distillations, whereas most Filipino stills that have a constant source flowing through the condenser dish.
Older batches also simply go by the name Campanilla on the label of these bottles.
Review this bottle
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little agave
72 reviewsMaria de La Luz Martinez – Chino 60% y Cuerno 40%
52.20% abv, April 2023 100 liters
sipped in a veladora glass.
aroma: green peppers, green beans, charred broccolini, rubbing alcohol on one nostril, powdered sugar on the other.
wow full body rush of flavor! just fantastic. dry, toasty sliced nuts, maple, bbq’d chili on the grill. straw. cinna-mint. love this! I tend to really dig pulque fermentation batches.
COak
238 reviewsApril 2023 52.2%.
The nose on this is sweeter than other Campanilla I’ve tried, earthy and I get a cake frosting note. The palate is similar, reminds me of vanilla cake, wood chips, cinnamon spice. Has nice complexities, worth trying multiple times.
Jam
184 reviews52.2% abv, lote 04/23
Review #174: The nose has chocolate, vanilla icing, old tree bark, cinnamon, cream cheese, caramel, fried plantain, with some sweet savory funk to it.
The palate has caramel, chocolate, leather, maple syrup, vanilla icing, coffee cake, cherry, bone marrow butter, fried plantains, and cinnamon.
Quite a dessert-y mezcal. I don’t think I’ve had much that is this confectionery. I like what it has going for it but i can also see it being a bit too much in that direction of sweets. The alcohol is super well integrated and it has a very nice softness to round out its profile.
This sample was provided to me free of charge with no strings attached.
52.2% abv, lote 04/23
Review #174: The nose has chocolate, vanilla icing, old tree bark, cinnamon, cream cheese, caramel, fried plantain, with some sweet savory funk to it.
The palate has caramel, chocolate, leather, maple syrup, vanilla icing, coffee cake, cherry, bone marrow butter, fried plantains, and cinnamon.
Quite a dessert-y mezcal. I don’t think I’ve had much that is this confectionery. I like what it has going for it but i can also see it being a bit too much in that direct
Jonny
736 reviewsThe nose on this is a bit different from the other Campanillas I’ve tasted. It’s got some of the similar characteristics, but this is much woodier on the nose. I smell elements of pine and cedar. There’s also some elements of men’s aftershave on the nose, like I’m smelling a freshly shaven lumberjack walking through the lumber yard. There’s also some citrus, like lemon on the nose. Super interesting. The palate is sweet. It has sweet notes of vanilla ice cream mixing with herbal botanicals like lemon verbena, thyme, and wormwood. You really need to sit down with this one and brood for awhile. I dig it. Batch form April 2023.
The nose on this is a bit different from the other Campanillas I’ve tasted. It’s got some of the similar characteristics, but this is much woodier on the nose. I smell elements of pine and cedar. There’s also some elements of men’s aftershave on the nose, like I’m smelling a freshly shaven lumberjack walking through the lumber yard. There’s also some citrus, like lemon on the nose. Super interesting. The palate is sweet. It has sweet notes of vanilla ice cream
El Dawg
235 reviewsApril 2023 100 liters 52.2%.
Smell has that cooked greens and bright salmiana notes that seems to be similar w/ all of the expressions from this brand (I love it so not complaining).
Candy, dry, woody…alcohol comes through a bit. Finish lingers really nicely with sweet after flavors (almost like vanilla cake frosting).
Review #226
Rakhal
430 reviewsIt’s really interesting to taste this one next to her other release with Verde added. They are quite a bit different. This one is also very complex but it’s a lot more on the sweet side and you can definitely taste the alcohol. If I had to choose just one I would pick her other ensamble but this is also very delicious. Panela, Kingsize Snickers, sandalwood, applesauce, toasted Parmesan cheese, caramelized banana, banana pudding, banana fritters with vanilla ice cream. This is sweet and decadent and delicious!
It’s really interesting to taste this one next to her other release with Verde added. They are quite a bit different. This one is also very complex but it’s a lot more on the sweet side and you can definitely taste the alcohol. If I had to choose just one I would pick her other ensamble but this is also very delicious. Panela, Kingsize Snickers, sandalwood, applesauce, toasted Parmesan cheese, caramelized banana, banana pudding, banana fritters with vanilla ice cream. This is sweet a
JDB
190 reviews2.5 ounce sample, 52.2% abv Apr. 2023 batch
Nose: faint campfire, brown butter, fresh split cedar, fewer green aromas on this expression than the other campanilla releases.
Palate: pineapple, sweet sticky buns, red hots, cinnamon, maple bacon, pepperidge farm sausage, hickory, roasted almonds with sesame and honey, coffee ice cream, grapefruit, and roasted hatch chilies. Green flavors come through after getting some air, but this expression is also really well-integrated and full of flavor. The heat is so subdued on this ensemble, hard to pick out. Tough to decide between this ensemble and the chino, cuerno, and verde in terms of which is best, but both come highly recommended.
2.5 ounce sample, 52.2% abv Apr. 2023 batch
Nose: faint campfire, brown butter, fresh split cedar, fewer green aromas on this expression than the other campanilla releases.
Palate: pineapple, sweet sticky buns, red hots, cinnamon, maple bacon, pepperidge farm sausage, hickory, roasted almonds with sesame and honey, coffee ice cream, grapefruit, and roasted hatch chilies. Green flavors come through after getting some air, but this expression is also really well-integrated and full of flavor.
Bryen
101 reviewsAnother super solid, enjoyable release from Campanilla! Really enjoyed tasting and sampling all of these! This chino and Cuerno is a blend of two really fantastic expressions and it’s a bit hard to describe these because they are so different from one another, as well as from other types of mezcal I’ve had before. This one is a bit of lemonade on the nose, slightly fragrant, almost an apple juice note, strong smoke, and green vegetables. Most of these same flavors carry through onto the palate, not a big difference imo. Pink lemonade, jalapeño, strong smoke underlying, grape big league chew, some meatiness and earthiness from the cuerno. As I’m writing, I’m getting actually a little chocolately flavor like a barril coming through. Really enjoyable stuff and would definitely buy a bottle of this.
Another super solid, enjoyable release from Campanilla! Really enjoyed tasting and sampling all of these! This chino and Cuerno is a blend of two really fantastic expressions and it’s a bit hard to describe these because they are so different from one another, as well as from other types of mezcal I’ve had before. This one is a bit of lemonade on the nose, slightly fragrant, almost an apple juice note, strong smoke, and green vegetables. Most of these same flavors carry through onto the pala
Forpowder
122 reviewsApril 2023 100 liters 52.2% Aromas out of the bottle are tangy. And very minty with a lot of herbal overtones. Almost on The Verge of herbal sourness. But just holding back enough not to be. Once again, these are something different with a lot of peppermint cinnamon spearmint. The mintones are outrageous.. I don’t even know how to rate these. I mean. I would give every one of them a five because of something so different.