Tlamati Spirits

Tlamati is a cooperative and brand cofounded in Puebla, Mexico, by father and son maestros mezcaleros Balbino and Sergio Salas with mezcal and agave advocates Orlando and Patricia Estrada. Tlamati takes its name from an ancient Nahuatl word which translates loosely to Saber y Sentir—to know and to feel.

Below Puebla’s active volcano, Popocatépetl, in the village of San Miguel Atlapulco, indigenous father and son mezcaleros Balbino and Sergio Salas helm production at their widely revered palenque, dubbed El Individuo in recognition of the distinctive and exciting spirits they make. Agave is cultivated and foraged around 6,500 feet above sea level, cooked in a traditional conical earthen oven, milled primarily by hand using a wooden mallet and canoa, and finally distilled in copper pot stills with a small rectifying chamber. The results are an elegant snapshot of the flavors, aromas, and environment of the Sierra del Tentzo community: its smoking volcano and fresh mountain stream, its agave and its heritage. These distillates are an opportunity to know and to feel something deeply Poblano.