A new luxury agave spirit brand has arrived on the scene, but this one isn’t tequila or mezcal… at least, not technically. Singular Archive is a collection of functional art pieces—”bespoke sculptural vessels,” to be exact—each of which contains a small batch agave spirit that has not been certified by the Mexican government, so it can’t be categorized as either of those spirits. But that’s intentional, an omission that allows the curators and producers of these spirits the freedom to use different agave varietals that you might not normally find for sale. We got a first look at the new collection last week, and were able to sample a few of the liquids.

Singular Archive was created by Vicente Cisneros, who has a long background in the spirits industry and is the artist who actually created the vessels. Cisneros founded El Silencio Mezcal in 2013, but left the brand several years ago (Constellation Brands acquired a minority stake in 2019, and IJW Whiskey purchased the entire brand outright last year). Singular Archive is very different from Cisnero’s past endeavors, however, and he views it more as an art project than a spirits brand. “Singular Archive is a cultural custodian safeguarding the world’s rarest liquids,” he said in a statement. “We are not a ‘spirits brand,’ but an artistic endeavor where the liquid is an integral part of the piece. These are not containers, but complete artistic works combining a vessel with its liquid component.”

Cisneros personally created the first Singular Archive vessels, a collection of 100 intricate metal and crystal bottles/sculptures with a very modernist design called Prisoners, and a pair of vessels called Dharma that are the “founding body of work” and are modeled after a weathered stone. These glass and metal decanters can function as standalone art pieces. But what also makes them special is that if you choose to drink the spirit housed inside—and you certainly should consider doing so—you can remove a glass container within the sculpture and have it refilled with another agave spirit of your choosing. But these spirits are produced in very small batches, so once each expression is depleted it’s gone forever and will not be reproduced.

The initial launch is made up of a few different agave spirits. There’s also the Foundational Blanco, which will not actually be available for purchase, but instead offered at tastings and exhibits as a benchmark used to compare the other expressions. Though this spirit was made by Jose Aceves of Casa Aceves from blue weber agave (the only varietal that tequila can be made from), certain steps during the fermentation process means that it can’t be classified as such. Still, I got to taste it at the gallery launch and it’s a fantastic, additive-free blanco. The liquid in the Prisoners 1 vessel is an extra anejo agave spirit that could be certified as tequila, even though it has not been, and is a blend of two spirits—one aged in ex-bourbon barrels for a minimum of three years that was fermented with indigenous yeast, the other aged for three years in medium-char French oak barrels and then finished in an ex-Bordeaux wine barrique. There are rich notes of vanilla, espresso, and roasted agave on the palate that are balanced by spice and red berry flavors.

“It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” Singular Archive “liquid architect” Juan E. Lopez-Sela told Robb Report, referring to the process of seeking out small batch spirits from equally small producers. “The first step for us was talking to anybody who was willing to have a conversation with us—even though you waste a lot of time, that’s the reality. The second is to look for people that are doing something different, and especially—this is gonna sound weird—people that have failed at something within their craft. That means that they’re experimenting.”

I was able to sample several of the other agave varietals that will be released as part of the initial launch. One is called Pulquero, made from the salmiana agave varietal that is traditionally used to make pulque. This was a really intriguing spirit, with earthy, sour, ripe fruit notes, and zero smoke (an intentional omission, as Lopez-Sela believes smoke can mask the true character of the agave). Another was Tepeztate, a spirit made from the marmorata agave varietal, that had sweet and savory notes balanced out across a grassy finish. “Most people have never tasted real agave,” said Cisneros. “What dominates the market is shaped by industrial production, not lineage or place. Tequila has a limited aging process. By working with other species, we can offer agaves aged 20 to 40 years. Aging starts in the ground, not in the cask.”

So how do you get your hands on one of these bottles? If you’re interested, you can visit the Singular Archive website to request an invitation for consideration to be able to purchase a vessel. Both Dharma vessels have now been sold (one went for $45,000 at the launch event), and there are currently 12 Prisoners I vessels available starting at $20,000 each. Future releases of other agave spirits will be announced over the coming year—the next series is called Ghost, but no word yet as to which agave varietal this will be.