Review: Leyenda del Milagro Anejo Mezcal   90/100
A review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Published June 25, 2018

I hosted a tequila tasting for several of my friends in my tasting group, and as part of the event, everyone was encouraged to bring along a new agave spirit that the group had never tasted before. One of my friends brought two bottles from Leyenda de Milagro, a Silver 100 % agave Tequila, and an Anejo 100% agave Mezcal. I reviewed the Silver Tequila last week (see here) and this is my review for the Anejo Mescal.

Researching the mescal proved quite difficult, as at first I could find no evidence that the product even existed. The spirit was not listed anywhere, nor was it shown on Leyenda del Milagro’s website. So I reached out to the producer and learned that Milagro no longer produces Mezcal. This is probably due to new regulations for the spirit (NOM 070-SCIFI-2016) which limit its production to only those areas which are part of the demarcated region for mezcal (see here). Nevertheless the spirit is available in my local, and so my review should help at least a few people make their purchase decision.

In the Bottle 3.5/5

The bottle presentation for the Milagro Anejo Mescal is shown to the left. The tall bottle is tinted an attractive brown colour which hides the spirit within. The labeling is easy on the eyes, and the tall bottle is sealed with a wood topped natural cork stopper. The wide neck makes pouring easier as well.

Although I like the presentation, it doesn’t really fit my idea of what a mezcal bottle should look like. It seems more suited to a chocolate liqueur than an agave spirit.

Another major problem is the corkage. The spongy cork pretty much disintegrated when the bottle was opened for the first time (at the tasting), and I had to strain cork remnants out of the spirit and reseal it with one of my spare corks. Nobody at my tasting had nice thoughts about the spirit as they watched me struggle with the fine bits of cork making sure they were all gone before I poured my samples for them to try. A denser cork, or better yet, a synthetic cork would be better.

In the Glass 9/10

When poured into my tasting glass, the Anejo Mezcal showed me a light almond colour. When I tilted and twirled my glass the spirit left a light oily sheen on the inside of the glass which dropped medium-sized legs.

The aroma from the glass is very interesting. If I placed the spirit in a line-up with several Bowmore Whiskies, it would take a few moments before anyone would notice that it was out-of-place. That is because the Mezcal brings a similar assortment of herbal phenols to the breezes and in fact these phenols bear a striking resemblance to the oily peat that is characteristic of Bowmore whisky. Accompanying the oily phenols are earthy agave scents with their characteristic herbaceous quality and signature black pepper. The result is a character rich nose that invites sipping.

In The Mouth 55/60

I made the point earlier that the oily phenols within the Milagro Anejo Mezcal are similar to the peaty phenols within Bowmore Whisky. There is an important difference. The first is that the ‘boggy’ quality of the Bowmore peat is completely absent. This is replaced by the underlying herbaceous flavour of the maguey. Additionally, there is a light agave sweetness which leads out in front which compliments the smokey herbaceaous flavour. Frankly, I am very disappointed that he Leyenda del Milagro Mezcal has to be discontinued, as I am enjoying myself enormously.

In the Throat 13.5/15

The medium length finish is sweet and herbaceaous, and it is that herbaceous quality of the maguey that has the last word rather than the oily phenols.

The Afterburn 9/10

Not many bottles of the Leyenda del Milagro Anejo Mezcal are left on the store shelves as evidenced by the difficulty I had in researching the spirit. If you happen to find one, and if you are curious about Mezcal, then I would suggest that you should purchase it. This is a fine example of just how delicious the spirit we call Mezcal can be.

You may read some of my other Tequila and Mezcal Reviews (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews.

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You may (loosely) interpret the scores as follows.

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing Tequila.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, (we are probably still cocktail in territory).
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing delicious cocktails!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)