I'll always remember Milagro as the Tequila with the really tall bottles - which by the way unsurprisingly is by design. The elongated and narrower shape is actually inspired by Mexico City's architecture, with even the logo design paying homage to the street art of Mexico City. The whole idea was to capture the vibrance and artfulness of Mexico City!

Mexico City.

The brand of Tequila was first launched in 1998 by two friends Danny Schneeweiss and Moy Guindi, who were at the time college roommates who had wanted to make their own Tequila. They were able to work with a seasoned Master Distiller, Pedro Juarez, who had focused on the exclusive use of Jalisco Altos, or Highland, harvested blue agaves, which he believed was sweeter, brighter and fresher, as compared to Lowland blue agaves. This is as the Highlands are richer in volcanic soils and minerals, and with more sunshine, and crisp cool mountain air, the agaves are said to grow larger and sweeter.

Pedro Juarez further accentuated the distinctively brighter and fresher flavours by cooking the agave hearts for 36 hours in traditional brick ovens, after which these are shredded and fermented for 72 hours, longer than the average, to concentrate more of the agave's flavours. Distillation is done twice, instead of just once, and uniquely with both a pot still to give it body and fuller flavours (the first distillation) and then with a column still to polish the agave spirit to producer cleaner and brighter flavours (in the second distillation). The entire time taken to produce Milagro's tequilas is said to be 3-4x longer than for most tequilas.

It is said that when Danny and Moy first tasted Pedro Juarez's tequila, they called it a miracle, which is translated as Milagro in Spanish, and hence the name!

Pedro Juarez.

Milagro is made at its own distillery in Jalisco (as opposed to be sourced or white-labelled or OEM'd), bearing the tequila-making ID of NOM 1559, where only Milagro is produced. The brand has seven expressions, the core of which follows the standard tequila designations - the Milagro Silver, followed by the Milagro Reposado and then the Milagro Anejo - all of which are 100% blue agave.

Milagro also has the same tiers for its Milagro Select Barrel Reserve, which is the higher end ranges of tequilas, and finally the Milagro Unico II, which is a blend of Silver, Reposado and Anejo Barrel-Aged reserves.

Today we'll be trying to classic Milagro range of Milagro Silver, Milagro Reposado and Milagro Anejo.

Milagro Silver, 40% ABV - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Clear

Aroma: Rather sweet and floral of dried honeysuckle, jasmine flowers, as well as a bit of natural apple juice. There's a slight tinge of the spirit, alittle bit of that nail polish, which quickly fades away to give more light smoke and apple.

Taste: It feels a bit dry at first - you definitely get a hit of liquid smoke and barbecued aubergines at first. There is also a crispy apple sweetness to it - quite tame and gentle, where the sweetness is more concentrated and closer to a reduction.

Finish: More on roasted plantain, green bananas and miso glazed pressed tofu. It's more vegetal here compared to the palate, with a more roasty, umami-sweet-salty sort of flavour. The finish is quite delicate, however, taking its time to fade away. 

My Thoughts

This tequila doesn't shy away from its agave core - you do get a forward expression of smoke, vegetal flavours and a tinge of herbaceousness. That said, while the profile is less sweet and fruit forward, you still get quite a good bag of savoury, smokey barbecued vegetables at that. Quite pleasant!

Milagro Reposado, 40% ABV - Review

This one is rested in American oak barrels for 4 months before bottling.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Straw

Aroma: There's a more toasty, sweeter caramel notes here. I think of butter toast on wholemeal bread, lightly charred brown sugar, as well as tanghulu candy - specifically, that first bite into the crab apple where the aromas mix in with the sugar shell. There is still a hint of liquid smoke on the nose, though, it is slightly buried under the caramel forward aromas.  

Taste: The initial flurry of flavours is quite sweet - at first, I am reminded of clear bulk honey, with a mix of confectionery and honey flavours. The sweetness then evolves to toffee apples, sliced fresh red apple, and then takes a turn for more vegetal flavours, such as roasted zucchini. The smoke is more present here too towards the end. 

Finish: On my first sip, there was a burst of watermelon bubblegum. There is that mildly varnish feel to the finish as well, coming in ebbs and flows, which at times re-invigorate that watermelon candy. Towards the tail end of the finish, the liquid smoke comes back more, with a slightly meaty aftertaste that reminds me of roasted pork (shao rou) or roasted chillis. 

My Thoughts 

The watermelon bubblegum flavour of the tequila was rather unexpected! The nose is lovely with the tanghulu aromas, but on the taste, it does feel like a better barrel integration with the spirit could be had. Nevertheless, there is a step up in terms of complexity from the Silver.  

Milagro Anejo, 40% ABV - Review

This one is rested in American oak barrels for 14 months before bottling.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Honey

Aroma: More subtle here, you've got to give it time to develop. It's less caramel-forward than expected, instead closer to marshmallows, raw honey full of pollen, all coupled with a tiny squeeze of orange. With time, it reminds me of pre-packaged chrysanthemum tea, with that slightly dusty, honey-sweet, and tannic-floral aroma.  

Taste: Right from the get go, I get banana custard with extra vanilla in it, icing sugar, and a sweet tea flavour. There is a dense, syrupy weight to the tequila, somewhat akin to a syrup made with raw brown sugar. As its sits on the palate, the flavours turn towards a more vegetal, roasty profile, reminding me of tart green pears at first before evolving to something like a baba-ganoush (an dip made with roasted aubergine and tahini) and finally to oven roasted brussel sprouts. There is a tinge of vegetal sweetness, but it is masked slightly by more plant-roasty flavours.

Finish: The finish gets a bit more peppery, remind me of dried red chillis, cajun spice, and the aftertaste tang of barbecque sauce. The freeze-dried chrysanthemum tea note makes a return, giving an almost cooling menthol note to the finish while providing some floral refreshing quality. It all coalesces to a green pepper sauce in the finish.

My Thoughts

Interestingly layered and complex! The nose stayed quite constant throughout the tasting, though, it needed a bit of time to fully awaken. Flavours wise, it seems to bounce between a thick syrupy sweetness, to savoury, creamy dishes. On the finish, the smoke is very enjoyable, and in a sense, rounds up the journey through the tasting in a satisfying end. There is a moreish element to this tequila, perhaps because there is quite a bit to unpack each time. Definitely worth a try.

On The Whole 

I think Milagro's tequilas are best suited for those accustomed to the inherent agave planty-roasty flavours. I found quite the variation in texture and flavours in some of these, with my favourite out of the trio being the Anejo with the sheer variety of flavours to it.

@vernoncelli