Review: Milagro Tequila Select Barrel Reserve, Complete Lineup (2016)
Milagro is a run-of-the-mill tequila brand that nonetheless produces one of the most expensive product lines in Mexico, the Select Barrel Reserve line, which comes packaged in an elaborate bottle designed to look like an agave plant erupting from the interior of the decanter. It’s a neat trick that earns some premium coin for these three expressions.
We previously reviewed the silver Milagro SBR bottling back in 2010, but have never covered the rest of the lineup. Until now.
Here’s a fresh look at the 2016 silver bottling of the Select Barrel Reserve, plus the reposado and anejo versions.
All expressions are 80 proof.
Milagro Tequila Select Barrel Reserve Silver (2016) – Mellowed for 30 days in French oak before bottling (presumably after filtering back to clear). Strongly peppery and a bit vegetal on the nose, with no trace of sweetness. The body tells a much different story, offering cotton candy, marshmallows, and bubble gum notes, leading to a lingering vanilla-scented finish. A curious and often engaging sipping tequila, though one that doesn’t drink much like a silver at all. B+ / $50 [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
Milagro Tequila Select Barrel Reserve Reposado – Aged from three to six months in a combination of French and American oak. Similar aromas to the silver, though some baking spice aromas develop with time in glass. The body offers some wood notes, with notes of chocolate, coconut, and lemongrass. Some peppery agave bite endures on the finish, giving this more complexity than the silver shows off. A- / $56 [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
Milagro Tequila Select Barrel Reserve Anejo – Aged from 14 to 24 months in a combination of French and American oak. Here we see the SBR really showing its strengths. The nose melds sweet vanilla with peppery and herbal agave notes, all put together with inviting and enticing balance. On the palate, the yin-yang story continues — a more intense version of the reposado presenting itself. The sweetness is relatively restrained, its vanilla and spun sugar notes pulling back into a sort of sugar cookie character. The finish nods at herbaciousness, but this too is minimalistic in tone, adding a slightly savory balance to what is otherwise a sugar-forward spirit. All told it works very well, showing off many of anejo tequila’s more engaging characteristics at their best. A / $100 [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
Milagro Tequila Select Barrel Reserve Reposado
$56
How do the taste tones and production of the Milagro Silver Select Barrel differ from the Standard Milagro Silver??