Sierra Milenario Añejo Tequila

Sierra Milenario Añejo is a 100 percent agave tequila and the more serious end of Sierra, the Mexican brand owned by the Hamburg importer Borco and produced in Mexico since 1981. Sierra is best known for the plastic sombrero on its everyday bottles and for making both 100 percent agave and mixto tequilas, but the Milenario line steps up in ambition with agave grown around eight to ten years before harvest.

The character comes from the wood. The distillate rests at least eighteen months in French Limousin oak casks, comfortably past the one year añejo minimum, and the barrel sets the tone. The nose carries fine notes of caramel, agave, vanilla and honey, and the palate holds them in balance with a full, aromatic spice that keeps the cooked-agave core present rather than letting the oak run away with it. Bottled at 41.5 percent.