Reviews / Don Amado Anejo
Review · · by The Editors
Don Amado Anejo
Añejo at 40%. The proof is the limit, not the base, and the oak takes advantage
Score: 2.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Don Amado Mezcal
- Maestro: Bonifacio Arellanes
- Region: Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $65 ($)
Verdict
There's nothing wrong with the aging program itself; the problem is that the underlying espadín was already undersized before the barrel got to it. Aging can't fix under-proofing, oak can only decorate what's already there, and at 40% there's not much. A commercial añejo dressed in premium packaging. Consensus 3.2 reads generous.
Añejo at 40% rarely works, and this is a clean example of why
Tasting notes
Nose: Oak and vanilla up front, cooked agave sitting underneath, a soft smoke fade, faint caramel
Palate: 40% reads thin. Aging a commercial-proof base in oak gives you an aged commercial bottle, the wood becomes dominant because the agave doesn't have the density to push back
Finish: Warm, oaky, with the vanilla lingering past the agave
The bottom line
Skip. The higher-proof Don Amados earn the shelf space