Reviews / Donaji Añejo
Review · · by The Editors
Donaji Añejo
Añejo at 40%. Commercial aging applied to a base that needed structural help, not oak-dressing
Score: 2.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Donaji Mezcal
- Maestro: Petronilo Rosario Altamirano
- Region: Las Margaritas, Oaxaca
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $40 ($)
Verdict
The wood does the work the agave should have been doing. Commercial-proof espadín in a barrel program reliably produces oak-flavored water; Donaji's añejo is a textbook example. Skip, the category's aged mezcal at this tier is almost always a failure mode dressed in packaging, and this one isn't an exception.
Commercial añejo on a base that couldn't support the barrel program
Tasting notes
Nose: Oak and vanilla up front, cooked agave underneath, a faint smoke edge and soft caramel
Palate: 40% reads thin. The oak adds flavor to a base that needed more structure in the first place, you get the aged-mezcal category markers (vanilla, oak, a soft fruit-cake note) layered onto an espadín that couldn't carry them
Finish: Warm, oaky, with the vanilla outlasting everything else, medium
The bottom line
Skip. The category's good bottles all start with a stronger base
Where to buy online
We found this bottle at 2 US retailers. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.