The name of this brand in Spanish means “Legend of the Miracle”. The company that produces it bears the same name – Tequilera Milagro. Moreover, otherwise than by a miracle it is impossible to explain not only the dizzying success, but also the very existence of a small company.
In the 90s of the XX century, two friends, Daniel Schnieweis and Moises Guindi, studied at one of the Mexican colleges. The guys had a lot in common: their fathers were engaged in the production of tequila. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that our heroes decided to link their future with a drink declared a national treasure of Mexico.
The ambitions of young people knew no bounds: they seriously decided to create the best tequila in the world. However, the idea was not so crazy: the start-up company could not keep up with such giants as Jose Cuervo or Sauza with their huge production volumes. So, it was necessary to surpass them in quality.
No sooner said than done. In March 1998, Schnieweiss and Guindy founded the Tequilera Milagro company, investing in it all the money they could get – $ 100. The first batch of Leyenda del Milagro tequila consisted of only 000 bottles. That year, the firm’s net income was $18 million.
The success of the enterprise would not have been possible without one more person – tequilero Pedro Juarez, who also participated in the creation of the drink recipe, which subsequently conquered the whole world. At the Tequilera Milagro distillery, ripe piñas are baked in ancient clay ovens much longer than usual. For fermentation, special yeast is used, the secret of which is a trade secret of the company. Leyenda del Milagro tequila is subjected not to double, but to triple distillation in copper stills. Varieties Reposado and Añejo are aged in oak barrels from whiskey and cognac. Moreover, almost all operations are performed the old fashioned way, manually, and tequila is made from 100% blue agave alcohol, without any impurities.
Milagro’s path to success cannot be called cloudless: in 2000, the “agave crisis” broke out in Mexico. Exactly half of the crop (about 100 million plants) froze or died due to disease, and the cost of a kilogram of piña pulp rose from 12 cents to 1,4 dollars in a few years. Of the 900 tequila producers, only 386 survived the crisis. In order not to stop production, the company’s owners had to give up 13% of the shares in exchange for raw materials. Later, when agave prices stabilized, the partners invested most of the profits in the purchase of their own plantations.
In 2008, Tequilera Milagro sold 1,9 million liters of tequila. Its price was too high for Mexico, so the company’s owners focused sales on the US and European markets. In October 2007, the Kansas City Star named Leyenda del Milagro one of the best tequilas of the XNUMXst century.
Today, Leyenda del Milagro is produced in limited quantities: the official policy of the company is never to sacrifice quality for the sake of increasing production volumes. In an interview, Daniel Schnieweis said: “Milagro has opened a new page in the history of tequila. We are setting standards for the next hundred years.” The owners of the firm are particularly proud of the fact that even in the most difficult years they have managed to keep Milagro as an entirely Mexican brand.
Connoisseurs particularly appreciate Leyenda del Milagro ultra premium Select Barrel Reserve (Silver, Reposado, Añejo) and Único II. This is a specially aged tequila, poured into handmade crystal decanters. Inside, at the bottom of each bottle, an elegant copy of an agave fruit with spiky leaves is blown out.
The Mexican National Tequila Academy has included Leyenda del Milagro Reposado in the top ten tequilas. Reposado tequila won a silver medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2014, Silver won gold medals in 2008 and 2014, and Único II won a double gold medal in 2012. Añejo has been awarded at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012, as well as at the Los Angeles Wine & Spirits Competition in 2013 and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2014.
Types of tequila Leyenda del Milagro
Tequilera Milagro produces seven varieties of Leyenda del Milagro tequila:
- Leyenda del Milagro Silver is a young colorless tequila with a fresh agave aroma and a soft, slightly sweet taste that is emphasized by a hint of vanilla, and then turns into a warm peppery aftertaste;
- Leyenda del Milagro Reposado is a straw-golden tequila that is aged for 4-6 months in American oak barrels. The rich agave taste of the drink is complemented by a caramel flavor. Aftertaste – long, spicy;
- Leyenda del Milagro Añejo is a dark amber tequila that is aged for 14-24 months in American oak barrels. In its smell, you can distinguish shades of caramel, coconut, burnt wood. The taste is complex, chocolate-coconut, with notes of tobacco and tropical fruits and a spicy aftertaste;
- Leyenda del Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Silver is a 30-day colorless tequila. It has an agave-citrus aroma. The taste of the drink is lemon-herbal, with pepper bitterness in the aftertaste;
- Leyenda del Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Reposado is a golden tequila aged for 3-6 months in oak barrels. A pronounced vanilla aroma is balanced by light woody-cognac undertones. Taste – clean, vanilla, with cinnamon-pepper bitterness in the aftertaste;
- Leyenda del Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Añejo is a dark amber tequila with an intriguing aroma of expensive cognac, which is mixed with a delicate scent of vanilla. It is aged in oak barrels from 14 months to 2 years. In the taste of the drink, vanilla-caramel sweetness is set off by chocolate bitterness with a taste of fresh tobacco leaves. The aftertaste is silky, with a slight hint of creamy toffee;
- Leyenda del Milagro Único II is a colorless tequila, which is a blend of agave spirits of different aging periods. It smells of mint, vanilla, oak shavings. The first sip of the drink strikes with a spectacular combination of flavors of baked agave, honey, mint and anise. Then apple, peach, lemon tones are revealed, ending in a spicy-chocolate aftertaste with a vanilla note and exquisite astringent oak bitterness.