Luminar Mezcal Reposado

A complex, agave liqueur from Zacatecas, Mexico made with Agave A. tequilana. It has an aromatic birth with notes of rubbing alcohol, fresh herbs, wood, nuts & spices; while a bold life adds notes of cooked agave, dark espresso, almonds, oak & vanilla; that leads to a spicy death with notes of cayenne, cinnamon & a hint of barbecue smoke. July 2021

Decent flavor, not smokey like the other mezcals i’ve tried

Tastes like tequila with a slight hint of smokiness that doesn't compare well to other Mezcal's I've tasted.

Nice, a little salty and weak, but classic repesado.

A very average mezcal. Sharp and bright with very little complexity. Even for a reposado.

Rating: 13/23 N: I'm getting some nice mellow woody notes here. It's musty with some lemon and a hint of sweet cherry, but first I get dust and spearmint. It smells like an interesting tequila, but it isn't what I expect of a mezcal. P: It's spicy with a sweeter richness than the nose suggested. There's some harshness and I get some mellow citrus meeting faint tropical fruit flavors. The spearmint comes out a bit with some mineral flavor and maybe a hint of grape soda. This didn't seem that complex at first, but more of that character started coming out. I eventually get a hint of peanut too. I do get some of the plain alcohol flavor, but it seems somewhat acceptable when combined with all of the other flavors. Still, this has the most alcohol flavor and harshness of the three, and that certainly is not a good thing. F: The finish retains more of the herbal and vegetal notes, as well as some of the sweetness and harshness. It's fine, but not exciting. - Conclusion - I initially preferred the Luminar Joven because it has more going on, but I feel like the flavors here are executed better in how they combine and they're still fairly complex. The harshness remains a problem though and this is not a big improvement over the Joven. Interestingly, this is the most restrained of the 3 Luminars, with the other two even having significant sulphur present. I would still take Los Vecinos Espadin over this, but not by a massive margin. Hacienda De Chihuahua Añejo is also better with its somewhat increased complexity and reduced harshness. I think that puts this no higher than a 13. After a fair amount of soul-searching, I think I've decided that despite the alcohol and burn, I can award this a 13.

Luminar gets a lot of hate from Mezcal aficionados online but is it warranted? I wanted to take an objective, undogmatic approach to this controversial brand. Right from the get-go it became apparent where the controversy lies. This doesn't smell like a traditional Mezcal. Matter of fact it smells almost exactly like a traditional, borderline generic Tequila! This makes sense of course. It's made from the same agave tequila is made from and truth be told the brand doesn't follow Mezcal tradition. It's close ties with Kimo Sabe, a Mezcal brand known for trying to smooth over Mezcal's smoky edges for a more accessible experience, so it's no surprise it's sister brand takes a similar philosophy to production. So here is what the actual experience is like, considerations of artisan tradition aside. The nose is very approachable with pineapple, vanilla, and oak immediately apparent. There's also a pleasant earthiness to the smell. Even a bit of grassiness to the smell. Pretty standard stuff but there is a distinct if subtle smell of smokiness. On the palate the agave is surprisingly front and center, dancing unrestrained on the tongue for most of the front and mid palate before the pineapple and subtle smokiness take over. The finish is pleasantly of vanilla and oak though they last only for ten seconds before giving way to pineapple and a bitter taste of alcohol. Overall it tastes like a $25 bottle of reposado Tequila would with the added caveat of an underlying smokiness underpinning the entire experience. Personally I don't hate it though I wouldn't buy this bottle if I wanted a Mezcal. It's more what I would get to help a friend transition into Mezcal from Tequila and help them get acclimated to the world of Mezcal. It's up to you whether this training wheel Mezcal is worth getting.