Margarita Mission 2010

My friend, Chase, called me yesterday at 4:30 p.m. and asked what my plans were for the evening. I usually have my weekends booked, but for once, I had a Saturday night free. Chase was craving a margarita--as he said,"like my life depends on it."

After we planned to meet up, my "event guru" mind went to work, thinking we could turn this into a margarita tasting evening--a quest for Denver's best. Thirty minutes later, I had named the event Margarita Mission and created a ballot for scoring margaritas--on presentation, taste, and "strength."

We began our adventure at El Camino (http://www.elcaminotavern.com/), the happening new Mexican restaurant in Denver's Highlands Square:

Jim
Margarita ordered: Rey Mysterio
Price: $8.50
Presentation: 3 (scale of 1 to 5 with 5 the highest)
Taste: 3
Strength: 3
Total Points: 9
Notes: Brilliant pink color, as its main ingredient is Prickly Pear. Predictable margarita taste and too sweet.

Chase

Margarita ordered: Bam Bam
Price: $8.50
Presentation: 4
Taste: 5
Strength: 4
Total Points: 13
Notes: Muddled with jalapeno. Great kick!

Margarita Mission Stop #2: We departed for LoLa (http://www.loladenver.com/), the trendy restaurant of LoHi. The upstairs was full, so we opted to sit at the downstairs bar, Belola. We were delighted to have a super informative bartender, Jimmy. He educated us on what exactly "coin style" is; a coin style margarita is not so sweet and made with Cointreau, tequila, and natural lime juice. He also mentioned to make sure the tequila we drink is 100% agave, because by law, tequila only needs to be made from 51% agave. The cheaper tequilas use less agave and use filler spirits. So much to learn about tequila!

Our Lola margarita selections:
Jim
Margarita ordered: Q Coin
Price: $10.00
Presentation: 4
Taste: 5
Strength: 4
Total Points: 13
Notes: One of their most popular margaritas with a great cucumber taste.

Chase
Margarita ordered: Organic Coin
Price: $9.00
Presentation: 3
Taste: 4
Strength: 3
Total Points: 10
Notes: Very light. Tequila taste definitely comes through...

It was off to Mezcal (http://www.mezcalcolorado.com/), an authenic Mexican taqueria and cantina. Mezcal, in my opinion, does have the widest array of tequilas, and Rob, our bartender, guided us through his favorites:

Jim
Margarita ordered: La Exceptional
Price: $8.00
Presentation: 3
Taste: 4
Strength: 3
Total Points: 10
Notes: It's a coin style with Gran Centenario Plata and Cointreau.

Chase
Margarita ordered: Especial Tambien
Price: $8.50
Presentation: 2
Taste: 3
Strength: 3
Total Points: 8
Notes: Pretty standard. Too sweet.



We decided to have another round at Mezcal, which I'm so glad we did, as I had my favorite margarita there:

Jim
Margarita ordered: Picoso
Price: $9.50
Presentation: 4
Taste: 5
Strength: 5
Total Points: 14
Notes: The Picoso was spectacular--with slices of jalapenos. El Camino's version had jalapeno chunks, which Chase said kept getting stuck in his straw. I could drink this margarita everyday!

Chase
Margarita ordered: Golden Margarita (coin style)
Price: $9.00
Presentation: 3
Taste: 4
Strength: 5
Total Points: 12
Notes: Flavorful and tasty!

In review, Chase's favorite was the Bam Bam at El Camino, and mine was the Picoso at Mezcal. Both of these drinks have jalapeno, which I'm going to start including in my margaritas at home!

The First Annual Margarita Mission was a success, as we did discover the top margaritas in Denver. Next year...maybe Don Julio as a sponsor?

Salud!