Oops, did I order that margarita?

[bn087]

Becky and I went in to El Chico (hadnt been there in years), I asked to be seated next to the bar....naturally I wanted to see what tequilas I could pick from. The normal bar in Waco stocks about 4-8 brands of tequila so I wasnt expecting much...but hoping for something out of the ordinary.

I got my surprise! They had a tequila list on the back of the margarita book on the table....it had about 12 tequilas (only about 5 100% Agave)...so I started to pick my first margarita out and decided to go with a Cazadores Repo Rita which was only about 6.49. I thought it was a deal.

Our food came and went, I started scoping the bar and noticed so many different tequilas that were not on the list at the table. Don Eduardo, Chinaco, Herradura, El Tesoro, Jose Cuervo Anejo (it appeared empty), and Cuervo RDLF Anejo and Platino....etc.

I decided I wanted an El Tesoro Anejo margarita. It happend to be sitting next to a bottle of Herradura Selecion Suprema. I told the waiter I wanted a El Tesoro Anejo Rita and he looked at me like I was retarded. So I got up and pointed accross the bar at the tequila I wanted and went and sat back down. He came back by 2 minutes later and said, are you sure you want that tequila? I said YES!...I didnt know why he wouldnt just go get the bartender to make it.

Anyways, the margarita came out in a pretty glass (different than the one previously)...it tasted great, I slurped it down and asked for the check. The check came and I noticed that what I thought was a El Tesoro Anejo margarita was actually a Herradura Seleccion Suprema Margarita and it cost me 29.99!!!! That was more than the total of both Becky and my food + my other rita. Our bill was about 60.00.

I called the server back and asked if it was a mistake. He said, no...I pointed to that bottle. I started looking on the shelf and right next to El Tesoro Anejo is Herradura Seleccion Suprema. Because he was not knowledgable of what they carried, he just pointed to the Seleccion Suprema out to the bartender and didnt tell her I wanted El Tesoro. She asked him to make sure I wanted that in a margarita.

So I paid for the damn 30.00 margarita. I was upset but it was a mistake that could of happened to anyone so I shook it off.

The worst part about it is, I have never tried Herradura Seleccion Suprema and I would have loved to try it in a glass. My fiancee would never let me spend 30.00 on a drink so I screwed myself out of the opportunity for now. ARGH!!!!!!!!

[MargaritaLover]

The question, BN, is this: How was the margarita?

[bn087]

The answer to your question...

It probably could have been much better had I known what was in it.

I cant distinguish that many different tequilas once mixed in a Rita. I can taste oak notes if I order a repo and anejo margarita and I like that...so when I ordered the El Tesoro Anejo rita, I did not think that it may have been anything but that. I tasted the oak notes and I drank it down like I would any margarita. I can always tell if its a Don Julio Silver margarita, I order them very often and its a pleasant taste that I can distinguish.

But to answer your question, it didnt taste like a 30.00 drink, and it shouldnt. Herradura Seleccion Suprema should never be put in a mix on purpose. I would have been super excited to try that neat after my lunch but like I stated previously, I cannot afford to spend 30.00 on a drink so I didnt even consider it.

[*45*]

And that is one of the reasons why I always go to the bar to place my order.

[1tequila2]

To have missed trying the HSS straight for the same price was a shame! Hope you get the chance to try it soon. It's not to be missed. I just bought my first bottle. The first time I ever tasted it I too paid $30.00 for a snifter. I knew then that I had tasted something very special, but wouldn't let myself spend that much on one bottle. That was almost 3 years ago. I finally bought an Anejo at what I felt was a reasonable price ($189.00). From the first sip I remembered the taste from years ago like it was yesterday. That's how impressive this tequila is. I can't bring myself to do a review though as I don't think I could do it justice. I'll just say the finish gave me new meaning to the term "length of duration".

[Rastaman]

Wow, that story above is quite a roller coaster ride. Why do things like this happen so often?

You were totally robbed bn087! I feel for you.

I don't think I've ever tried an anejo margarita before. I easily could've made one for the wife but usually we stick to blanco or anejo for those and we don't drink them often. We prefer sipping our tequila. But when we do make them I'll have to consider a good anejo at least once just to see what it tastes like.

For some brands there's such a cost difference, if you're into sipping, making a marg just doesn't make sense towards the anejo level. That's definitely sipping material. And I would think even more so regarding the extra anejo.

[bn087]

Yeah, I'm still a bit shocked on that one. Luckily, I have tried some really good tequilas since, so I just try to push that out of my mind. As for the anejo margaritas....the main difference is the "oak" additive to the drink. I love all margaritas...blanco, repo, and anejo. Extra Anejo is a bit absurd. IF I use an anejo in a margarita, I don't find a long aged expensive anejo. If I can find one in the 30-40.00 price range I will usually make a couple margaritas out of it. I really enjoy the oak flavors mixing with the fresh citrus. I like a sotol HDC anejo rita because I can get the anejo for 30 bucks and its a perfect sipper, shooter, cocktail mixer in my opinion.

I enjoy sipping blancos as well...beyond price, there is no solid preference in all of the different ages of tequila. What I love next after tequila is margaritas...I will usually try to make a rita out of any tequila I get so I can experience that as well.

...the main objective of my first post is....make sure the server knows what your pointing at and watch them make your drink.

[Rastaman]

Originally Posted by bn087

Yeah, I'm still a bit shocked on that one. Luckily, I have tried some really good tequilas since, so I just try to push that out of my mind. As for the anejo margaritas....the main difference is the "oak" additive to the drink. I love all margaritas...blanco, repo, and anejo. Extra Anejo is a bit absurd. IF I use an anejo in a margarita, I don't find a long aged expensive anejo. If I can find one in the 30-40.00 price range I will usually make a couple margaritas out of it. I really enjoy the oak flavors mixing with the fresh citrus. I like a sotol HDC anejo rita because I can get the anejo for 30 bucks and its a perfect sipper, shooter, cocktail mixer in my opinion.

I enjoy sipping blancos as well...beyond price, there is no solid preference in all of the different ages of tequila. What I love next after tequila is margaritas...I will usually try to make a rita out of any tequila I get so I can experience that as well.

...the main objective of my first post is....make sure the server knows what your pointing at and watch them make your drink.

Thank you for making sense out of my post above. I mean to say we usually use blanco and reposado but somehow anejo came out.

And I wasn't even thinking about these anejo margaritas until you said something about it. Now, the woody aspect is starting to sound interesting on a margarita or two basis.

When we make margs it's usually frozen, although I'd say our blender needs work because it's hard to get the whole pitcher to fill up with ice. It kind've melts quick here in Texas. LOL!

I hear you about pricing though. El Tesoro is almost always reasonably priced in the range you mentioned. So, if one was considering making a rita with $35 tequila, why not $40?

That being said, I'm most likely not putting my new found love Casa Noble 2 year anejo into any rita. But woody tequila is nice. I like blanco, repo and anejo myself as well. Not necessarily in marqs and not necessarily all three of those types by every brand I like. As you know sometimes it's just the reposado only for a given brand. I'll let you know how the anejo rita turns out when I get around to it. Cheers!

[DarrenPASION]

Ya, you really missed out I think. HSS is such a wonderful tequila on its own. The server should have got a manager to AT LEAST discount the margarita for his/her mistake. What kind of service can you expect to give if you're not familiar with the products your restaurant offers. Let alone working in a mexican rest. and not even knowing enough about tequila to familiarize the name "El Tesoro." We have a couple brain dead ones like that at the place I bar tend at as well... blows my mind. Your a nice guy, I woulda bitched up a storm over a $30 margarita I didnt order lol

We have one on our menu thats $75.00 called a platinum cadillac. Patron Platinum, Cointraeu, fresh lemons/limes and agave nectar with Grand Marnier 150th. Very rarely gets ordered... tastes good, but no margarita is worth that IMO.

[LukaM03]

That story is TRAGIC!!
A. The Server should be fired.
B. The Bar tender who made the drink should be...Well, there's nothing in my mind that would ever make compensation for that disaster. He or she simply should not have let that happen.--There absolutely should have been a table visit for clarification.
C. We have a flat policy where I work...Absolutely NO top shelf tequilas go into margaritas. Luckily I have bar tenders who love tequila so much they would give up their jobs if keeping their jobs meant they would have to "please the customer" by putting Seleccion Suprema in a marg...Ugh...
The truest definition of the following two words: ALCOHOL ABUSE