It was always been on my bucket list to go to a cocktail-making class and as a frequenter of Southside in Withington, Margaritas are essentially my current cocktail obsession. So, being invited to Cazcabel’s Margarita masterclass, ahead of the very first Margarita week, was an experience I just couldn’t turn down.
Cazcabel is a premium tequila brand named the UK’s best-selling 100% agave tequila brand after being only launched in 2014. Between February 18-26, Cazcabel is celebrating Margarita Week, to shine a light on the infamous tequila-based cocktail, including hosting several masterclasses across the UK.
When arriving at the event, it was like stepping into a prohibition-era speakeasy. We were greeted with tequila tonics and (more importantly) by Adam, an award-winning bartender whose passion for tequila was clear from the start. We chatted to him whilst waiting for the event to start mentioning it was the first of the masterclasses he’d designed himself. However, the moment he started, there was nothing but pure fun and professionalism – it was like he had been doing these classes for years.
We started off with a brief history lesson on the Margarita and what exactly makes a Margarita: lime juice, tequila, and triple sec. Adam dived into three different types of Margaritas: the ‘supermarket’ margarita, Tommy’s Margarita, and finally, a Watermelon Margarita.
As a student, the ‘supermarket’ margarita is the most accessible for us; Adam made this with basic supermarket lime juice, granulated sugar, and tequila. He avoided the triple sec, acknowledging that it isn’t the most accessible element of the cocktail. The granulated sugar was used in substitution with the syrup that is typically used to water down the acidity of the lime juice. I really enjoyed this one, drinking it all and going for seconds. The only issue with using granulated sugar is that it does sink, however, again it is the most accessible of the cocktails for us students, and it certainly does the trick.
We were then given two versions of the Tommy’s Margarita, which was the second most premium of the three types of Margaritas. Of the two, one was made with Cazcabel Blanco and another with Cazcabel Reposado. The Blanco was just a classic Margarita, however you could easily taste the difference in quality between the supermarket Margarita and the Tommy’s Margarita. The Blanco tequila made the Tommy’s Margarita seem like I had paid £10 for it at an up-and-coming hipster bar.
We then got on to making our own Margaritas. After three types of Margaritas, two tequila tonics, and sneakily “tasting” the sample tequilas set out for us on our tables, it was utter chaos.
We were given four types of Cazcabel tequila: Blanco, Reposado, Coffee Liquor tequila, and finally, Honey-infused tequila, along with a huge variety of syrups too.
I decided to go with a coffee liquor and peach syrup-flavoured Margarita, which was surprisingly very nice. I should add that Cazcabel’s coffee liquor tequila is one of the only ones available at the moment and you can find it in basically any bar (I really recommend trying a shot of it).
Overall, the masterclass really lived up to my expectations. It was informative, fun, and just a really good night out, especially when you’re with your mates.
Even though the masterclass was a couple of weeks ago now, my mate and I still talk about how fun it was and how badly we’d love to go back and do it again – I mean who doesn’t love an evening of drinking Margaritas all night?
Cazcabel’s Margarita Week begins on February 18. Masterclasses are being held at Science & Industry on February 23 in Manchester, as well as in locations across Britain for the rest of the week. El Capo Manchester will be celebrating Cazcabel’s Margarita Week too with a £6 cocktail menu.
