We've already hinted that we can be insufferable purists about classic cocktails like the margarita, but we'll forgive La Fogata its innovation and even embrace it: It gives this drink, which also contains El Charro reposado tequila and triple sec, a mild acidity that's compelling and addictive. She's seen our raised eyebrow, our glance at the menu, our momentary attempt to remember whether we accidentally said "paloma" when we meant "margarita." The rosy hue comes from La Fogata's housemade sweet-and-sour mix, built from a blend of juices, one of which is cranberry. "I know, it's pink!" cries the bartender as she places a cactus glass of the house margarita before us. ![]() ![]() Without further ado: Metro Denver twelve best house margaritas, in alphabetical order. Each one on this list is a worthy centerpiece for a lingering conversation, a round too many and another basket of chips. Even controlling for those factors, house margs still saw wide variation. Essential, too, was the use of tequila (hey, the ’70s and ’80s really did a number on the margarita - including the fact that tequila was optional back then) and not using bottled sweet-and-sour mix. The prospect of that food pairing was essential to making our list, and also the reason that this list doesn't include any of Denver's venerable classic cocktail bars, even though they often make excellent house margaritas. We're honoring the margaritas you want to drink all afternoon long while you polish off a bushel of chips and a vat of salsa and a taco or two, to boot. We're paying homage to the more classic versions of the margarita on menus around town, the house pours of citrus and tequila and maybe a little agave syrup or orange liqueur. But those aren't what we're celebrating as we set the table for Cinco de Mayo. Some of those variations are quite good others are merely drinkable. ![]() Cocktail menus at trendy Mexican restaurants often list a half-dozen variations on the margarita theme, adulterating the drink with everything from beer to jalapeños to prickly pear to frozen strawberries - sometimes all at the same time. Is there a more widely riffed-on classic cocktail than the margarita? Or, perhaps more accurately, is there a classic cocktail of which variations are more widely accepted and embraced? What started as a simple drink mixed with tequila, lime and sweetener has morphed into a canvas on which bartenders play out elaborate, booze-fueled fantasies.
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