At last night's Miami Tequila Express, we shuttled around the city in a bus and visited four spots: Baoli, Haven, Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, and Mercadito Midtown. At each venue, there were tequila shots, tequila cocktails, tequila tastings, and tasty food.
In other words, everyone aboard the tequila express drank a helluva lot of El Jimador and Herradura booze.
The night began with the usual bus games, like trivia questions about worms in tequila bottles and fun clapping chants about breaking Herradura down to syllables.
Then the drinking began.
We started our journey at Baoli. The South Beach restaurant offered us three shots, which progressed from blanco to añejo with each drink.
Then we sat down for a berry, tequila, and elderflower cocktail, which was paired with salmon, veggie egg rolls, and chicken skewers.
At the second stop, Haven, we were also welcomed with shots. But these babies couldn't get us drunk. They were warm, pure agave nectar -- a beverage that tasted a lot like hot maple syrup.
The duck tacos from next door's Huahua's Taqueria were beyond heavenly. They were the best thing we tasted all night. To wash them down, Haven prepared a cocktail that was infused with serrano chili peppers. It was spicy as hell, but the heat was balanced with sweet figs.
Wynwood Kitchen & Bar welcomed us with their Wynwood Inferno, a margarita infused with passionfruit, jalapeño, and cilantro.
There's a pickup line that goes something like this: Do you like jalapeños? 'Cause in a minute I'll be jalapeño pants. Well, that's exactly how we felt about this cocktail.
We also got to test our muddling and shaking skills by making blackberry margaritas. Later, we created our own drinks using berries, citrus, and herbs.
The last stop was Mercadito Midtown. There, we became tequila judges. We studied the aroma of different varietals. We also sipped on a cocktail flavored with cilantro, which was the best drink of the evening.
Mercadito also offered carnitas tacos and chicken flautas.
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