Best Tequila Drinks In Chicago
By Jacqueline Runice
Scientists recently found an exoplanet that's the best candidate for extraterrestrial life so far. Nice but you're about to discover a menu of tequila drinks that will transport you from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo and yeah, maybe Mars. Restaurants and watering holes that have their way with tequila beyond the Margarita are to be lauded. Try a martini, a blended number, a cocktail on the rocks or even just a straight shot because tequila can be smoky, smooth, creamy and now there is even a rosé flavored tequila. Made for Cinco de Mayo and a hat dance through summer and beyond, the liquor made from the forbidding blue agave plant makes much more than Margaritas as you'll note from our short list of where to get dynamite tequila based drinks.
La Mez Agave Lounge
108 W. Kinzie St.
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 329-9555
www.mercaditorestaurants.com/la-mez
The downstairs lounge at Mercadito Chicago, La Mez features more than 80 rotating Mezcals and therefore muchas bebidas con tequila. Tequila is the specialty of the house at La Mez, so treat your lips and neurons to the Smokey Pablo or Big Nose Goes to Mexico. The space is intimate, Latin inspired plates are small but the tequila flavor is muy grande throughout the roster of agave based drinks.
Go right ahead and order anything on Federales' Margarita list which includes variations like spicy watermelon, mezcal, mango, strawberry, tiki-rita and the Cadillac as well as frozen head bangers like an apricot mezcal. Adventurers will go for The Mexican Bulldogm a fun libation featuring a frozen Margarita with an upside-down Coronita, served in a skull glass. Federales also offers the Pinche Paloma, a standout large-format 100-ounce tequila cocktail served in a cowboy hat. If it's pure flavor as opposed to size that counts for you, there are also ice glass shots of silver, reposado and añejo tequilas.
Related: Neighborhood Guide: River North
Frontera Grill
445 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 661-1434
www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/frontera-grill
Anytime is a good time to revisit the fabulous Frontera Grill. Completely complementing Rick Bayless' astonishing Mexican food, the shakers and stirrers at the bar can juice incredible flavor from simple but top notch ingredients. The Topolo Margarita pours Milagro reposado with Torres orange and housemade limonada - shaken tableside. The Champagne Margarita is a winning combo of Milagro reposado, Torres orange and fresh lime sparked with Taittinger La Francaise Champagne and a Fresh Grapefruit Paloma combines Milagro blanco tequila, fresh grapefruit, Mexican Squirt, lime and perky Tajín. Maravillosas!
