ABQ Love's Tequila and Takos
On
September 29, 2012, Taco and Tequila lovers gathered at the State Fair Grounds
for the first annual Takos & Tequila Festival. This outdoor event was
located in the Hispanic Cultural Center in the northwest corner of the fair
grounds.
With a 10$
entry fee, this allowed guests to try four half-ounce samples of various tequilas
of your choice. Guests also received two free taco samples. Upon checking people's I.D.'s, you were given a white wrist band and stamp showing you were of age.
Not only
were adults aloud into this event, but also children. The festival provided many
fun games and activities for the kids. For example, there were jumpers and piñatas to keep the children active, and there were also many
tents that sold candy, piñatas, and toys.
First and
foremost, when visitors walk in they are overwhelmed with the amount of taco tents.
Businesses from all over the city were set up cooking and selling tacos for
majority of the day. Some familiar businesses that were selling tacos were The
Last Call, Cecillia's, and Perrico's. There were about eight or nine different
locations in the event for you to get the taco you desired.
There were
at least fifteen different stands with over 50 different types of tequila. A couple of the local bars and restaurants
were selling and sampling tequila such as Imbibe and El Pinto. If you wanted
more than just a sample, you could purchase a bottle of tequila from any one of
these tents.
The most
popular of all the stands was the line for the margaritas. Some people even stood in line for up to
thirty minutes just to get their drink. “I’m here for the margarita’s and the margarita’s only,” said Cathy Wescott a local
from the Albuquerque area. There were
two different types of margaritas to choose from one being a yellow lime
margarita the other being a pink strawberry margarita.
Local IQ
Herradura Margarita Throw-down included Albuquerque's top bartenders it was
judged by four official members of the U.S. Bartenders' Guild.
Over 35 local guest judges were involved for the fans choice award. The guest judges were locals that paid 25$ to
get to sample all of the eight different margaritas.
There were
all different kinds of margaritas made.
Some of them include blackberry, cucumber and pepper, pineapple, and
even green chili margarita. "We are always trying to come up with new
drinks and new ideas, its fun for us and it’s great for the
customer," Kate Gerwin a local bartender at Imbibe located in Nob
Hill.
Everyone
that came and participated in this first annual tequila and Taco festival was a
part of a great event. When asking some of the locals they all were very
pleased with the event and all were excited about the festival next year. "My husband and I love to come to events
like this, great food, good drinks, we will be back next year," said Cathy
Wescott.
