Miguel Vallin, bartender at El Mariachi Tequila Bar & Grill in Chicago with three Margaritas: Rose Petal, Apricot Chipotle and Roasted Beet
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By Kathleen Furore
Several years ago, Tony Estrada and his family introduced a Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita with watermelon and basil at Revolución Mexican Steakhouse — one of three restaurants he, his late dad Antonio and brother Adrian owned in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. At that time, the cocktail was unique — but soon it became a fairly common offering on bar menus.
“We were one of the first to do it, but now it’s everywhere,” says Estrada of the drink created at the now-shuttered steakhouse.
Remnants of that cocktail survived in the creative, upgraded version featured on the Specialty Handcrafted Margaritas menu at the family’s El Mariachi Tequila Bar & Grill: the Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita made with Tanteo Jalapeño Tequila, muddled cucumber puree, fresh lime juice, Gran Gala Orange Liqueur and agave nectar, topped off with a splash of pineapple juice and Tajin salt rim.
“We always try to come up with something unique — something customers can’t get elsewhere,” Estrada explains.
Ingredients Matter
Coquito Margarita y Fresh Sugar Cane Margarita
While some restaurants focus on basic Margaritas made with house tequila and no-frills garnishes — sometimes made with mixes in large batches — craft cocktails deliver a completely different profile. They are handcrafted with care, either individually or in very small batches, and feature fresh fruits and herbs and high-quality liquor.
El Mariachi does menu a Margarita de la Casa made with house lime mix, triple sec, and house tequila, which helps bring in customers looking for a bargain, of sorts. They can get the $10.50 cocktail for just $7 all day on Mondays and Wednesdays, and during Happy Hour every weekday from 4 to 6 p.m.
But it’s the craft approach that Estrada and mixologist Miguel Vallin take that has made Margaritas the restaurant’s best-selling cocktails and earned kudos from reporters at Daytime Chicago on WGN-TV, who in April 2024 called them “some of the best handcrafted margaritas in the city.”
The creation of the restaurant’s handcrafted cocktails begins with visits to local markets, where Estrada says he and Vallin (the pro usually pitching ideas) always look for fresh, seasonal ingredients.
For example, the answer their question, “What goes well with apricots?” was “chipotles” — and from that, Vallin’s Apricot Chipotle Margarita was born. It appeared as one of three cocktails on the special menu El Mariachi changes monthly.
“We always run three cocktails with different flavor profiles each month — spicy, sweet, and more traditional,” Estrada explains.
The Apricot Chipotle Margarita was the spicy option on a recent menu that also included the Guava Mint Margarita as the sweet selection and the Roasted Pear Margarita made with Maestro Dobel Smoked Tequila as the more traditional offering.
“We always do one of them with a spice, chipotle for example, and the recipe is based on the peppers,” Estrada adds. “We play with them and think of the fruit [that would pair well].”
Agave syrup is another ingredient that elevates the profile of El Mariachi’s Margaritas.
“We use 21 Missions Agave. It’s 100 percent agave syrup, and we like it because it is thicker [than some other agave products on the market]. All of our Margaritas are made with a fusion of the agave syrup, water, fruit and/or chile. It’s a lot more work, but it is where you get the flavor of the cocktail.
St Patrick's Day Green Apple Margarita
Special Celebrations Mean Special Cocktails
El Mariachi customers always can find an enticing array of Margaritas at El Mariachi. There are the Margaritas de la Casa and Specialty Handcrafted Margaritas sections of the drinks menu available every day, and the rotating menu of three specialty Margaritas offered monthly.
And then there are special options that Estrada and Vallin create for celebrating seasonal holidays — cocktails that take Estrada’s “something unique” mantra to a new level.
Last Christmas season, there were the coconutty Coquito (described on the menu as “Creamy, coconutty, and spiced just right) and the Fresh Sugar Cane Margaritas.
Valentine’s Day 2025 brought a Rose Petal Margarita and a Roasted Beet Margarita made with mezcal.
St. Patrick’s Day often is ushered in with Valllin’s Green Apple Margarita.
And The Bandera Flight — a Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita, Coconut Paloma Blanca, and Raspberry Elderflower Margarita plated with traditional Mexican coconut candies — join the menu for Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day.
Bandera Flight
SIDEBAR: Brand-sponsored Dinners Bring Sales
El Mariachi works with liquor companies to create three-course dinners that include a flight of the sponsoring brand’s tequila plus three El Mariachi Margaritas. It’s an opportunity to introduce customers to new Margaritas, new tequilas, new mezcals, and new dishes — all in one sitting for just $60 per person.
“The brand always comes in and explains the history of the products, does giveaways, and supplies product for the flights,” Estrada explains.
Recent dinners have featured product from Casa Noble, Tanteo, and Del Maguey Mezcal.
“The dinner with Tanteo sold out for the first day, so we added a second,” recalls Estrada, who notes that the two Margaritas customers enjoyed during those dinners included the Cucumber Jalapeño Margarita served with a ceviche-filled cucumber “cup,” and the Pineapple Chipotle Margarita paired with croquettas accented with pineapple-infused aioli.
SIDEBAR: Creative Garnishes and Rimmers
To really impress customers, it takes more than what’s in a Margarita — it’s what’s on the outside, too. That’s why Estrada and Vallin pay close attention to what is rimming every cocktail at El Mariachi.
“We dress up our Margaritas with creative rimmers and garnishes, just like you would do a dish,” Estrada says. “We want customers to take that picture and give the cocktail that elevation!”
There are many examples from El Mariachi’s menu:
- Blood Orange Margarita rimmed with dehydrated blood orange peel, hibiscus and brown sugar
- Tamarind Tepache Margarita garnished with rim of traditional peels from tamarind blended with Tajin and brown sugar
- Roasted Pear Margarita rimmed with ground roasted pear and brown sugar
- Guava Mint Margarita with toasted guava, mint and sugar rim
- Rose Petal Margarita rimmed with pink sugar rim and rose petal garnish
Agave is the moistener Vallin uses to make sure salt and sugar rimmers stick to the glass.