The Bar Necessities
See drink sales spike with michelada, sangrita and other beyond-the-basic bebidas

By Nora Caley
Contributing Writer, El Restaurante Mexicano
©2002 Maiden Name Press LLC

How many of your customers have heard of michelada, frutada or chelada? The answer for the owner of Tu y Yo in Somerville, Mass. is quite a few. That's because Epigmenio Guzman has introduced patrons to some unique drinks of his homeland, drinks that help set Tu y Yo apart.

"If you go to Mexico the only people that drink margaritas are the American tourists," Guzman explains. "The Mexican people don't drink margaritas."

What Tu y Yo's customers drink are Guzman's michelada (an increasingly popular offering he makes in a salt-rimmed glass with beer, lime juice, Tabasco sauce, pepper, salt and Maggi seasoning); chelada (beer with lime juice, salt and ice); frutada (beer with pineapple and sugar); citualic (white or rose wine with mango slices, sugar and ice); and three kinds of sangria (traditional, white and with fruit). Not only are the drinks authentic, they also let Guzman build an extensive bar drink menu with only a beer and wine license.

Micheladas are also big sellers at Restaurant Garibaldi in Dallas, Texas, reports owner Mario Juarez, who says sales of his version of the drink have doubled since he added it to the menu last year. "They have become very popular, especially at noon and on weekends. Suddenly everybody is asking for a michelada. They expect it in a big, frosted mug rimmed with lime and salt (and sometimes with chile piquin), a lot of ice, lime, beer, Clamato and hot sauce. They prefer Valentina hot sauce, but we also use Tabasco."

Guzman's and Juarez's experiences underscore the important role creativity plays at the bar and how it can help sales spike – with or without a full liquor license.

It's a fact of Mexican restaurant life: margaritas are a mainstay, no matter what else you serve. At the Old Town Tortilla Factory in Scottsdale, Ariz., for example, various versions of the cocktail (thought to have been created by Margarita Sames) account for some 85 percent of beverage alcohol sales, according to general manager Thomas Jones.

"If I were a Mexican restaurant owner, I'd think 'Why buck the trend?'" says Robert Plotkin, a Tucson, Ariz.-based beverage consultant and author of books including "The Professional Bartender's Training Manual."

The challenge is to make your margaritas unique – which means using creative names, ingredients and presentations, Plotkin notes. "Don't even use the word 'house' – say 'signature' margarita," Plotkin suggests. "You can make up anything. If someone turns on to your 'Mexico City Grande Margarita' they only have one place on the planet they can get it," he explains. Many successful restaurants are following Plotkin's formula.

The Tortilla Factory dubs its most popular drink the "Sames Original Margarita" and makes it with Sauza Silver tequila, fresh-squeezed limes and lemons, and non-alcoholic triple sec (triple sec with alcohol detracts from the drink's flavor, Jones believes). There's also the $18-a-pop "Millionaire's Margarita" poured with 150 Year Celebration Grand Marnier.

Lime Cantina in Denver, Colo., calls its signature drink the "Lime Margarita". Made with Sauza Gold, triple sec and the restaurant's secret-recipe sweet-and-sour mix, the namesake drink is so popular that bartenders pour an average of 600 of them a week, bar manager Zeb Bukey reports.

In Austin, Texas, the Iguana Grill satisfies margarita-loving patrons with drinks like the "Melon Margarita" made with a splash of Midori. Top-shelf margaritas feature Gran Gala liqueur instead of Cointreau. "It gives them more of an orange taste," waitperson Johnny Livesay notes. (Here is a recipe for Watermelon Margaritas.)

Ramon's Jalapeño Grill in St. Louis, Mo., labels its house margarita "Ramon's Classic". "We use fresh orange juice, fresh-squeezed lime, aged tequila, Cointreau and orange CuraÇao," says Craig Carmody, Ramon's general manager. "It's hand-shaken and served tableside."

Mixes and syrups from companies including Island Oasis, Perfect Puree, Dave's Gourmet and Monin also are adding flavor like mango, guava and prickly pear to margaritas at restaurants nationwide.

At Frontera Mex in Conyers, Ga., guava margaritas made with Island Oasis guava mix are gaining favor, according to assistant manager Antonio Gonzalez. "They've been really popular with the Hispanic population," Gonzalez says. "We've started to introduce Americans to the guava flavor and they really like it. They're starting to ask for guava margaritas."

Another plus of signature margaritas: they typically get signature prices. The higher price makes up for the extra cost of the premium tequilas that Plotkin recommends. "Low-quality tequila is raw and raspy on its very best day, so it does nothing but pull down the taste of the margarita," he explains. "Add 25 to 50 cents to the price and pour something really good. You'll get the same profit margin and an infinitely better margarita!"

Even restaurants without full liquor licenses can capitalize on the margarita's popularity thanks to a variety of wine-based agaves from companies like Los Cabos, D.J. Dotson and Premium Blend.

Tequila – straight

Anyone who doubts they can please patrons with, and reap profits from, straight tequila should look at the restaurants selling shots with great success. Old Town Tortilla Factory stocks 85 tequilas and offers a Connoisseur's Guide to Tequila that describes the taste, finish and rating for each one. "Tequila has shed its image of take a shot, lick the lime, pass out," Jones says.

Lime treats customers to a complimentary Lime Salut – a hollowed-out lime filled with a quarter-shot of tequila. "When they sit down to dinner, it's our 'Thanks for coming in,'" Bukey notes. Ramon's finds many customers sipping tequila as if it were cognac. "We use a rocks or a snifter glass, usually during or after dinner," says Carmody. "We find people are almost connoisseurs now."

And Coyote Grill offers the top tequila selection in Arizona with its stock of 120 tequilas including flavored tequilas like strawberry and cream, coffee, coffee-chocolate-tequila cream, and almond. (Click here for a creamy tequila-Kahlua "El Toro Blanco".)

Another suggestion, this from Plotkin: Infuse tequila and other spirits with chiles like jalapeños and serranos, then use the spicy liquor in drinks like a Bloody Maria – the Mexican version of a Bloody Mary. (Here is one such infused tequila.)

Sangrita – the traditional tequila chaser in Mexico – is also gaining a following with American tequila aficionados. A variety of recipes exist, some made with tomato juice products. Manufacturers like Riba Foods and Sauza are even jumping on the bandwagon with bottled sangrita.

Michael Marx, chef/owner at Blue Agave Restaurante y Tequileria in Baltimore, Md., says the authentic recipe for sangrita – sometimes referred to as "fire chaser" – calls for chile sauce as a base, pomegranate juice or syrup, and lime. "Tomato juice is a much more recent creation," he reports. "My recipe is red chile sauce (from New Mexican reds), fresh lime juice, fresh orange juice, grenadine, habanero, cracked black pepper and kosher salt."

As popular as margaritas and tequila have become, they're not everyone's favorite choice. That's why offering other creative bar drinks is key to selling customers who might otherwise stick with soda or water.

New York City's Café Frida does a brisk business with its Mojito – a popular Latin cocktail made with rum, fresh mint, lime and sugar. Other popular choices include the "Frida Tequini", which manager Joaquin Martinez says "is like a martini but with tequila," and the "Frida Kir", a mixture of champagne, Grand Marnier and a splash of pomegranate juice. (Here we present the Buena Vista Cocktail, a clever concoction described as a mojito-martini-margarita.) Sangria is another high-margin option that's especially good for the summer dining season, as Tu y Yo has discovered.

"You carve up oranges and limes. Your cost is way low, or in the acceptable range," Plotkin says. "Even if it wasn't, you can just add another quarter or two [to the price]. For something served in multiple portions it's hard for the consumer to figure out the cost. [With sangria] you have a good-looking 40-ounce pitcher and it's $19.95 and the customer thinks, 'Okay, we've got a bunch of guys [to share the cost].'" Bottled sangrias from companies including Premium Blend are labor-saving options.

Finally, Mexican restaurants (especially higher end businesses) are offering more wines than ever before. Café Frida, for example, plans to introduce wines from Monte Xanic and La Cetto – vintages Martinez says are perfect pairings for the food the restaurant serves.

Nora Caley is a freelance writer who covers food and other topics for a variety of trade publications.

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