Originally written for the Jakarta Globe. An altered version was also published in The Peak Indonesia, which can be read below the article.
Jakarta. Indonesia’s first-ever margarita festival kicked off with a premiere event on Tuesday evening at Por Que No in Menteng.
The festival, hosted by tequila brand Jose Cuervo, will run from the 12th to the 25th of February in eight outlets across Jakarta and Bali.
Each outlet involved has created a signature margarita specifically for the duration of the festival, after which they will no longer be available.
Jakarta’s seven host bars were on show at Por Que No, with mixologists from each bar assembling their unique creations for the attendees. Aside from Por Que No, the other bars on display were Lucy in the Sky, Super Loco, De Luca, Wilshire, Savoi, and Publik Markette.
Bartenders from Superloco.
The festival’s hub in Bali will be Jimbaran’s Rock Bar, but representatives from the bar were unable to attend on Tuesday.
In a statement received by the Jakarta Globe, the Marketing Manager of Proximo Spirits – Jose Cuervo’s distributor – Priska Djohari, said “we want to make margarita as a must-have cocktail to celebrate real moments, by presenting some of the most creative margarita creations in town during Cuervo Margarita Festival.”
Tuesday’s premiere saw the guests act impromptu judges, as each visitor was asked to rate the margaritas on a scale of one to four – one being the worst, and four the best.
Guests were treated to the unique tastes of each outlet, as Por Que No’s creation was mixed with salted chocolate, whereas De Luca’s was garnished with a fresh rose petal.
Por Que No’s chocolate margarita.
At the event’s conclusion, Super Loco’s orange-infused margarita was named as the event’s best. Their bartenders quickly became fan favourites, as they donned traditional luchador masks while mixing drinks.
Melissa Kowara, Managing Director of Kowara Eatery Group – the company which runs Por Que No – says the public should look forward to the upcoming festival.
“It’s going to be a treat. Indonesians are not too accustomed to drinking margaritas yet, so I think this will be a great opportunity to discover the flavours,” she told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
Speaking of Tuesday’s premiere itself, she said “it got us thinking that we should do a similar event on a regular basis. It was a tonne of fun, and I think nobody puked, so it was a huge success on all fronts!”
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The Cuervo Margarita Festival will run from Monday February 12 until Sunday February 25.
Alternate version for The Peak:
Anthony Furci 