Highlighting some of the best spots in NYC to get drunk!!
Last Friday was National Margarita Day and to celebrate this monumental “holiday,” Mezcal El Silencio hosted a margarita bar crawl around New York City. The bar crawl was meant to highlight some of the chicest spots in New York City while also showcasing Mezcal El Silencio. If you don’t know about Mezcal El Silencio, it is a Mezcal brand that has been made for over 10 generations and is one of the higher end Mezcal brands at a very reasonable price point. The drink itself is more on the smoky side but the finish is surprisingly smooth and doesn’t have that bite that you would typically associate other types of tequila with. For this bar crawl, we hit some of the coolest places in NYC, some of which could definitely be classified as hidden gems.
We started off at the AC Marriott Downtown and sampled some of the Mezcal itself as well as trying some of the specialty Silencio based margaritas there. We tried the jalapeno margarita as well as the strawberry margarita. The strawberry margarita was sweet as expected, but had a bit of tang to it that adds a brightness to the drink. The jalapeno margarita was probably our favorite. The drink had a nice spice profile from the jalapeno, but was also surprisingly sweet which added a nice balance. You start off with that spicy kick in the front of your palate and then finish off with a sweet and then sour finish to it. The next spot we hit was Peachy’s located in Chinatown. This spot is definitely one of the coolest spots we have been to. Chinatown is this place in NYC where there are so many segmented roads and alleys that it hard to keep up with where things are. Peachy’s is located on one of these streets and when you walk through the main door, you are directed to walk into this basement of the small building. Inside this you will find a Chinese Opera House turned into a cool bar. The dim lighting filled by neon lights paired with the music choice of old but good R&B and Hip Hop really sets the mood for this place. Here, we had a drink called “Patience, Young Grasshopper.” This was a specialty drink made to highlight the Mezcal and what was even cooler was that on the top of the drink was a grasshopper. For those who think that is weird or gross, it’s actually really delightful. It had a nice crunch and is lightly salted beforehand so it pretty much tastes like a sunflower seed. The drink itself was one of our favorites of the night because it was slightly on the sweeter side of drinks but had an amazing spicy rim to it which added nice heat when you felt up for it.
The last spot that we hit was Barbounia located near Union Square. Over here, we were treated to some of the best Mediterranean food ever and paired it with some specialty Mezcal drinks. We had a drink similar to a strawberry margarita except this one was less sweet as the previous, but a lot stronger (which isn’t a bad way to finish off a good night). As far as the food goes, we started with an assortment of dips, ranging from hummus to tzatziki to a spicy feta, paired with an herbed bread. We had other items like skillet cooked shrimp, a margarita flatbread pizza, lamb skewers, octopus, and other delightful treats. By the end of the night we all were stuffed and sufficiently tipsy.
Overall, National Margarita Day was a huge success and a lot of fun. And we couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than with Mezcal El Silencio. This drink pairs well with an assortment of ingredients and will sure to be a hit no matter what scenario you find yourself in.