Why make a “billionaire” margarita? Because the ingredients are there.
By any standard, the so-named cocktail at Jacks Monterey is exceptional – sweet and brisk, with impressions of citrus and blistered agave. It’s a margarita, but there is much more on account.
Bartender Tuyet Vitacca starts with Patron El Cielo, a particularly smooth, fruit-forward tequila that also brings hints of cinnamon. Otherwise it’s a conventional preparation, with fresh-squeezed juice, Cointreau and agave. Yet there is something distinct about this margarita. From somewhere notions of toasted oak drift over the palate, along with vanilla, cured fruit and an elusive spice, friendly but with a bite. Meanwhile the squirt of lime, which can be piercing in its verbosity, is much more reticent.
Vitacca tried four recipes before deciding to float Martell Blue Swift cognac over the top, a VSOP that breaks tradition with a finish in bourbon casks – and lends nuances that blend well with tequila. “A lot of people order it and say, ‘Wow, that’s different,’” she observes. “The cognac tones down the acidity.”
The billionaire margarita at Jacks will stretch one’s credit a bit more, but it is not a gimmick cocktail. (Bars around the country have created cocktail attractions, ranging from $100 to $1,500 – some baited with diamonds.) At $30, it’s simply a step up from the routine margarita. Billionaires live pretty well, after all.
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