Sonrisa Grill shakes it up with margarita fest

Allison Duck

Mixologist Emilio Tiburcio shook each blueberry and blackberry infused drink individually at the Margarita Festival last weekend at the Sonrisa Grill at Lake Las Vegas.

By Allison Duck (contact)

Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 | 10:44 a.m.

Allison Duck

Mariena Mercer of First Food and Bar won top honors at the Margarita Festival at Lake Las Vegas with her Sandia Ginger Margarita with coconut cream foam.

Allison Duck

Mixologist Alex Velez prepared all of his Asian-inspired margaritas individually.

Allison Duck

Pleased patrons sample the 25+ varieties of margaritas at the Margarita Festival at Lake Las Vegas.

Allison Duck

Margarita Festival judge Xania Woodman and nightlife editor for Las Vegas Weekly samples a fruity concoction during the judging phase.

Allison Duck

Kristina Amos and her aunt, Rebecca Wells, submitted a berry blend margarita at the Margarita Festival at Lake Las Vegas.

While many think Labor Day Weekend is perfect for barbecues and baseball games, the great minds at Lake Las Vegas’ Sonrisa Grill decided to host a Margarita Festival instead.

With the top prize of $1,000, this was no contest for lightweights. Drink crafters from local restaurants competed against master mixologists and casual cocktail concoctors from all over the city.

Much like the chili cook-offs also held at Montelago Village at Lake Las Vegas, the Margarita Festival turned out to be a sea of reds punctuated with a few greens.

The light green color of the traditional margarita was scarce as entrants opted for fruitier concoctions ranging in color from orange to red to even blue.

Though it is tough to beat a classic margarita with tequila, triple sec, lime flavored margarita mix and a salt rim, these bolder takes on the drink held their own.

Kristina Amos and her aunt, Rebecca Wells, heard about the festival while attending a 'Jazz on the Lake' concert at Lake Las Vegas earlier this summer.

They entered their fruity concoction featuring pomegranate, strawberry puree, Grand Marinier, lemon, key lime and tequila. The fruit flavors blended beautifully to create a fresh-tasting drink that the pair insisted was “high in antioxidants,” not to mention alcohol content.

Mixologist Alex Velez got points for style with his unique drink. Velez rinsed each mini margarita glass in Obsello Absinthe before rimming it with flavorful pink Himalayan sugar and adding his own special blend of “Asian sour mix” consisting of Sudachi, Yuzu, blue agave nectar and Junmai sake.

As he added some orange bitters via a medicine dropper, an eager guest in line asked, “Do you mix each drink individually?” to which he responded, “I’m old school.”

Where most margarita makers mixed large batches to dole out the one- to two-ounce samples, Velez and his booth mate, Emilio Tiburcio, took the time to make a fresh drink for each customer.

Tiburcio’s margarita, titled the "Ultimate Ai Caramba," was created just for this event to highlight the fruit flavors, including fresh muddled blueberries, blackberries and a touch of rosemary. Festival attendees Lois and Kirk Golding said they, “loved the fresh berry mixture” of the drink rimmed with lemongrass sugar.

Steve Justice, a Sonrisa Grill regular whose young son alerted him to the upcoming margarita festival on a previous visit, had one of the tastiest traditional margaritas.

It kept more or less to the standard recipe of margarita mix, triple sec and Jose Cuervo Platino tequila, only he added limeade concentrate for some extra tartness and some Bud Light Lime for a distinct flavor. His “Mars-gartia” took the second-place prize and the people’s choice for best margarita.

Rupert King IV of Minus 5 Ice Lounge and formerly the Red Room Saloon presented Rupert’s Rockin’ Rita, a rule bending beverage employing yogurt as the secret weapon.

The rules of the contest stated the entries could not be blended or frozen. So in order to achieve that smoothie-like texture, King used key lime yogurt because he likes to “bend the rules a little.” The risk paid off -- he took home the third place prize.

Top honors went to Mariena Mercer for her Sandia Ginger Margarita featuring fresh watermelon juice, ginger, limes and a coconut milk foam with caramelized sugar on top.

The bartender from First Food and Bar says she had a, “squeezing party the night before. I squeezed the juice out of two watermelons, one 10 pound one and one 16 pounder. Then I squeezed about 100 limes and fresh ginger.”

The bubbly bartender finished her drink off with a brulee torch, caramelizing a touch of sugar with an artsy flash that surely won her points for presentation.

The happy crowd lapped up Mercer’s refreshing beverage, and the 25 other entries, until the sun went down on Montelago Village.