We found it! In three years of doing various drink tastings on Disney cruises, we found one that we absolutely loved: the Tequila and Margarita Tasting! Of course we love a good margarita, so signing up for this class seemed like a no-brainer.
Well, this looks promising!
We apologize that this photo doesn’t accurately capture what is in front of us. As soon as we sat down in our seat, we were staring down three shots of tequila. Three shots? Oh goodness, this IS going to be a great class! And then some margaritas as well? We hope there’s a tacos and fajitas class afterwards.
You can’t do shots without salt and lime! But what’s with the oranges and the other thing? This class is looking to be drinks and a mystery. We can’t wait to find out what this is all about!
Tequila #1: Blanco
Our first drink was a Blanco tequila. Tequila is made with at least 51% agave, and then aged in barrels. How long they’re aged determines what kind of tequila it is. Tequila aged the shortest amount of time, two months or less, is Blanco. Blanco is the purest form of Tequila, and thus has the lightest color. In true tequila shots fashion, we paired this with salt and lime, as one does.
Tequila #2: Reposado
Unfortunately our photo editing doesn’t really capture the color of our second drink. Our second drink was a Reposado Tequila, which has a slight gold tint to it. Reposado starts off as Blanco Tequila, but it’s aged longer, up to one year. In the aging process, the tequila picks up some of the color from the oak barrels to give it a subtle hint of color. To solve the mystery, we paired this with cinnamon and orange! Who would have thought? But it totally worked!
Tequila #3: Añejo
Our third drink was Añejo Tequila. Añejo is aged the longest in oak barrells, up to three years. During those three years, the tequila picks up more from the oak, which gives it a more yellow hue to it compared to the Reposado. Because of the longer aging process, Añejo Tequila has a smoother taste to it, and is more of a sipping tequila, whereas the other two would be more inclined to be used in cocktails.
It’s a party now!
That was the Tequila portion of the class. Now it’s on to Margaritas!
Our first Margarita was the Classic Margarita. If you’ll notice, this isn’t a full-size Margarita. This will be a blessing in disguise because there’s more margaritas after this one! We’re definitely getting our money’s worth with this tasting class.
Oh, the margarita! Again it’s a classic margarita. You know it, you love it. We loved it. I believe this was a Silver Margarita, made with Patron Silver. Our instructor told us to only take a sip or two because margarita number two is coming up shortly.
Margarita number two, or maybe we should say margarita one-and-a-half, was a Grand Margarita. For this drink, our instructor came around and personally added a float of Grand Marnier to our Classic Margarita. No complaints here, we love a good margarita with a twist!
A refreshing cocktail!
Margarita number two was a refreshing Cucumber Mint Margarita. Going into this class, we thought nothing could top a classic margarita, but this came very close! It’s perfect for summer days, or days when you want a summer-y type cocktail. To be honest, this feels like a good Caribbean cruise cocktail when you want something that isn’t sickly sweet.
Danger, Will Robinson!
Our last margarita is what we’re going to call an abomination. The actual name of the drink is the Spicy Island Margarita. The best, and most fair, description of this drink is a spicy Bloody Mary with jalapeño. It burned, and not in a good way. To be fair, some people in the class liked this drink!
If you like that kind of thing, you’re in luck! This drink is available at Disney’s newest private island, Lighthouse Point. If you’re like us, you’ll probably stay far away from this drink. Needless to say, we were not fans of this one. We still finished it though, because winners never quit!
Tequila information, if you’re curious!
Pictured here are the three Tequilas that we tried in the first half of the tasting class:
- Blanco (left) – Casa Dragones
- Reposado (center) – Patrón Reposado
- Añejo (right) – Casamigos (Actor George Clooney’s brand!)
As you can see, this better captures the gold hue of the Reposado, and really captures the color of the Añejo tequila. Earlier we mentioned that tequila must be at least 51% agave. All three of these tequilas that we sampled were 100% agave, which is mentioned on the label. From our understanding of tequila: the more agave, the better.
On a side note: we frequently used the term Blanco for the first tequila. It is also commonly known as Silver. You’re probably familiar with Patrón Silver (we are!). It is the English equivalent of the Spanish word ‘blanco’.
Yay, learning!
We’re feeling great right now!
Three shots of tequila, and three and a half mini margaritas later, we are feeling fantasic! This was the first tasting class we attended where we left with a bit of a buzz. So, naturally, our pro tip before attending this class would be: eat something before you go!
On our way back from this tasting class, we stopped to eat some pizza at the quick service counters on the pool deck. We even had a slice of mushroom pizza, and we don’t even like mushrooms! We’ll take whatever is available right now, we just need to eat something. This 4:00 tasting class fell in that dead zone long after lunch, and long before our 8:15 dinner time. Eat before you go, preferably, or eat after if you forgot (like us).
Needless to say, well we kind of did in the headline, we loved this class! It was very educational, the drinks were great (mostly), and the class itself was fun. Our instructor was a lot of fun and had great energy, and the more we drank, the more fun and lively we became as well!
Once we’ve finally tried all of the different drink tastings Disney Cruise Line has available, we’ll be happy to return in the future to attend this one again. If you’re thinking about signing up for this class on your upcoming Disney Cruise: DO IT!
The Tequila and Margarita Tasting Class gets our official Seal of Approval and we consider it a ‘Must Do’.
Thank you very much for reading, and we’ll see you next time!
Disney Rover 