And let me make this easy for you: Yes, you want some motherfucking free tacos. So go get some right now in Capitol Hill, on 11th at Pine. The good people at Camarena Tequila–which you will remember is still new to the State of Washington–have a roaming taco truck in town this month, and they teamed up with Maple Leaf’s COA Mexican Eatery & Tequileria to provide free food to the hungry masses (cc: the homeless).
The truck will be parked out in front of the Stranger offices until 1 p.m. today, and then they’ll be cruising around Capitol Hill “guerrilla-style” all afternoon. If today doesn’t work for you, here’s the rest of the Camarena Tequila taco truck schedule for the week, and of course, you can always get the most up-to-date info from the Facebook and the Twitter:
Thurs Aug 25
12:00pm-2:00pm
600 Stewart St
Thurs Aug 25
2:00pm-4:00pm
Downtown Seattle
Fri Aug 26
1:00pm-5:00pm
Evergreen Speedway
WA State Fair
14405 179th Ave SE
Monroe, WA 98272
Sat Aug 27
12:00pm-4:00pm
Seattle Center/EMP
2nd Ave N and Thomas St
Sun Aug 28
11:00am-8:00pm
NW Lovefest Music Fest
Fremont
Stone Way N and N 34th St
There’s a new tequila on the block, but it’s made by one of the oldest families in the business. Camarena Tequila made its American debut in California, Nevada, and Texas last year, and hit Washington State shelves in February, but the Camarena family has been making tequila in the highlands of Jalisco for nearly eighty years (and six generations) already. The first tequila to bear the family name, Camarena is made with 100 percent pure blue agave, sustainably farmed in the Los Altos Highlands, where the family has about three million agave plants growing. Right now, the tequila comes in silver and repasado varieties, with an anejo in the works. These are sweet, peppery, and earthy liquors, and though the quality is high, the price is nice: each bottle retails for $20. With that in mind, I bravely volunteered to sample these new premium spirits.
Tequila! Let's get ready to make some drinks.
The good people from Camarena actually wanted us to make our own drinks. Oh, twist my arm.
You too can make cocktails with only a few simple ingredients.
They provided the tequila, the recipes, and the requisite additional ingredients: vermouths, lemons and limes, ginger ale and beer, cassis, almond liqueur, orange liqueur, amaro, maple syrup and agave syrup, and even an egg. Don’t worry, all those liquids did not go into the same drink. If you’re playing along at home, a low-res version of the recipes can be found here.
Before...
The task at hand involved making four cocktails: a paloma (a refreshing alternative to the margarita), a cope de arandas (file under “aromatic cocktails”), an el diablo (file under “girly drinks”), and a dona elena (in the traditional sours–with egg white!–family).
...and after! Look at those delicious drinks.
I have to say that there was not a dud in the bunch. I will definitely drink a paloma again–it’s not nearly as heavy or as sweet as your traditional margarita, but just as simple to make. The dark copa de arandas proves that you can have a tequila-based cocktail in the winter, especially with just a hint of fresh mint. Meanwhile, with its cassis, the el diablo is a little too sweet for me to have more than one, but any cosmo lover should give it a try. And the dona elena is your classic sour, with a tequila twist.
Camarena tequilas in their native environment: on the shelf, at your friendly neighborhood liquor store (in this case 12th and Pine).
