Cielo Restaurant & Bar, Four Seasons Hotel – St. Louis, MO

This Margarita doesn’t look “unusual”, but the flavors definitely are.

For Christmas Eve this year, my family wanted to go out to dinner. What we discovered was that it is incredibly hard to find an open restaurant on the evening of December 24th! Luckily we found that Cielo Restaurant & Bar was open and serving a special tasting menu. We had been to Cielo once before and enjoyed it for a Mother’s Day brunch, but this was the first time we were going for dinner. I checked out the bar menu and discovered a speciality Margarita called the “Unusual Margarita.”

Cielo’s “Unusual Margarita” is made with jalapeño & thyme infused tequila, Cointreau, and cucumber & lime shrub. This is definitely a unique creation so I had to give it a try. The Margarita didn’t look “unusual”, but the first sip caught me by surprise. Even though I knew that the tequila was infused with jalapeño, the spiciness and combination of flavors was almost “shocking” to my palate. Now I’m a big fan of spicy foods, so spice doesn’t bother me. But this flavor was very strange in a Margarita. Behind the initial spiciness, I could tell there was a nicely balanced, flavorful Margarita lurking back there. Unfortunately for me, the jalapeño simply didn’t work. It wasn’t a truly complementary flavor to the Margarita and ended up just kind of just “getting in the way.” I’d describe the flavor as “twangy” overall and it would not be something I’d order again. For this drink as a Margarita, I would only give it a 6. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to order a regular Margarita from Cielo, as I could tell that the “Unusual” was made with premium ingredients and I have no doubt that a regular Margarita would be excellent.

As far as Cielo’s “Unusual Margarita” goes, it is definitely “unusual” and not necessarily something a Margarita fan would enjoy. However, if you are into unique drinks, I would say you should give it a try. Otherwise the food is excellent at Cielo and certainly worth the visit.