Chevy’s Fresh Mex – O’Fallon, IL

It was my birthday celebration and some friends took me out to Chevy’s Fresh Mex in O’Fallon IL to celebrate. So I took the opportunity to sample several Margaritas on this night. Yes, I had already had a Margarita earlier this day at Shooter’s. But no, I did not fully drink every single Margarita I’m about to talk about at Chevy’s … my friends let me take tastes of theirs so I could compare.

First off, I tried the Black Diamond Margarita. The ingredients were Herradura Silver Tequila, Hennessy, Patrón Citrónge, and black lava salt rim served up with a side shaker. It certainly sounded interesting so I gave it a try as my first Margarita of the night! It was well-balanced with a sweet flavor profile up front. Given the quality liquors, it went down nice and smooth. I’d definitely recommend trying it with a rating of an 8.5.

Next I tasted their Cadillac Margarita. I’m usually not a huge fan of Cadillac Margaritas because Grand Marnier is not my favorite orange liqueur. However, since a friend ordered it, I went ahead and tried the Margarita, but left the Grand Marnier shot for them. The presentation was nice as it was served in a glass that literally said “Cadillac Margarita”. I guess Chevy’s is pretty proud of this Margarita! Overall, I liked this Margarita. It had a nice citrus taste although a little on the tart side and I could taste that it had triple sec in it, possibly Grand Marnier. Whether it was Grand Marnier or some other type of triple sec, I prefer Patrón Citronge as I feel it blends more smoothly with a Margarita as compared to French orange liqueurs like triple secs. Still it was a good experience, so I give Chevy’s Cadillac Margarita a 7.

Next I decided to try Chevy’s House Margarita. I like to try house Margaritas when possible to see what a place’s basic Margarita is like. Chevy’s version was well-balanced, slightly sweet, with good citrus flavor, but not a lot of tequila flavor. It was very tasty overall (and it came with a Mexican flag!) so I give it a 7.5.

Next up was the Patrón Perfect Margarita. As mentioned, I’m a big fan of Patrón Orange Citronge orange liqueur and this one was made with it, along with Patrón silver tequila, fresh orange juice, and sweet & sour. I was a little concerned about the use of sweet & sour but I wanted to try it anyway. The good news is that the Patrón Perfect Margarita from Chevy’s was well-balanced and smooth with a good sweetness and orange flavor. It also had more of an acidic flavor that made it taste like it was made with fresh lime juice. Perhaps Chevy’s sweet and sour isn’t actually a mix but made with lime juice? Regardless I really liked it and rate it an 8.

Finally, my friends ordered me the Big Daddy Caddy, which the menu states they limit to one per guest. As I stated before, I’m not a big fan of Grand Marnier and this Margarita comes with a mini bottle of it on the side, but this particular Margarita was made with Don Julio tequila, of which I am a big fan. So I “reluctantly” agreed to let my friends buy me one, which I also shared since I am a kind and generous human being. First I tried the Margarita without adding any Grand Marnier to it. It was tart but otherwise had a good balance of flavors. And of course, I love Don Julio tequila so it was pretty good. I give it a 7. Then I added the Grand Marnier as suggested by the server. As expected it added more orange sweetness to balance the tartness of the base Margarita. That was fine, but I just don’t really like the flavor of Grand Marnier as I think it has a “wang” to it. So plus and minus and I still give the Big Daddy Caddy a 7 with or without the Grand Marnier.

Overall I think the Margaritas at Chevy’s are really well made and the food is really good as well. I highly recommend sampling their variety of Margaritas and find out which one is your favorite!