One of my faaaavorite restaurants since day one in Charlotte is Paco’s Tacos & Tequila.

The chips. The salsa (green and red.) The guac. The tacos.

And… the margs.

While I typically can only handle one margarita (sugar overload), it’s hard to resist just the one at Paco’s. They’re refreshing, easy to drink, and full of fun flavors like pear, cucumber, jalapeño, and pineapple mint.

So, in honor of fast-approaching National Margarita Day on Friday, February 22, I attended Margarita 101: Worth Your Salt at Paco’s to learn more about this beloved drink. (The event was sponsored by El Tesoro Tequila, one of the MANY tequilas available at Paco’s.)

Each set-up included the tools necessary for creating our own spice blend to be used as a salt rim for at-home margs. We each perused 12 spices and picked our favorites to crush in a molcajete.

From there, we watched and listened as our marg experts Pam and Sam walked us through four (!!!!) delicious margaritas.

First up: the Kumquat Jalapeño, Paco’s featured marg in honor of the drink’s holiday. It features El Tesoro Tequila (aged 11 months and hand-made in Mexico), orange juice,and lemon juice, and it’s garnished with the sweetest candied kumquats (wish I could have taken a bag of these home!)

Our next treat was the Grilled Grapefruit margarita made with Sauza Tequila. It also features Vida del Maguey Mezcal, non-alcoholic triple sec, Natalie’s grapefruit juice, and house-made sour mex. If you like that smoky Mezcal taste, this one’s for you.

The third marg was a crowd favorite: the Pomegranate Delight. It features pomegranate-infused tequila, PomWonderful juice, and lemon juice. Tip for those infusing liquor at home: if you’re using citrus, don’t include the rind! It’ll make the flavor bitter. And be sure to take the fruit out within a week.

Last but certainly not least: the Apple Cinnamon margarita. It’s made with El Tesoro Repasado Tequila, cinnamon bark simple syrup, apple cider, and lemon juice with a cinnamon sugar rim. This one screams fall, but I’d sip this ANY day of the year.

To counter all that tequila, Paco’s graciously served chips and salsa and several small bites: Ceviche Lettuce Cups, Pork Belly Tostados, and Roasted Veggie Skewers. Yum.

The team at Paco’s plans to continue these fun Margarita 101 classes, so stay tuned on Instagram for details on the next event.

In the meantime, make plans to hang out at Paco’s on Friday, February 22 in honor of National Marg Day so you can sip on one of those amazing Kumquat Jalapeño margaritas. Cheers!

This post was created in collaboration with Paco’s Tacos & Tequila. All opinions are my own.