While historically, Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with margaritas, there’s also no better time to celebrate the Denver restaurant synonymous with margarita drinking: the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant. After all, the Rio makes nearly one million margs every year, earning them the distinction of being the largest on-site purveyor of Jose Cuervo tequila in the country. While we can’t enjoy its potent cocktails at the bar just yet, there are two ways for thirsty Denverites to get Rio margaritas at home.

The first is to have the Rio do all of the heavy tequila bottle lifting: Order margs on the rocks or frozen for takeout at happy hour prices ($7 for a single and $14 for a double) all day long on May 5, at all five Rio locations.

Or, try your hand at making the Rio’s exclusive recipe for its Big Tex margarita instead (below; we tried to get you the formula for the famed classic marg, but it’s under lock and key).

If you need some food to wash down that Big Tex, the Rio is offering bulk family packs of fajitas ($75) and enchiladas ($54) with all the fixings for pick up and delivery. And the restaurant will donate trays of enchiladas and fajitas to local hospitals to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (without margaritas, if course, until maybe after shifts are over).

Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant’s Big Tex Margarita

Serves 1

  • 6 oz. ice
  • 2 oz. Jose Cuervo Tradicional Silver
  • 1 oz. triple sec
  • ½ oz. fresh lime juice, plus lime wedge for garnish
  • ½ oz. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 oz. simple syrup

Shake all of the ingredients (except for the lime wedge) together in a cocktail shaker, then pour into a glass with a salted rim. Garnish with the lime wedge and (responsibly) enjoy.

Allyson Reedy
Allyson Reedy
Allyson Reedy is a freelance writer and ice cream fanatic living in Broomfield.