“National Tequila Weekend”: El Paso’s Plaza Hotel boasts USA’s largest Agave Spirits Collection
Paul Cicala
EL PASO (KVIA) — Thursday, April 24th was National Tequila Day, and, the celebration continues through the weekend. In another edition of “People, Places & Paul“, KVIA Anchor Paul Cicala goes “Xtra Depth” from the Agave Room & Ambar Bar at the Plaza Hotel in downtown El Paso, where the largest and rarest agave spirit collection in the United States is located.
The prestigious bar and Agave Room houses over 800 of the rarest and most expensive unique agave spirits. Some of the Agave-based adult beverages include: tequilas, mezcals, sotols, bacanoras and raicillas.
Adrian Gonzalez, the General Manger of the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park, gave ABC-7’s Paul Cicala a personal tour and taste session at the Agave Room for the purpose of this story.
“That’s why we created this space,” said Gonzalez as he showed off some of the most coveted Agave spirits, “so they can see it and touch it, and you know, the bottles are beautiful, but, when you see them up in the tequila towers above the bar, it’s like ‘is that for real’, but, here you can touch them.”
As ABC-7’s Paul Cicala learned first-hand, not only could -touch them-, you could taste them.
The Plaza Hotel’s bar & restaurant “Ambar” is also known to be frequented by celebrities, when they’re visiting the borderland. For example, while shooting a movie a few months ago in downtown El Paso, it’s said that actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro made trips to the Ambar while staying in the Sun City.
ABC-7 also caught up with budding Latin Country singer MŌRIAH, who was at the Plaza Hotel shooting a video for her upcoming single.
“This bar, this hotel, it’s one of my favorite in the country. It’s the reason why I’m filming the first part of my video here as a Latin Country artist,” said MŌRIAH, as she sat at the Ambar bar with an Agave spirit in-hand.
“We could not be more pleased with the level of entertainment and culinary experience we offer through our Agave Room,” says Adrian Gonzalez, General Manager of The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park. “This space gives justice to our amazing collection, by allowing guests to be surrounded by and sample our vast selection of agave spirits, featuring some of the rarest and most expensive bottles in the country. Additionally, it allows many of our discrete celebrity and VIP guests to utilize our private guest elevators to access the room without onlookers.”
The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park offers a series of tastings including:
– Monthly Agave Flight available at Ámbar, price varies. Available every day at Ámbar Restaurant and Bar from 10am-12am, just ask your server/bartender. Reservations to Ámbar via Resy.
– Weekly Agave Tastings every Thursday at 5pm. Reservations made via Ámbar Restaurante’s Resy. $50++ per person.
– Quarterly Agave Dinners are announced via Eventbrite, Resy, and Ámbar’s Website and Newsletter. Price varies but usually dinners are $175++ pp unless stated otherwise. Reservations for Dinners are made via Evenbrite or The Plaza Hotel’s Resy.
CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS
People, Places & Paul is a semi-regular segment that airs on KVIA ABC-7 as Paul Cicala takes you to hotspots around the borderland, and also introduces you to many of the “movers and shakers” in our region.
In a press release, the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park stated: “Inspired by the tequila rooms found in the finest tequila houses in Jalisco, Mexico, by day, The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park’s Agave Room transforms into an exclusive setting for intimate meetings, complete with agave spirits tasting breaks. The space offers Mexican-inspired breakfast, lunch and dinner menus with delectable dishes such as wood-grilled margarita french toast, featuring brioche bread topped with citrus-tequila marinated berries, fresh mint and citrus zest, drizzled with agave syrup. The hotel team’s vision extends to agave tasting dinners and public tastings of rare and unique agave spirits.”
“The Agave Room is used for bespoke culinary experiences, including weekly agave spirits tastings, agave tasting dinners, executive meetings, bridal party celebrations, and milestone birthdays.”