Cantina Laredo to feature its chic tequila-pairing dinner

Tequila takes center stage at a series of tequila-pairing dinners hosted by Cantina Laredo in Clayton, Mo. The first dinner in 2016 will take place on Thursday, March 31 starting at 7 p.m. To reserve your spot, call 314-725-2447.

For the March 31 dinner, Cantina Laredo’s Executive Chef Sean Scott has chosen four tequilas from Milagro Tequila to compliment the four-course menu. By selecting these four tequilas from the same producer, guests will taste and learn about the nuances that occur during the spirit’s aging process. The cocktails, one presented with each course, will be the Agave 'Rita made with Milagro Silver, Rosa Mezcal (Milagro Reposado), Paloma Miel (Milagro Select Silver) and the Milagro Select Reserve Añejo.

“Tequila is a diverse spirit and pairs well with a variety of foods,” Scott said. “It's fun to design the menus for the dinners and know that we're giving our patrons a great experience with food and drink. There's nothing else like this in town.”

Aged in oak barrels and using a triple-distillation, Milagro Tequila is crafted with 100 percent blue agave nectar. The agave are grown and cultivated for eight to 12 years on the private estate in the Jalisco Islands in Mexico and are then hand selected and harvested. The plants are slow roasted in clay ovens for 36 hours. By Mexican law, all tequila must contain at least 51 percent agave. Anything less is designated as mixto.

The four-course menu includes:

• An appetizer of Sope de Brisket followed by a Sundried Tomato Chipotle Soup
• Guest's choice of an entrée: Pork Tenderloin with Chile de Arbol Sauce or the Redfish with Langostino Corn Sauce
• The dinner will be finished with Key Lime Pie for dessert

The tequila dinners are $49.99 per person, with limited seating. Advanced reservations are required for this special night by calling Cantina Laredo Clayton at 314-725-2447. Cantina Laredo offers its tequila dinners quarterly with one per season each featuring a different tequila brand.

One of the fastest growing and most popular spirits in the U.S., tequila's aging and distilling process can be as complex as any fine wine or small–batch bourbon and is a wonderful partner for the fresh, modern flavors for which Cantina Laredo is known. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, high-end tequila brands have grown 189 percent in volume since 2002. And super-premium tequila volumes, virtually unknown in 2002 have skyrocketed 568 percent and accounted for 2.4 million 9-liter cases in 2015.