By Jen Pitcher and
Jacque Aragon
Special to The PREVIEW
This year’s Mountain Chile Cha Cha Margarita Contest didn’t disappoint.
With a line of anxious tasters, we opened at noon with 15 strong entries by nine local restaurants and bars.
Entries in the Flavored category included: Rosie’s, Kip’s, Neon Mallard, Gustoso’s, Chavolo’s, The Den, Riff Raff on the Rio, Riff Raff OG and Ole Miner’s.
Six of those — Kips, Neon Mallard, Gustoso’s, Chavolo’s, The Den and Riff Raff on the Rio — also chose to enter in the Traditional category.
The margaritas this year were assessed by both the public and a panel of three expert judges. Awards were first through third place in both the Traditional and Flavored categories.
Without further ado, the winners were:
Judged Traditional
First place: T1 by Riff Raff Rio.
Second place: T2 by Kip’s.
Third place: T3 by the Neon Mallard.
Judged Flavored
First place: F3, spicy melon margarita by Neon Mallard.
Second place: F5, Tamarindo jalapeño margarita by Chavolo’s.
Third place: F1, cucumber strawberry margarita by Riff Raff Rio.
People’s Choice Traditional
First place: T5 by Chavolo’s.
Second place: T2 by Kip’s.
Third place: T1 by Riff Raff on the Rio.
People’s Choice Flavored
First Place: F5, Tamarindo jalapeño margarita by Chavolo’s.
Second place: F7, strawberry green chile margarita by Rosie’s.
Third place: F1, spicy strawberry cucumber margarita by Riff Raff Rio.
Over 3,000 tastes were served and around 500 votes were cast. Thank you to everyone that came out and made the event spectacular this year.
Patty Aragon Green Chile Classic
Winners of the 13th annual Patty Aragon Green Chile Classic have also been announced:
Home Cooks Vegetarian
First place: Isabelle Herrera, V4.
Second place: Sarah Saraceno, V2.
Third place: Diana Aragon, V6.
Home Cooks Meat
First place: Ron Martinez, M29.
Second place: Diana Aragon, M25.
Third place: Jen Pitcher, M26.
People’s Choice
First place: Malicia Thatcher, M32.
Second place: Colorado Roadhouse, M4.
Third place: James Jolley, V3.
