Agave Fest

Best festival ever. We each received 10 red tickets, 3 yellow tickets, and 2 orange tickets with admission. Red tickets were for little sample shots of all things agave, Yellow tickets were for mixed drinks/cocktails at the mini Congress bar, and orange tickets were good for 2 tacos (shredded pork or steak). I thoroughly enjoyed 2/3 of Hotel congress's cocktails. One was almost like a pisco sour, the 2nd was a spicy salt rimmed watermelon tequila drink and the 3rd was my least favorite.. it literally tasted like lemon juice and tequila. It was so much fun going throughout the whole festival sampling and learning about the different tequilas and mezcals. Event started at 6.. but the taco line was long so we ended up eating at hotel congress at 6 before we began drinking. Towards 8:15 I would say the taco line started to become non-existent and thats when I decided it would be a good time to get me more food. Options were steak or shredded pork, and there were a good amount of choices at the salsa bar including Nopales!This was literally one of the best events ever, and I can't wait for next year, oh and props for the nicest shot glass ever that was given out towards the end of the festival. Best useful souvenor ever.

My 300th review!!! Yay!!!The Agave Fest is one of those things that I love about Tucson. It was a beautiful evening and the atmosphere was perfect.We were able to try all of the cocktails being presented by the different bartenders from around town. All of them were unique and interesting. And though Elliot's won (congrats) my personal favorite was from Penca.In addition to the cocktails, there were a ton of different tequilas to taste. Way more than anyone could consume. Well, that's not true you could try :)Hotel congress provided beef and poblano street tacos, chips and a massive salsa bar. I enjoyed the salsa bar, and the tacos were not bad. Unfortunately the line to get them got really long. It may be a good idea to have to areas to serve tacos next year.The live music and the DJ were really nice and after that much tequila, a lot more people started dancing,Overall a really fun event and night out in Tucson. I definitely recommend this event for anyone looking for something fun downtown.

I had such a great time at this event. It was very well put together and lots to sample. The food and drinks were on point. The band was great as well. Hotel Congress did a good job with everything as well as security. We are already talking about going next year. The only down side of the event was there were no tables and chairs. There were tables, but you had to stand. The other thing is that we didn't get a chance to go until 7 and the closest parking garage we could park at was all the way down on Pennington. The other 2 were full.We are hoping we are able to go next year and will plan on getting there closer to the start time.

My husband and I had so much fun! It was our first time attending the 8th Annual Agave Fest (Thanks to Yelp! Whoo hoo!) and it was AWESOME! The fest had a live band, tons of different agave spirits/cocktails, and the mexican food that was offered was delicious! Water stations were also set-up to keep everyone hydrated. My favorites were the cocktails offered by R Bar, Maynard's, and Hotel Congress. (R Bar for the win though!) Security seemed to be on top of enforcing the fun and tamed environment. Overall, I plan to attend next year!

2017 Agave Fest: It was tons of fun. Pretty small and only 6 tequila vendors but they each had around 5-10 bottles. The free food was amazing, loved the free beer (you just get one) but you can buy more and the music was fun. Overall, it was a neat little event. The downside is ZERO places to sit (standing tables only), only a couple tables too and the punch cards were hard to tell how many tastings you had left.

A great Tucson event for those that enjoy tequila, music, and spending time in downtown Tucson. Had the opportunity to sample 8 different drinks and received 10 tickets to sample varieties of tequila. Also enjoyed 2 tacos with an assortment of salsas and chips.Took advantage of a package through Hotel Congress so no worries about driving post-event. Check it out next year!

Great event! I can't believe this was my first year attending after living in Tucson for 5 years! The patio of congress is the perfect venue with lots of space. I attended the Tequila Class which was held inside at the bar by the dance floor. Dave, the old sommelier from Maynards was there with a tequila connoisseur to teach us about the different varieties of agave liquors - tequila, mezcal and bacanora. I'd never tried a bacanora before the Agave fest, wow is it strong! All of the pourers were having a joke with me saying that Bacanora doesn't give you hangovers if it is done right. I didn't have a hangover the next day, so maybe they are right! (or maybe I drank enough water with each tasting, who knows). After the tequila class, my friends and I officially entered the Agave Fest, we were given out landyard with our tickets and we were set loose on the Congress Patio. The Congress bartenders were having a mixed drink contest, and the first drink I tried was my absolute favorite a watermelon/tequila drink with a spicy salt rim. I need the recipe so I can try and make it at home. I tried to taste at least one tequila from ever stand, and I successfully did that with many tickets to spare. Agave Fest is very well done. Great event! Can't wait till next year!

Ole! This was a fun fiesta at Hotel Congress fo realz. I was the first person through the door and I was ready to get my agave on. You got to sample 8 different drinks from Tucson's top mixologists. The cinnamon infused tequila that Elliott's used won and that is who I voted for as well. I can't wait to check out more of their infusions. I also loved that someone crushed up Mexican candy to rim the cocktail glass...yummy. One place made their own carbonated beverage which was also quite impressive. Shrubs seemed to be trending. I really enjoyed talking to everyone about their ingredients. Cup café served up a two different tacos with a spiked salsa bar. I passed on that, but my husband said it was soso. You also could sample about 30 different agave based liquors. I really liked the cinnamon flavored one that you can pick up at Plaza. Esp. if you do not have time to make a proper infusion like Elliott's. The music was okay (Latin Funk Project), but by the end of the night, the agave plant influenced many to shake their bongos. The guy from On the Menu Live was the MC. You may wonder, what did the best bartender win- why he won more tequila! I have officially been to the salsa tequila competition, the world margarita competition and now agave fest and I would recommend them all. In fact, I think Tucson should look to me as a new judge with my refined palate and dedication to all agave based competitions.

The food, fun and beverages of Agave Fest were amazing! Hotel Congress is such a pleasant venue. It was well worth the $35 advanced ticket price. My one thing that would be great next year is having the band a little farther away from the vendors or just turn down the volume a tad. The sound made it almost impossible to have a conversation with the wonderful people about their products.See you next year for sure!

It was pretty cool. The music was a LITTLE too loud, the venue was a LITTLE too small, and the food line was WAY too long.Everybody serving, though, was awesome and the tequila was great. The drinks that the restaurants created, though......meh.I'm sad because I love those restaurants, but you win some, you lose some.Would I go next year?.....Maybe. For $35/head, I was expecting a little more.