By Alyson Weber

Rarely will I ever pass up an opportunity to sample food. Trader Joe’s and Costco are the closest places to heaven on Earth, and you can quote me on that. When Sky Armory reached out to Baked Magazine about a tequila and food pairing event, I knew I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.

The event was in an intimate outdoor space with live music and vibrant hanging lanterns. I clearly was the youngest one there (even though I will clarify that I am 21 years old), but that didn’t stop the tequila experts from sharing information about their tequilas and how they are made. I was blown away by the craftsmanship that goes into making tequila.

I started the night out by trying three samples of tequila that were all aged different amounts of time. The one that was aged two years had a strong distinct flavor with notes of oak and vanilla. I had never experienced tequila like this before. The food paired with this tequila was a polenta cake with crispy pork belly on top. The salty elements really balanced out the kick in the tequila.

The next station had a Mexican tequila cider paired with a ginger duck & vegetable spring roll. The cider was by far my favorite drink of the night. It was the perfect kind of sweet and refreshing fall cinnamon drink.

Moving on to the next station, I sampled a spicy Paloma cocktail with a mini fish taco. The fish taco was light and had a delicious dill crema. I wouldn’t have thought to ever put together dill flavor with a sweet fruity Paloma, but it somehow worked very nicely. I ate my fish taco with some chips and homemade pico de gallo that was served.

Next was dessert time! There were two stations sampling sweet treats with a speciality tequila cocktail. The first was a sweet corn and cherry panna cotta alongside a dirty martinez, which was a drink with smoky mezcal and olive juice. Although I am not a fan of olives, the creamy panna cotta cut through the smoky richness of the drink in just the right way.

Finally I ended the night eating a mini churro dunked in a spicy dark chocolate sauce. It was absolutely delicious. This churro was paired with a kombucha mezcal mule drink. This drink was the most interesting of the night. I normally would never think to use kombucha in a cocktail, but it worked surprisingly well. The ginger notes of the mezcal mule drink played alongside the spicy cinnamon chocolate sauce in a very unique way; my tastebuds were certainly having a little party! I appreciated how this dessert sample was not overbearingly sweet.

On my way out of the event, there was a table with homemade watermelon jalapeño lime zest lollipops! What a truly perfect way to end the night. It’s always fun to get off campus and enjoy a nice night out with friends, so take advantage of the opportunities that are out there in the Syracuse community. Make sure to check out Sky Armory’s website for more information about fun food events in the future!