You may love cocktails — but would you pay $100 for a margarita?

When I told people I was going to try a $100 margarita, I was immediately met with a reaction that I can only describe as shock and awe.

“Is it really $100?”

“Why would anyone pay that much?”

“Is this really what you call working?”

I’d learned about the uber-fancy cocktail on offer at upscale restaurant Providence from Caroline Pardilla, cocktail writer and author of Margarita Time, which I'd recently written about.

She’d suggested taking me on a margarita-tasting tour for a social media video, and had planned Providence as one of the stops. A $100 margarita? I was immediately game.

Before you roast me, I’m always intrigued when I hear of someone doing something unique and out of the ordinary, especially in the food scene.

Food has the power to change people's minds, and how they view the world, just from a single taste — or in this case sip. I wanted to find out if that could be the case here.

Melrose is the place

First, the context. Providence, on Melrose, is one of a handful of two-Michelin-star restaurants in L.A. Dinner itself costs $325 per person, so throwing in a $100 cocktail doesn't seem so crazy if that’s what you’re already spending.

Second, the margarita itself. Get rid of any notions that this is just an upgraded, overpriced cocktail from a profit-chasing bar. Its name, Electric Margarita, plays on the long-served Cadillac Margarita, which traditionally uses only top-shelf ingredients.

The Electric takes the Cadillac's standards and cranks them up even more, using ultra-premium craft ingredients which also have a sustainability lens. (Hence, Electric).

Then there’s the spectacle of how it's made.

“It’s margarita time!” exclaims Kim Stodel, the drink’s creator and Providence’s bar director, as he rolls out an ornate-looking bar cart into the main dining room. No, the Electric is not mixed at the bar. (That's a touch too prosaic). Instead, it’s prepared tableside, with Stodel carefully walking you through each ingredient.

Kim Stodel's bar cart at Providence comes complete with tools for embossing craft ice.

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Gab Chabrán

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LAist

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Making the Electric

For the base spirit, Stodel uses a small-batch tequila, Fuenteseca Reserva Extra Añejo. The color — a dark, rich caramel similar to cognac or bourbon — indicates that this is not your average bottle of tequila.

He tells me it’s estate-grown, which means that  Enrique Fonseca, the fourth-generation agave grower, is the same person who makes the liquor Stodel is holding, with no middlemen, a rarity in the tequila business these days.

Kim Stodel, bar director at Providence restaurant, pours the Electric Margarita tableside.

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Josh Letona

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LAist

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The “extra añejo” label means it was aged for an extended period, five years in this case, in French oak barrels. According to Stodel, this allows the flavor properties to be more "dry and crisp, and a bit tannic.” This bottle retails at more than $200; for context, a bottle that has been aged 21 years is more than $1,000.

He also adds Grand Marnier Cuvee du Centenaire, an exclusive orange liqueur blended with XO Cognac from a 100 year old recipe. “ It's really about flavor, and the harmony of the orange and the Cognac that just go well together,” says Stodel.

Then it’s time to add a house-made passionfruit cordial from the leftover rinds of fruit grown at Rincon Farms in Carpinteria. Throwaway ingredients in an ultra-premium cocktail? That’s where the sustainability factor comes in.

Zero-waste cooking

The kitchen adheres to a zero-waste cooking philosophy, meaning nothing is thrown away; instead, things like produce peels or skins are repurposed in other dishes or used as compost for their rooftop garden program.

This effort has earned Providence a green Michelin star, which is awarded to restaurants for sustainability.

“We aren’t wasting food to make more flavor; we’re trying to use the whole ingredient. We are trying to maximize its potential”, he explains.

At this point, I find myself hanging off every word from Stodel, a man who can expertly tell a story just as much as he can craft a world-class cocktail. (I admit I’m a sucker for stories.)

The gravitas in his voice and the striking stare behind his glasses as he explains each detail makes me feel as if I'm the only person in the room.

Crafty ice

Then, with a flourish, Stodel produces a sizable single ice cube that he gets from  West Coast Ice Provisions, a craft ice maker (yes, we have those; this is L.A.) from his vintage Penguin Ice Bucket.

You didn't know you needed diamond-shaped, embossed ice in your life.

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Caroline Pardilla

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“Don’t try this at home,” he says as he places it on a cutting board and delicately shaves off the edges with a Japanese fish knife usually used for butchering large sea creatures.

After a few moments, a massive ice diamond comes into view, almost cartoonish in size, like something you’d see on The Flintstones. I find myself gawking at all its silly beauty.

The story and the presentation are part of the $100 price tag.

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Caroline Pardilla

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Stodel places the heap of leftover ice shavings into a small glass reserved for what’s known as the sidecar. In this case, the sidecar is the leftover amount of the cocktail, usually 4 to 5 ounces, that can double as an extra cocktail. (Meaning that if you are still yapping about the cost of this beverage, you’re practically getting two drinks for the price of one, so chill.)

He places the ice diamond on a raised metal surface on his bar cart and embosses it with the Providence logo. He then tops the drink with a single blue borage flower from the restaurant garden and sets his immaculate creation before me.

I pause to appreciate the moment before picking up the glass ... and taking a sip.

Gab Chabrán takes in the moment -- and the drink.

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Josh Letona

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LAist

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The verdict

It’s unlike anything I’d ever had. The tropical notes from the passionfruit cordial whisk you off to some exotic locale before the extra añejo tequila brings you back to earth.

The surprisingly light drink has a smooth body, which makes it go down easy — maybe too easy. But I manage to show restraint, taking small sips to unlock the nuances of each aspect of the drink.

I savor it as much as I can, catching a glimpse of little flying dollar emojis as they drift up toward the heavens.

So, the answer to the question you're all thinking? Is it worth it? (Drum roll please).

If you’ve got a little extra coin in your pocket, enough to splurge for dinner, which is the only way to enjoy this tableside experience at one of the best restaurants in L.A., then for me, the answer is a resounding yes.