You having a party tomorrow?

If so, then I have some good advice for you. Same advice I dispensed to a friend on Tuesday for the party he is having on Friday for Cinco de Mayo.

I have a small issue with Cinco de Mayo. Actually 2 small issues. First, most people have no idea what this Mexican holiday is about. It is not independence. It is a military victory. A weak one at that because they defeated the French. Like that should be a reason to celebrate. Second, this is more of a drinking holiday heavily promoted by the liquor companies, mainly Corona and Cuervo.

Of course, the drinking part I have no issue with. I take issue with the bad booze part. Cuervo is owned by Diageo, a British conglomerate. What do they know about tequila? Marketing! Cuervo is bad tequila. It is mostly sugar, not agave. Thus, it tastes like crap. Who admits to liking Cuervo? Same with Corona. It is not good beer. Even Mexicans don't drink it. They prefer Tecate. Seems like Corona is drank mostly by college kids and pretentious assholes. I bet they have no clue why a lime is served with it.

Editors note (fancy way for covering my ass)- If you like Corona, that is fine. It is just my opinion. Enjoy your beer. If you are not a pretentious asshole, then you should not have any problem with my opinion. Hell, you shouldn't take anything I say here seriously. But if you want to talk about it over a beer, let's do so. I'll buy the Skull Splitter Ale for you.

So when my friend Cor called the other day about his party, he wanted to know of a place to get a good price for the beer he was buying. He was planning on getting Corona, Tecate, and Pacifico. I gave him a couple liquor stores that would be good as well as the local grocery store- hey you cannot argue their pricing power.

I then asked how much he was expecting to get. He told me about 5 or 6 cases. What? By his calculations, with the number of people he anticipates showing, that amount of beer is right. Ok. But why is he getting that much Mexican beer? With the amount of margaritas that will be drunk as well, that is too much. Especially too much Mexican beer.

My advice to him was simple. Get about 2 cases of Mexican beer. Make the rest of them Miller or Lite or your favorite beer. Why? People don't drink much of this on a regular basis. After they have gotten a buzz, they will return to the beer of choice. They may have 2 or 3 Tecates or Pacificos, but that is it. I would even bet that some people won't even try the Mexican beer. They will head straight for the domestics. Don't waste your money on beer that people will not drink a lot of.

Also, do not buy cheap tequila. You pretty much get what you pay for when it comes to liquor. If it not 100% blue agave, don't buy it. Yeah, you can get away with some cheap tequila for the margaritas but if you want people to really enjoy it and pop some shots, buy something that is good. If they are giving away a shot glass or t-shirt with purchase, chances are it is crap.

I will probably have a Pacifico and a Tecate. Add in a couple of margaritas and things should be good. Even better when I break his karoake machine. Hey, I don't know how that Corona got dumped into it.