One Of Guy Fieri's All-Time Favorite Drinks Is A Spicy Classic

While many people like to relax and unwind with a simple alcoholic beverage like beer or wine, others prefer a stronger, more flavorful concoction and therefore reach for a cocktail. There are impressive recipes for every flavor profile under the sun, and with such varied choices, drinkers sometimes turn to celebrities for ideas on which ones to try. Guy Fieri, host of Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," has spice and tequila lovers alike covered with his beloved Caliente Margarita.

Served at various Flavortown restaurants, the Caliente Margarita includes muddled jalapeño, cilantro, Cointreau, and of course, blanco tequila. When describing the drink to Forbes, Fieri said, "Our Caliente Margarita is one of my favorite drinks I've ever had in my whole life. ... You get the nice fresh herbaceousness coming from the jalapeno and the cilantro. If you want to taste a dynamite margarita, that's the one you go with." While you can try the drink at your local Flavortown, you can also make it at home thanks to a recipe posted by the Food Network that comes directly from the celebrity chef himself. Of course, to make the most faithful version, you'll need to use Fieri's own brand of tequila: Santo Blanco.

Guy Fieri opened his first venture, Johnny Garlic's, in 1996, long before amassing his fame as a TV show host. When rockstar Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo tequila started to take off in America in the early 2000s, Fieri began to serve it in his restaurants, which eventually led to him meeting Hagar and them developing a friendship. The duo would create Santo Blanco tequila in 2019, which the celebrity chef now seems to use in his restaurant's margaritas, given that it was suggested on the Food Network recipe.

While it's unknown when exactly Flavortown restaurants started serving the Caliente Margarita in particular, Fieri called it a "best-selling old standby" in an exclusive 2023 interview with Tasting Table, so it stands to reason that the drink has been served for quite a while and may even predate the use of Santo Blanco tequila. This would make sense, given that he was cooking up tequila-based drinks with Cabo Wabo back in the early 2000s. Though Fieri never claimed to have invented the Caliente Margarita (Patron Tequila gives that honor to Adrian Martinez), his open embrace of the drink has no doubt increased its popularity. Today, there are many takes on the Caliente Margarita, with other cocktail experts even weighing in on the best ways to make the spicy drink. For a little taste of Flavortown at home, consider whipping one up yourself.