Chelsea Smith’s Margarita of the Month is a dreamy, blueberry lavender concoction so deep-purple you wonder if you might be in danger of a Violet Beauregard moment. It would be worth it. Beautifully balanced, neither too sweet nor tart, the sip is puckery sweet perfection, hold the sour mix. Smith makes her own syrups and infusions, uses fresh, organic juices, and has built a veritable margarita makers handbook of her own recipes, amassed since 2023, when Tavern on Broadway first launched Taco Tuesdays. From weekly margs, it has since evolved into a monthly special. “People were coming in asking for them and I’d already be out of the ingredients and onto the next,” she said. “I never want to repeat the same ones – I’ve probably done around 90 of them and I haven’t yet – though I suppose I will eventually.” She might have to.
Customers still ask for the Spicy Pickle, an infused ghost pepper tequila, fresh lime, simple syrup and pickle juice marg, or for the Coconut Tangerine Dream that tastes like a Creamsicle. For Easter, she created a Carrot Ginger Marg from fresh carrot juice and her ginger syrup. Her favorite? Guava ginger.
“They all start with 2 oz. tequila, 1 oz. triple sec or Cointreau, 1 oz. limejuice. Then I go from there.”
Her Concord Grape Rosemary Margarita, made with fresh concord grape juice and rosemary simple syrup with a lemon sugar rim, won her first place at last year’s Newport Winter Festival Margarita Madness cocktail competition. Event organizer John Begin called her a “margarita master.”
Smith started bartending at age 21 at Wanumetonomy and Green Valley Country Clubs and 13 years behind the bar at Atlantic Grille, before moving onto Castle Hill Inn, and adding Tavern on Broadway. Working 90 hours, something had to give. Smith chose Tavern and has no regrets.
“It was because of the customers, the regulars,” she said. “Tavern feels like a home base for everybody.”
Beyond the fit of the restaurant itself, the Margarita Master enjoys the bar business overall, and says creating cocktails offers a creative outlet. “They’re like my artwork,” she said.
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