Little Stranger

This year’s Sunset Tequila + Mezcal Festival could quite literally be the definition of “eat, drink and be merry.” Try to do all three in proportion: More than 30 tequila brands will be on offer at Boca Raton’s Mizner Park Amphitheater on the first Saturday in November as South Florida welcomes in the cooler months.

The Resolvers by Edwin Cardona

Festival co-founder Joe Durkin, a distiller today who started in liquor distribution, teamed up with Subculture Group restaurateur Vaughan Dugan and Rocco’s Tacos beverage director David Ortiz to create not just a trade show, but an interactive tequila festival with live music and food. He didn’t want brand booths to only be offering shots to customers.

“I’m all about the experience, and that’s what I relayed to these brands,” Durkin tells PureHoney. “It’s beneficial for them to create that experience so you remember them.”

Along with spirits aplenty, there are live sets by South Carolina indie hip-hop duo Little Stranger and a trio of hometown favorites: reggae bands The Resolvers and Spred the Dub, and Miami’s DJ Le Spam.

2022 Sunset Tequila Festival

For tequila-friendly noshes, Boca Raton pizza joint How Ya Dough’n will be slinging Mexican-style pizzas and Miami pop-up The Wolf of Tacos will feature an expanded menu.

To be legally called “tequila,” the spirit must be produced in the Jalisco state of Mexico. Whereas the smokier mezcal can be made from any agave plant, true tequila can only be made from blue agave.

Tres Aromas, a small-batch tequila, will be making its second Sunset appearance this year. Owner Robert Martinez, a California native and first-generation Mexican American, finds more meaning in tequila than just a good drink. “As I grew up and I got to visit Mexico, I started appreciating how it was made,” he tells PureHoney. “The relationships that we’ve built just go hand in hand with how we grew up with tequila in our homes.”

Whether you go in for $200 bottles of Don Julio 1942 or like your margarita with the house tequila, Durkin says this gathering is for all lovers of good spirts.

Funds raised help support Kula Cares, a locally based NFP that provides essential items for schools and community programs to empower under-resourced students and teachers. Together we can improve the lives of children in disadvantaged communities by building self-esteem and investing in their futures.

The Sunset Tequila + Mezcal Festival runs 4pm-10pm Saturday, November 4 at Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton. sunsettequilafest.com ~ Olivia Feldman