In partnership with drinks99
The Margarita Mile is back in Hong Kong for its second edition, running September 1 to 16, 2026 across ten of the city’s favorite bars, and this year the stakes have been raised considerably. The event returns with a trophy already on the shelf, having won Best Event of the Year at The Spirits Business Awards 2025 for its debut run, and the grand prize this time is a trip for two to Tequila, Mexico, the town that gave the spirit its name.
How the Margarita Mile Works
The format is simple and very Hong Kong. Pick up a free Margarita Mile passport at any participating bar, order an El Tequileño Margarita or cocktail, and collect a stamp. Every venue pours its own exclusive El Tequileño creation for the full sixteen days, so walking the Mile means ten different takes on the spirit, from agave temple to dive-bar counter.
Ten Bars on the Route
The route reads like a who’s who of Hong Kong drinking: The Old Man, Honky Tonks Tavern, Coa, Dead Poets, Bourke’s, Dragonfly, Socio, The Pontiac, Lockdown, and The Mixing Room. Each bar serves its own exclusive El Tequileño cocktail for the duration of the event.
The Grand Prize, a Trip to Tequila Itself
Collect ten stamps and you earn a free El Tequileño shot with a shot glass, plus entry into the draw for the headline prize: return flights for two with official partner Air Canada, airport transfers, three nights at Casa Salles, the boutique hotel built inside the distillery estate, and a distillery and agave field tour hosted by the El Tequileño team, with support from MexCham, the Mexican Chamber of Commerce.
Five or more stamps still gets you the shot and glass, plus a chance at one of two bottles of El Tequileño 1959 The Sassenach Select, worth HK$1,208. Passports must be handed in at any participating bar by September 23, and winners will be contacted by September 30.
“Winning Best Event of the Year last year told us the format works, so for 2026 we’re doubling down,” says Simon Disler, co-founder of drinks99. “The stay at Rosewood last year was pretty good, but this year we’re flying someone to Mexico.”
Why Tequila, Mexico Matters
The prize destination is not incidental. El Tequileño has been made in the town of Tequila itself since 1959, at a distillery that has never produced another brand, using volcanic spring water from the Tequila volcano, and it remains in the hands of the founding Salles family three generations on. It is the tequila Don Javier Delgado Corona reached for when he created the Batanga at La Capilla, and the locals’ pour in Jalisco long before the export boom. The winning pair will sleep a few meters from the fermentation tanks, which sit in the open air under century-old mango trees.
Closing Party on Mexican Independence Day
The Mile wraps on September 16, Mexican Independence Day, with a closing party hosted by Honky Tonks Tavern. For an event that won Best Event of the Year on its debut, ending the second edition with a flight to Jalisco raises the bar it set itself.
Full details and the route map are on Instagram at @margaritamile.hk.
