Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Cinco de Mayo is around the corner and Delta Air Lines just introduced a pair of canned cocktails to its onboard menu — so I figured now is a great time to review Delta’s new margarita-in-a-can!
My flight home from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles the other night provided an opportunity to try Tip Top Proper Cocktails’ margarita. The cocktail apparently made its world debut on Delta on April 14. (I also have a review of the Old Fashioned coming up in a couple of days.)
Interestingly, neither the Tip Top Old Fashioned nor the margarita was mentioned during the overhead announcements. Only beer, wine, soda, and water. So I wondered if they were even catered on my flights. (It’s almost like a speakeasy and you have to know it’s available.)
The pre-mixed drinks will be available for $12 in Main Cabin in June (remember that Delta Amex cardholders receive 20% back in statement credits for onboard beverage purchases). The cocktails are complimentary for passengers seated in First Class and Comfort+.
Delta Margarita in a Can Review
I enjoy “classic” margaritas: tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice. Preferably served on the rocks with some salt on the rim. (Hornitos Reposado is one of our favorite tequilas for homemade margaritas.)
The Delta margarita is pretty much that recipe (minus the salt on the rim — but there’s sort of a fix we’ll discuss in a minute).
The first sip was rather tart. I waited about a minute or so for some ice to melt. That did a nice job of cutting the taste. After that, it was a pretty smooth drink. (FWIW: the cocktail as served is 52 proof.)
The tequila was good. It was strong enough to not be outdone by the orange liqueur and lime juice but not overwhelming. I wouldn’t have minded just a light splash more tequila. But I tend to prefer strong drinks. I’m sure some passengers will think there’s too much tequila.
Nibbling on a snack like chips or Goldfish crackers adds a little salt to your palate. Taking a sip of the margarita right after chewing some crackers was a nice way to get some salty flavor to accompany the drink.
(Side note: I wonder if Tip Top will create something called the Boeing margarita or Airbus margarita — something aviation-themed to replace a Cadillac margarita 😉 )
Final Approach
This certainly isn’t the fresh, crisp taste of a margarita made from scratch. But for something canned, the Delta margarita didn’t disappoint. I plan to enjoy another one (or two) during future Delta flights.
Have you tried the Delta margarita yet?
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Looking forward to trying this one and the Old Fashioned this weekend!
I will try it out on my next Delta One trip for 2022. Unless I end up going to Japan on ANA. Let’s see what happens!
Chris,
I just emailed Tip Top the other day to find out where they were sourcing the liquor for these drinks. I wanted to know if they were using top shelf or well brand liquor. Here is the response I got:
Yes, currently Delta is serving our Old Fashioned and Margarita. Below are the details for both of the liquors used. Hope this is helpful!
Old Fashioned:
Bourbon Whiskey from MGP
– 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Barley Malt
– Aged in new, Level 4 charred oak barrels
– Distilled in Indiana
Margarita:
Tequila
– High quality Blanco tequila
– made with agave that is grown, harvested, and distilled in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico
– the agave is estate grown, non-GMO and fertilized with organic fertilizer
– distilled in small batch distillery in the actual town of Tequila located in the highlands of Jalisco
– this is tequila that has just now become available in the US
Thanks, Bob! I look forward to enjoying a drink with you someday.
Flying Delta One today from LAX home to JFK and will report back. Also flying the new 767-400 interior. Supposedly hot food is back as well?
Not to brag but $7.40, 20k miles and an about to expire RUC got me this ticket! I was giddy.
Let us know about the hot food.
Congrats on the deal! (It ain’t bragging if you can back it up 😉 ). Sorry I missed you by a couple of days at LAX.
The old fashion is 74 proof very alcohol smell n taste needed club soda in it! The margarita is good but needed to ask for it as told only beer and wine. Could use a slice of lime and a real glass
Agreed. I think it’ll be tastier in a glass glass (redundancy mine).
The new 767-400 D1 cabins are really nice! Much nicer than the old cabins. I am not a big fan of the shoulder harness, but it can be removed after taking off.
One minor annoyance. The huge IFE screens are great, but satellite TV was not offered when I flew from LAX to JFK in March.
On 5 hour flight last weekend and in C- the cart came by and said beer wine coffee so i asked about the Tip Top Margaritas! Was told none on board but FC had it..so maybe next-time.
Chris, I was flying on April 14 and 17 when the new cocktails were released. One segment was a regional airline and they did show the new drinks on the cart card. Mainline DL flight did have the new snacks/new mini Coke products but alcohol is only provided in C+ and First class right now. Hope it available to main cabin by June.
Sisters flying in June and I want to unload my drink vouchers since I get C+ due to PM. Surprisingly, the old fashion was strong when I open the can and it tasted pretty good. Didn’t do margarita but will do that on my DCA to LAX trip at the end of May.
Chris,
I enjoyed the Margarjta as well. Had it from PBI-ATL. For the first time in my life, my connection from ATL-bSN was the same gate/plane and crew. While there is no service on this 40 minute flight, I was given a can, which is now in my hotel fridge.
I look forward to having some more on the way home, as I used miles to upgrade the ATL-PBI to 1sr class to make sure we didn’t have a middle seat person to deal with in EC. The first leg is the 2 side of a 717, so that’s ok.