Drink trails offer an easy way to immerse yourself in a destination’s signature beverage: visit, sip, get a stamp, repeat. Examples like the tasting rooms in Louisville, Kentucky’s, Urban Bourbon Trail and Asheville, North Carolina’s, craft brewery passport experience come to mind. But when it comes to tequila-fueled exploration, no place does it better than Santa Fe.

Signature margarita at Coyote Cantina © Kelly Magyarics

The Southwestern city might be best known for its concentration of Pueblo Revival architecture; high desert aesthetic; and art galleries and museums, including one for American Modernist painter and New Mexico transplant Georgia O’Keefe. But it’s also famous for its flavors: beloved red and green Hatch chiles, pozole, sopapillas and other dishes shaped by traditions of its Indigenous, Spanish and Mexican heritage. You might say the margarita is inextricably linked to this cultural identity.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Santa Fe Margarita Trail, a self-guided experience highlighting everything from the classic recipe to inventive iterations. Three dollars gets you the official book, which includes information about the more than 50 participating restaurants and bars, drink photos and recipes, and a dollar discount for each listed drink. Bartenders stamp your book at each stop, with prizes ranging from a t-shirt to a D.I.Y. margarita kit, depending on how thirsty you are. (To keep it from becoming a binge-fest, though, you can only collect two stamps per day.)

I recently popped around the city sampling some of the best agave creations, starting with lunch at a rooftop table at Coyote Cantina, where the marg, shaken with green chile-infused silver tequila, pairs perfectly with Frito pie — basically a walking taco in a bowl. It also serves a version with a luscious salted lime foam, which doesn’t count toward the trail but is a must-order. Next up, I headed to the bar at Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi, my home base, for its Sandia y Pepino Margarita, a lighter- style cocktail with fresh watermelon juice and a lip-tingling Tajin rim.

Strawberry-jalapeño margarita at Luminaria © Kelly Magyarics

The next day, after a walk through De Vargas Street House, one of the oldest buildings in the United States, I stopped in for brunch at nearby Luminaria, the restaurant at Inn and Spa at Loretto. While the food didn’t quite steal the spotlight, the strawberry-jalapeño margarita hit the right combo between sweet and heat.

Interestingly, a handful of drinks on the trail use apricot in one form or another — a nod to the trees brought to the area by Spanish colonists in the 17th century, which flourish in the region’s climate. Skyfire Bar at Bishop’s Lodge, for example, uses a spiced apricot syrup in its Holy Margarita, which also uses Hatch-infused tequila.

From talking to bartenders and restaurant managers, I learned drinks on the trail run the gamut from those that stay true to the original to others that push the limits. My last drink definitely fell into the latter camp. The Love Bubble at steakhouse Dinner for Two adds passion fruit purée and is topped with a citrus smoke bubble meant to be popped tableside. When I did, it became clear the Santa Fe Margarita Trail is less about finding the “best” version and more about tasting the city itself … its history, quirks, flavors and playful creativity.