Emilia's, the Italian restaurant inside The Crescent Hotel Fort Worth, will pair a four-course dinner with four Clase Azul tequila and mezcal expressions on September 23, 2026, PaperCity Magazine reported.
The dinner runs 6 to 9 p.m. in the hotel's Blue Room at 3300 Camp Bowie Boulevard, with admission priced at 180 dollars per person and reservations handled through OpenTable, according to CW33, the Dallas-Fort Worth station that also covered the event. The dinner is part of the hotel's ongoing monthly beverage pairing series, CW33 reported.
What each course is paired with
According to menu details posted by The Crescent Hotel and confirmed by CW33, the first course is a scallop crudo with gooseberry salsa, chili crisp and pickled red onion, paired with Clase Azul Tequila Gold. The second course, a homemade tortilla with chorizo verde and salsa borracha, is paired with Clase Azul Tequila Reposado. The main course, a smoked New York strip with guajillo agave sauce and street-style corn ribs, is paired with Clase Azul Mezcal Guerrero. Dessert, a Mexican chocolate torte with churro crumble, is paired with Clase Azul Tequila Añejo.
Who built the menu
The pairings were developed by Sean Malek, who was promoted to executive chef of The Crescent Hotel Fort Worth in July 2026 after joining the property as executive sous chef in February 2024, Fort Worth Magazine reported. The role puts him in charge of culinary operations across Emilia's, the Blue Room, The Circle Bar, banquets, catering and in-room dining. Malek told PaperCity that moving away from a traditional wine pairing was deliberate. He said the different Clase Azul expressions offer a range of flavors that work with the menu, citing the acidity of the scallop crudo against the smoke and chile of the New York strip.
What Clase Azul discloses about the spirits on the menu
Clase Azul is a tequila house based in Jesus Maria, in the Los Altos highlands of Jalisco, and its tequilas are produced under NOM 1416 by Productos Finos de Agave, according to distributor listings for the brand. The Reposado on the menu is aged eight months in American oak, and the Añejo is aged 25 months, per brand specification sheets published by retailers including Wooden Cork. Clase Azul Gold, also on the menu, is a joven-style blend that combines the brand's unaged Plata with long-aged Extra Añejo components finished in sherry casks, according to multiple retailer product pages citing the brand. Clase Azul Mezcal Guerrero is made from Agave cupreata, known locally as maguey papalote, a wild agave harvested in the mountains of Guerrero state rather than cultivated on a plantation, according to Mezcal Reviews and other retailers describing the brand's regional mezcal series. The house is also known for hand-painted ceramic decanters produced by artisans in the State of Mexico, a feature retailers and the brand's own site point to as central to its packaging.
What this means
None of the four pours on Emilia's menu carry a TW Score in this outlet's database. Clase Azul Reposado is rated 59 of 95 and Clase Azul Plata is rated 58 of 95, but neither bottle is part of this particular dinner, and the Gold, Añejo and Mezcal Guerrero expressions being poured have not been scored here. The event is a restaurant pairing dinner, not a claim about what any bottle contains beyond what the brand itself discloses.