Jose Cuervo Created a Margarita “Salt Sommelier” Dream Job

There’s a perfect salt out there for your Margarita—you just need a little help finding it. For that, Jose Cuervo has hired bartender Max Venning as its first ever “salt sommelier” to explore salt regions and pair different salts with Cuervo Margs. There are only two words to describe Venning’s role: dream job.

Venning works at Three Sheets in London and was chosen for being the saltiest salt lover around. His salt knowledge makes the premier salt celebrity of our time, Salt Bae, look like your average home chef with a shaker of Morton’s.

“A lot of people don’t realize the versatility salt can have in enhancing recipes and bringing out the subtlest of flavors,” Venning told Bar Magazine. “As the UK’s founding salt sommelier, it’s my mission to change this and to travel the nation to create the best tasting Margarita with a perfectly paired salt.”

Any Margarita lover worth their salt pays attention to which kind is used, both on the rim of the glass and inside the drink. Salt in cocktails mellows out bitterness, balances sweet and sour notes, and generally enhances the overall flavor. Venning went to three famed salt locations in the U.K.—Anglesey, the Isle of Skye and Maldon—and created a Margarita based on each salt flavor profile. The clean salt from Anglesey went into the classic, the Skye salt harvested from the waters of Loch Snizort went into a Nettle Margarita, and the smoky Maldon salt went into the Passion Fruit Margarita.  

Venning’s role as salt sommelier is one of those boozy dream jobs that you might have imagined but never thought would become a reality. Is there a better job description than Margaritas and travel? If there is, we don’t know about it.