Destination: Margaritaville DM1000 Frozen Concoction Maker

The Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker is not the kind of product that I would ever buy for myself. I'm a total Parrothead and a fan of frozen beverages, but there was just no way that I was going to shell out $300 for something that looked like a really fancy blender. I put it on my bridal registry as a joke to make my sister and cousin (who knew that I totally wanted it) laugh. To my surprise, someone actually bought it for me! Woohoo!

About This Product
The Margaritaville DM1000 Frozen Concoction Maker is also known as the Margaritaville Key West Frozen Concoction Maker. For all intents and purposes, it is a powerful blender with a few embellishments.

To begin, it has a bin up top that you load with ice. This machine will shave the ice and then shoot it down into the blender to ensure a perfectly smooth frozen beverage without any annoying chunks of ice. The ice bin drains water from melting ice into a reservoir at the back which prevents thin, watery drinks.

Also, the Key West Frozen Concoction Maker is pre-programmed to "shave-n-blend" between one and three drinks. You simply turn the dial to the number of drinks that you want (1-3 and up to 36 ounces), add the appropriate amount of alcohol, mixers, and other ingredients to the jar, and then flip the "shave-n-blend" switch. The machine takes over at that point, adding the appropriate amount of ice and then blending everything together to create a smooth and perfectly blended beverage.

If you don't like the consistency of the drink or if you just want to do it yourself, there is another toggle switch that manually controls the "shave" and "blend" functions. You can add extra ice to a drink that looks too thin and then blend it for a few seconds to even out the consistency... or you can use the controls to add exactly the amount of shaved ice that you desire and then blend everything, again, for as long as you like.

In addition to the machine base and the blender jar, the Margaritaville DM1000 Frozen Concoction Maker comes with a shot/measuring glass, an empty container for margarita salt, a coaster, an instruction manual, a "Changes In Latitudes" party guide, and a quick-use brochure.

Partying in Margaritaville
It is extremely easy to use the Frozen Concoction Maker. The most difficult decisions that you have to make include what type of drink to make and how strong you want them to be. You simply dump ingredients into jar, flip the switch, and then let the machine worry about the blending. As the night goes on and the margaritas start to take effect, you can still make delicious, smooth drinks with minimal effort or focus.

We've made margaritas, daquiris, and even frozen mojitos in our Frozen Concoction Maker. The party crew here has found the pre-programmed setting to make drinks that are just a bit too thin for us, so we usually shave a few seconds worth of extra ice and then blend it for another second or two. Our refinements to the drink take less than ten seconds.

Clean-up is very easy. I throw the glass jar, splash guard, water reservoir, measuring glass, and ice bin lid into the dishwasher. Then I just wipe off any spills that I see with a damp rag. That's it. It's that simple.

Cost and Availability
The suggested retail price for the Margaritaville DM1000 Frozen Concoction Maker is $299.99. It is one of those products, like a Dyson or Roomba, that you simply will not find anywhere for anything less than MSRP. You can buy them in Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Linens N Things. (Be aware that the 20% off coupons that they put into Sunday papers exclude Margaritaville products in the fine print at the botton of the ad.) You also can buy them in select Margaritaville restaurant shops and also online from Margaritaville.com.

Overall Opinion
Is this product an absolute necessity? Nope, but it is easy to use and makes some killer frozen drinks with the flip of a switch. I've tried to do frozen margaritas and daquiris in the past but eventually gave up on the whole thing because I found myself frying the blender motor and winding up with drinks that had huge choking-hazard-sized chunks of ice.

If you entertain often and/or are big fans of frozen margaritas, daquiris, etc., then you might want to check out the Margaritaville Key West Frozen Concoction Maker DM1000. It is undeniably expensive but well-worth the money if you don't want to be handcuffed to the blender at your next party.