Margaritaville DM2000 Premium Frozen Concoction Maker
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List Price: Our Price: $276.19 You Save: $123.80 (31%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $219.99 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Margaritaville DM2000 Premium Frozen Concoction Maker
Customer Review: Excellent summer drinks, and a crowd pleaser
Summary: 4 Stars
Follow the recipes and you'll get very good results. Occasionally, I find
the drinks not "slushy" enough, but that's easily fixed by shaving extra
ice into the pitcher. Also, be careful not to overfill the jar with
liquid or you will be wearing your beverage instead of drinking it. My
only real criticism is that there does not seem to be an option to
purchase an extra pitcher. I would also suggest getting this more
powerful version rather than the original. 100 extra watts goes a long
way, and it's very powerful. It's pretty entertaining to watch this thing
in action, too. Throw some liquid refreshment into the jar and hit the
switch. The Margaritaville takes over from there.
I like Amazon, but found that Frontgate has a much better promotional
deal, and it is on right now (Aug/08). They are offering the
Margaritaville WITH a carrying case for the same price. They also have
coupons available to shave another 10 to 15% off. Between the carrying
case and the percent off they were nearly $100 cheaper (and they shipped
it for free, just like amazon). That's unusual, because Frontgate is more
expensive for almost everything else!
Anyhow, this a a great machine for those hot days and summertime backyard
barbeques. Nearly perfect.
UPDATE: By the way, this unit is 550Watts, not 700Watts as Amazon specs
claim. The lower end unit (not the Premium model is 450 Watts.)
Customer Review: Good Machine - Must Read
Summary: 4 Stars
I read all of the reviews on this product before I bought it and after I have used it several times I would like to state the following:
As people have commented, there is a slight misalignment between the spout of the ice shaver and the pitcher; However, this has not caused my machine to spill any shaved ice. This is purely a cosmetic issue, if you even want to call it an issue because you really have to be looking for it to actually notice. I don't know what other commenter are talking about when they describe this as being a problem. The only way this machine spills over is if you over fill the pitcher, which should be a given.
From my experience, the automatic setting and given recipe for margaritas makes them with way too much liquid. This may just be an issue with personal preference but I have never had a restaurant margarita so liquid. This is really only problem if you follow the manual's margarita recipe. If you reduce the amount of liquid ingredients you will get a thicker margarita.
I really do not think that the automatic settings are that valuable and now I just use the manual settings (this is why it lost a star in my rating). For my margaritas I use a lot more shaved ice and blend a lot longer. This results in a thick but super smooth (no ice crystals) and amazing drink. ****You really need to experiment with the manual settings to get your drinks the way you like them. If you just go with the auto settings you will not be getting the true potential out of this machine.****
Overall I think this is a great product!!!
Customer Review: Works well, fun to use
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this blender as a gift and was intially a bit surprised by its' bulk given what it actually does; shave ice and blend. However, trying it out with a few different recipes convinced me that this blender is the only way to go to make frozen drinks and smoothies. I have been looking for an ideal blender for making smoothies and just could not find the "sweet spot" between chunks of ice and runny liquid but this device hits it right on the nail. I was very impressed by the ice consistency and the blending and will put up with its' size because it works as advertised. Its' also fun to use and my kids and guests all have a really good time playing around with it. It also justifies its' cost and size by allowing quite a variety of experimentation with different recipes and drinks so you are likely to use it frequently. The ice is key so do as the instructions say and let it "warm" for about 15 minutes in the ice hopper, use "fresh" ice; if it's been in the freezer too long it can lend a slight "freezer burn" taste to the drink and finally those half moon shaped ice "cubes" seem to shave a bit more evenly than true cubes. And smaller cubes are better than bigger ones. Just some things I've discovered while experimenting. I was intially skeptical about this blender but I am now a convert. This is one Christmas gift that's NOT going back!Customer Review: Must have gadget!
Summary: 5 Stars
As an engineer and gadget guy I finally got the big Kahuna Margaritaville model.
When you follow the directions - ie keep the right amount of liquid per the number of drinks - it is fantastic. The 12OZ per drink measurement is dead on.
The different drinks it makes - Rita's, Daq's, Colada's and Smoothies are set on one knob. This basically tells the blender how much blending to do and when to shave the ice. The Rita's assume all liquid ingredients. The Daq's assume frozen fruit and the Smoothies assume fresh fruit so the timing and frequecy of the blending is based on that. For example the blender doesn't start on a Rita until the ice shaving is well underway while a Daq starts blending well before the shaving starts.
The machine breaks down nicely for easy cleaning and the shaving blade is easy to replace if it comes to that. It's a pretty beefy blade so I am not worried.
Do note that the machine is tall and will not fit under a cabinet that is over a normal counter without removing the ice hopper. We just break it down and put a decorative towel over it.
An extra blender jar will probably be on most peoples wanted list.
Customer Review: This is the bomb!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hands down, this is the hit at any party and worth the price! A beach party in a machine! I originally bought the Key West DM1000 version last year and it made better margaritas I could buy in bars. When this new Fiji model DM2000 came out, I had to buy it and give the other one to my sister. I love this machine! Anyone saying that its a glorified blender does not know what they are talking about. The ice is shaved and it makes a big difference. I use to make margaritas with my Kitchenaid blender. I'd get "old maids" and uneven ice chips. The ice would melt and the drink would be watered down. Nothing like a bar drink. If you like other mixed drinks other than margaritas, then this upgraded machine is for you! Its a bulky machine, but since I use it almost everyday, its worth the counterspace. Since the margaritas are so fantastic with this machine, I've found that I search for different flavored margarita mixes when I'm in stores. I also buy any frozen drink cookbooks I can find. Buy the carrying case. Once you serve people drinks from this machine, people will want you to bring it to their parties. I only wish this machine came with 2 pitchers!