Customer Reviews

Margaritaville DM0500 Bahamas 36-Ounce Frozen-Concoction Maker

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I picked up the DM0500 model after some extensive shopping around for one of the Margaritaville blenders. This one doesn't hold as much ice as the others but it holds enough for one pitcher worth of drinks. It also doesn't have the fancy buttons that the others have that denote "mudslide," "daiquiri," or "Margarita"(I've heard there is little difference in these settings).

That is the main difference between this model and the others. It had the standard shave only/ blend only switch and a start button( more on that later).

The blender itself is very nice it has some great artistic accents like behind the pitcher on the machine is a metal engraving of a palm tree and a sea plane. The construction is easy and it works right out of the box. All you have to do is attach the ice hopper and you're finished.

Some of the negatives though are that the metal ice chute (that's what I call it) shifts up and down so that it fits perfectly and tightly to the pitcher which is nice except that it doesn't seem like it is extremely sturdy but it hasn't broken yet so I guess I should report that if it does.

The Start button is nice it makes a drink about the consistancy of a smoothie from smoothie king. I enjoyed it alot. The ice hopper shreds ice like a dream and the seal on the top if fantastic. I noticed some people complaining that it spilled and I have had no such problem.

I would highly recommend this model over the others for it's reasonable price and great offerings.

I bought this for my father for Christmas. He loves making margaritas, but could never get his blender to shave the ice well. This blender shaves ice perfectly and comes with some great drink recipes. I have the larger version that I also use for smoothies, but this size is nice for every day use if you have limited counter space, or as a gift.

Made the huge mistake of buying the Margarator first. What a piece of junk. We returned that to the store and we were very hesitant to sink even more money into this, but we really wanted something to make frozen drinks. I am so glad we took the plunge and bought this machine. PERFECT SHAVED ICED CONSISTENCY - JUST LIKE IN THE RESTAURANTS! Very easy to make and very fast. Make sure you follow the recipe ratio in the directions. The recipe calls for 2 to 1 ratio. I was used to following the recipe on the back of most Magarita mixes that are 3 to 1 (Mixer to Alcohol).

After looking at several different machines, we decided on this one. We definitely made the right decision. This machine is both easy to use and performs exactly as advertised. The ice is shaved to perfection, not crushed. You simply fill the ice bin, add the ingredients to the blender jar and punch the button. When the machine stops, pour and enjoy. Haven't tried daquiries yet but I'm sure they'll be great!! Would definitely buy again!!

The first time we used it, we made margaritas. They came out perfectly! But we're more into on-the-rocks, so that was that. Note that it is dead simple to use, and cleans up very easily. Only ice goes in the ice bowl, other liquids only go in the blender container. The blender container disassembles easily to clean up, dry and reassemble in a couple of minutes, total. The ice bowl and water-catcher just need to be dried.

Since the first batch, like our daughter who has one of the larger units, we just use it to make shave ice and slushies. It is absolutely outstanding at making all of these frozen concoctions.

For shave ice, fill the ice container with ice cubes and use the shave/blend toggle to shave ice. It will make about 2 blender containers full of shaved ice. Put the shaved ice in bowls or paper cups. Pour about a tablespoon of one of the Monin syrups used for coffee drinks, like blueberry or cherry, on each serving of shave ice.

For a slushie, put 12-16 oz of a cold beverage like lemonade or Coke in the blender part. Fill the ice container about half-full with ice cubes, and press the margarita button. For best taste, use drinks made with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. HFCS leaves an aftertaste, while sugar is cleaner and crisper. If you can get Mexican Cokes at a store that serves that market, or Kosher Cokes during certain times of the year, they're made with cane sugar. Odwalla lemonade is made with cane sugar, too.

For a really fancy margarita, after a lot of experimenting, we reproduced our favorite -- the super-smooth 19th Hole Margarita from the Mexquite restaurant. For 3 margaritas (the capacity of the Bahamas model): put these into the blender part: 4.5 oz Sauza Hornitas Reposada tequila, 4.5 oz orange juice, 3 oz cranberry cocktail juice, 1.5 oz agave nectar syrup, 1.5 oz Gran Gala orange liqueur, juice of 1.5 limes. Fill the ice container to about 2/3 of its max ice line. Press the margarita button, and when it's done (it'll blend twice so wait for it), it's ready to pour...

I always assumed that this product would not be worth the money because I already have a good quality blender. However I was never satisfied with the poor quality of frozen drinks my blender produced so I broke down and bought the DM0500. I am now a convert. Like many others have said, what makes this worthwhile over a plain blender is the quality of the shaved ice over blended, crushed ice. I was amazed to realize what a huge difference that made in the consistency of the drink from start to finish. The other advantage is the speed at which you can produce drinks. From the time you pour in the mix to the time you're pouring the drinks is probably not more than 10-15 seconds. And you will never have "rocks" of uncrushed ice left at the bottom of your glass like you can when you make drinks with a blender.

I haven't used any of the other Margaritaville models, and although they may have a few extra bells & whistles i.e., more power, different drink settings, larger ice hopper, etc., I have a hard time believing all those features are worth the additional money. If you only use it occasionally at home and not in a bar where it would get constant use, I don't know what more power would do for you. This model shaves ice perfectly, easily and quickly. A larger ice hopper? This model holds more than enough ice to make a full pitcher of drinks and it only takes seconds to drop in more. Different drink settings? Maybe, but that seems more like a novelty than an advantage. Using the manual settings to shave ice and then mix is simply a matter of flipping the toggle switch up and then down. Need to make it a little thicker? Just flip the switch up and add a little more shaved ice. It just isn't difficult.

I noticed that some people have complained that it leaks when you pour it. It doesn't. If it leaks, you probably didn't assemble the pitcher correctly. Just make sure the rubber ring is on the correct side of the blade assembly. The ring goes between the pitcher and the blade assembly, not under the blade assembly.

Based on the unit itself, I would have rated it 5 stars. The reason I gave it 4 is because I assumed that a drink maker that costs several hundred dollars would include a booklet with lots of drink recipes. It didn't. Then I thought well, surely their website would list tons of recipes. That wasn't the case either. Sorry, I just find that a little disappointing. Still, if you like frozen drinks, you won't be disappointed with this device.

We too made the mistake of buying a different machine first, we tried the Margarita Oasis. That machine does not even compare to this one!!! This machine shaves the ice perfectly everytime you dont have the ice chuncks like we did with the other machine. You will love it!!!!

We don't drink Margaritas, but blueberry, black cherry, and cola slushies and are anxious to try iced tea and lemonade! This is so easy, pour in your syrup, a half a cup of water and enough ice to fill the bottom of the ice container...let it cycle through and BAM...2 gigantic slushies! No mess, no fuss. It may take a couple of times to find your 'perfect' mix and it's an imposing figure on the counter, but if you like icy drinks (we call them slushies) then this is the best!

FINALLY! ...a frozen drink just like the restaurants make. My wife and eat Tex-Mex 2-3 times per week and LOVE margaritas. Some like them on the rocks, but we like them frozen. The restaurants have the good ones, almost like a slushie, with no chunks of ice in it. So we recently purchased the Margaritaville Bahamas Frozen Concoction Maker on Amazon in hopes of enjoying these drinks at home for much less.

It far exceeds our expectations. It is very well made. (I originally saw this at a store next to "El Paso Chile Company's" frozen drink maker and they don't even compare... the other brand is very cheap) We recently had a large family get-together and EVERYONE loved the drinks. The machine had no problem keeping up... we just ran out of ice!

This machine is a cinch to clean since nothing but ice goes into it. However, I highly recommend wiping the bottom of the chrome ice chute since drink mix can splash up and make it sticky. To blend your drink, you can use the automatic mode or you can use the manual switch for individualized consistency. (Up to shave and down to blend) If blending manually, I recommend blending at least 20 seconds. It makes it much more smooth.

We tried the recipe in the manual, but it was only fair. Here is the recipe we used that had everyone raving at our party:

* 1/2 can of frozen limeade mix.
* 1/2 can of your favorite brand of tequila.
* 2 tablespoons of sugar.
* Splash of Grand Marnier.
* Add shaved ice and blend.

We look forward to trying some of the smoothie recipes. You can make your own Jamba Juice type drinks too!

LOVE THIS MACHINE! I've had it about a month and have used it many times. It comes apart fairly easily so cleanup isn't so much of chore that I think twice about using it. The only drawback, personally, is that it's taller than a regular blender and I don't have a cabinet in which to store it! I suppose having it on the counter all the time really isn't a problem in the summer months but I might have to do something come winter. Got a little tired of regular margaritas quickly but found some awesome recipes by googling "battlestar galactica drinks".