the margarita : cocktails in context
Let’s be honest - who doesn’t love a margarita? The perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and refreshing is amazing in summer but honestly I think margaritas are perfect all year round. Learn more about the margarita and its history below!
I imagine my own history with the margarita is somewhat similar to everyone else’s. I first fell in love with the margarita in college. I don’t know what it is like now, but when I was in Miami it was pretty much a tequila and rum town. Back in the day, questionable sour mix and terrible tequila made ordering a margarita a bit of a gamble. Thankfully, the craft cocktail movement has returned the margarita to its simple and delicious roots and it’s not as hard to find an excellent one anymore. Lucky for all of us, it’s not too complicated to make a delicious margarita at home either!
The Margarita
The margarita is a delicious cocktail that can be as simple or complex as the occasion calls for. It uses tequila, a spirit made from agave plants, orange liqueur, and lime juice. The history of the creation of the margarita itself is ….not super clear - as is often the case with cocktails, many have tried to lay claim to developing this popular drink. One account places the margarita’s origin in 1938, as Mexican restaurant owner Carlos Herrera mixed it for a showgirl named Marjorie King. She could only drink tequila and Herrara got creative. Other claims include that Texas socialite Margaret Sames (aka Margarita) mixed the first drink at a house party in Mexico during 1948. Or maybe it was named for actress Rita Hayworth (whose real name was Margarita Casino) during a gig in Tijuana in the 1940s. Another story goes that bartender Danny Negrete crafted the drink as a wedding gift in 1936 for his soon to be sister-in-law, Margarita. Finally, a former barman turned milkman named Pancho Morales, claims to have coined the cocktail and the name (for the flower - did you know the spanish word for daisy is margarita?) in Tijuana in 1942. The Mexican news service Notimex credits him with the creation. Meanwhile, the first recorded print mention of the Margarita was in Esquire in 1953, but the ‘Picador’ (tequila, lime juice and triple sec) predates this by about 20-30 years.
an agave plant, the heart and soul of a margarita!
What we can be pretty certain of is that it is likely the margarita was invented between 1930-1940, evolving from The Daisy, a classic cocktail that mixed alcohol, citrus and grenadine. Swap the grenadine for orange liqueur and you’ve got yourself a marg. It became popular during Prohibition as U.S. residents traveled to Mexico for alcohol. The frozen margarita became popular in the 1950s, as blenders began to appear in bars. But it truly took off in in 1971, when Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez created the first frozen margarita machine. His original machine resides in the Smithsonian museum. The largest margarita in the world was made right here in Las Vegas! The current record holder is the Margaritaville Casino in the Flamingo Hotel. It was 8500 gallons and took 60 people 300 hours to make!
Lucky Rita's Recipe Includes:
The Flamingo Casino captured by Pony Rojo
2125 Gallons of Tequila
708 Gallons of Triple Sec
5667 Gallons Margarita Mix
22,267 Limes Recipe
serves 181,333 12oz. Margaritas
For those of us not serving 181,000 guests, let’s chat about a more manageable recipe.
How to make a margarita
This recipe below is for the simplest margarita ever - this is a great place to start from and then test out different variations - adding simple syrup that has been infused with jalapeño or mint or mango, adding fruit juice, etc. There are lots of different popular specs, but I think keeping it a simple 2-1-1 ratio is a good place to start from and get familiar with what you like and adjust accordingly. Do you like it a bit sweeter? Up the orange liqueur or add a flavored simple syrup. For me personally, I haven’t met a margarita variation I don’t like in recent years. All I know is that it is ALWAYS a yes to the salt for me.
how to salt your margarita glass
The best kind of salt tends to be kosher, though you can go for sea salt as well. It can be super fun to add citrus rind for a pop of color or flavor, or Tajin, a chile lime flavor, if you are feeling a spicy margarita. To get the perfect salted rim, you will want to trace the rim of your glass with a lime wedge and then twist into the salt using a margarita rimmer . Then fill it up with your margarita and you are good to go!
Related drinks and margarita variations
midnight margaritas - blackberry margarita
persephone’s punch - sparkling pomegranate margarita
A popular variation is the Tommy’s Margarita, which was created by Julio Bermejo, the owner of Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco. In the Tommy’s margarita - you switch out agave nectar for the orange liqueur. The margarita is also super closely related to the sidecar.
Fruity- leave out the cointreau and sub some fruit puree or fruity simple syrup
Spicy - add jalapeños or habaneros to your cocktail for a nice kick.
Herbal - make an herb infused simple syrup and watch the margarita transform!
I hope you love this versatile, simple, yet beautiful cocktail! Let me know in the comments below! And if you make this be sure to let me know by leaving a comment or tagging kindred spirits on Instagram @ kindred.spirits.cocktails!
the simplest margarita
Ingredients
- 2 oz blanco tequila
- 1 oz orange liqueur
- 1 oz lime juice
Instructions
- rim a rocks glass with margarita salt
- combine ingredients in a shaker
- add ice and shake
- pour over ice into a rocks glass
Recommended Tools for making margaritas at home
