Margarita
Tequila, orange liqueur and lime, with salt on the rim. The most popular tequila cocktail, at its best fresh and simple.
- MethodShaken
- GlassCoupe
- IceNone (served up)
- Strengthabout 18.9% ABV
- BaseTequila & mezcal
- Tastesour, refreshing, sweet
Recipe
| 45 ml 1½ oz | Tequila blanco (100% agave) |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Orange liqueur (triple sec) |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Fresh lime juice |
| 1 barspoon | Agave syrup (optional) |
Garnish. Salt on half the rim only, so each sip can be taken with or without it, and a lime wheel.
Method
- Run a lime wedge around half the outside rim of a chilled coupe and dip it in fine salt.
- Shake the tequila, orange liqueur, lime and syrup (if using) hard with ice for 12 to 15 seconds.
- Double strain into the glass.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
About the Margarita
The Margarita is a tequila sour sweetened with orange liqueur: sharp lime, bright agave and a hint of orange peel, with salt on the rim to make all three taste more vivid. Made with fresh juice and a 100% agave tequila it is crisp and lively, nothing like the sweet pre-mixed versions. Serve it straight up or over ice in a rocks glass.
History
Earliest record 1953: Esquire, December 1953 (drink of the month)
Documented
The drink belongs to the family of daisies, sours sweetened with liqueur, and margarita is Spanish for daisy. In 1936 an Iowa newspaper editor wrote about a "Tequila Daisy" he had drunk on a trip to Tijuana, which suggests the drink was known in the border towns by then. By the early 1950s the name Margarita was established in the United States, and Esquire made it its drink of the month in December 1953. The frozen Margarita machine, built by the Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez in 1971, is now in the collection of the Smithsonian.
Legend and lore
Several people are credited with inventing the Margarita, usually for a woman of that name: Carlos "Danny" Herrera at his Rancho La Gloria near Tijuana around 1938, for a showgirl; Margarita Sames, a Dallas socialite, at a party in Acapulco in 1948; and bartenders in Ciudad Juárez and Galveston. None of these stories has contemporary evidence, and the daisy explanation makes most of them unnecessary.
Disputed or unclear: The earliest use of the name and the identity of any single inventor are disputed; the Esquire date is the earliest firm national print reference.
Variations
- Tommy's Margarita. Agave syrup in place of orange liqueur, served on the rocks; cleaner and more agave-forward.
- Frozen Margarita. Blended with crushed ice; add a little more syrup, as cold dulls sweetness.
- Mezcal Margarita. Swap some or all of the tequila for mezcal for a smoky edge.
- Sidecar. The brandy relative with the same structure of spirit, orange liqueur and citrus.
Bartender's notes
- Use a 100% agave tequila; mixto tequilas taste harsh and sweet once diluted.
- Salt only half the rim. A fully salted glass soon makes the drink taste of nothing but salt.
