Classic Margarita
May 22, 2021
On National Margarita Day, we pay tribute and honour the Margarita on this special day of celebration – 22 February.
According to National Geographic (seriously), nobody knows who invented the Margarita. It’s a mystery cocktail. But it’s very likely that it involves a beautiful woman.
One story goes that the drink was first concocted by Mexican restaurant owner Carlos (Danny) Herrera in 1938 for gorgeous Ziegfeld showgirl Marjorie King who was allergic to all forms of alcohol except Tequila but didn’t like it straight. He apparently solved the problem by adding salt and lime and creating the world’s first Margarita. Or it may have been named for actress Rita Hayworth, who was offered one by an admiring bartender during a theatre gig in Tijuana in the 1940s – her real name was Margarita Cansino.
Others say it evolved from a cocktail known as the “daisy,” a mix of alcohol, citrus juice, and grenadine served over ice and popular in the 30s and 40s. There were gin daisies and whiskey daisies and, eventually, tequila daisies. At some point, this Mexican-influenced daisy became known by its Spanish name, Margarita, which means ‘daisy’ in Spanish.
Whilst there are many delicious variations of the Margarita, today we are going to focus on making a Classic Marg… Happy sipping!
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt, for glass rims (if you want to get fancy, we recommend black lava salt or something mixed with chilli!)
- 60ml high-quality Blanco Tequila
- 30ml Cointreau
- 20ml fresh lime juice
- Garnish: a lime wheel or two (fresh or dehydrated)
How?
- Run a lime wedge around the outer rim of a rocks glass, dip the rim in salt. Set aside.
- In a cocktail shaker, combine tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice. Fill with ice, shake like mad for 15 – 20 seconds.
- Fill glass with fresh ice and strain margarita into the glasses.
- Garnish with a lime wheel or two (fresh or dehydrated), pop on your Mexican hat, sip and enjoy!
Note:
If you’re a big fan of Margarita’s and want to know more, we encourage you to visit our favourite Margarita expert, The Margarita Mum – follow her on Instagram.
Ingredient list
