The origins of the Margarita and its name are more than a little hazy, with a dozen plausible stories spanning southern California and northern Mexico from the 30s onwards. Some of these are related to the inventions of both the Tequila Daisy (Margarita is Spanish for daisy) and a tequila riff on the Sidecar, but we won't take you down that rabbit hole today...
In terms of where it was first documented though, this was in 1937 in London when it appeared in Café Royal's cocktail book under the name Picador. The Tequila Sour followed, appearing in a drinks booklet created at New York's famous Cotton Club in 1939, where it was served with a salt rim and lime wedge.
Finally, it appeared in a Californian newspaper under the name it bears today in 1953, when a journalist described the Margarita he encountered in Ensenada, Mexico.
Most bartenders tend to use blanco tequila as it has a fresh, clean agave taste that lets the citrus and salt flavors shine.
What you need
- 50ml El Tequileño Blanco
- 20ml triple sec
- 25ml lime juice
- Salt
- Ice
- Cocktail shaker
- Margarita glass
Method
- Pour a generous amount of salt onto a plate. Rub a fresh wedge of lime along the rim of your glass and then roll the glass over the salt so that the entire rim is coated.
- Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, then add the ingredients. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels cold.
- Strain the mix into your salted glass. Serve with an optional lime wedge