National Margarita Day is observed annually on February 22nd.
- Known to be the most common tequila-based cocktail served in the United States, the margarita is a cocktail that consists of tequila, triple sec and lime or lemon juice. A key ingredient is the freshly squeezed lime juice.
- In the United States, the most common lime is the thick-skinned Persian lime.
- When margaritas are made with lemons, they have a much softer taste.
- When it comes to sorting out the legends associated with the origin of the margarita, there are many. Two things are certain; the cocktail included tequila, and the bartender edged the rim of the glass with salt.
- In Mexico, when drinking straight tequila (especially if the quality was bad), the best course of action was to down it in one swallow, suck on a wedge of lime and lick a dash of salt off the back of your hand.
- In the December 1953 issue of Esquire magazine, the margarita cocktail was the “Drink of the Month”. The recipe as printed was: 1 ounce tequila; Dash of Triple Sec; Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon; Pour over crushed ice, stir. Rub the rim of a stem glass with rind of lemon or lime, spin in salt—pour, and sip. (Wikipedia)
- The margarita was further popularized with the 1977 release of Jimmy Buffett’s song “Margaritaville”.
- The history of the Margarita is a bit mysterious and varied, and there are several stories describing its origin. One of them says it was invented at Rancho La Gloria, down by Tijuana, Carlos “Danny” Herrera created the recipe for Marjorie King, a Ziegfield dancer who had a distinct allergy to many spirits.
- Another claim says it was invented in Galveston, Texas by Santos Cruz for a favorite patron of his, singer Patty Lee. The Spanish version of Peggy’s name is Margarita
- One ‘Origin’ Myth about the Margarita is that in October 1941, a bartender at Husson’s cantina in Ensenada, Mexico created the drink for Margarita Henkel, a well known German celebrity.
- The original Margarita was invented in 1948 by socialite Margarita Sames. According to the legend it was during a party at her hacienda in Acapulco that Margarita began experimenting with ‘the drink’. Looking for something to cut the dust of a hot afternoon, she mixed Tequila Herradura, Cointreau and fresh lime juice. Her cocktail kept the party going for two weeks and today the Margarita is the #1 most popular cocktail in the U.S.
- There are also claims that the margarita was first mixed in Juárez, Mexico at Tommy’s Place Bar on July 4, 1942 by Francisco “Pancho” Morales. Morales later left bartending in Mexico to become a US citizen, where he worked as a milkman for 25 years. Mexico’s official news agency Notimex and many experts have said Morales has the strongest claim to having invented the margarita.
- However, Jose Cuervo was already running ad campaigns for the margarita three years earlier, in 1945, with the slogan, “Margarita: It’s more than a girl’s name.” According to Jose Cuervo, the cocktail was invented in 1938 by a bartender in honor of Mexican showgirl Rita de la Rosa.
- The Margarita was the most popularly ordered drink in 2008, representing 18 percent of all mixed drink sales in the U.S., followed by the Martini, Rum and Coke, Vodka and Tonic, and the Cosmopolitan
- On average, Americans consume 185,000 Margaritas per hour
- Atlanta, Miami, St. Louis and Nashville are among the best major metro cities for the Margarita
- The first frozen margarita machine was invented in 1971 and it was based off a soft-serve ice cream machine
- The U.S. is the number one tequila market – larger and more important than Mexico
- The 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book contains a recipe for a Picador using the same concentrations of tequila, triple sec and lime juice as a Margarita.
- The Flamingo Hotel’s Margaritaville Casino in Las Vegas holds the honor of making the largest margarita in the world. This enormous drink was 8500 gallons (32,176 liters) and “served” in a 17-foot-tall tank. It took 60 people 300 hours to create. The drink, called the “Lucky Rita,” was created to celebrate the opening of the casino in 2011.
- The salt is there to bring out the sweet and sour flavors of the drink; even just a pinch will help subdue the bitterness and enhance the important flavors. On top of this, salt intensifies the drinker’s perception of the drink’s aromas, making the flavors even more powerful.
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