The South Accounts For The Majority (34.9%) Of The Nation’s Margarita Sales

National Margarita Day on February 22nd rims a glass with salt and serves up a beverage that tastes like the summer sun.

• 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.
• There are many different stories and myths, beginning as early as 1938, as to how and when the margarita was created.
• 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 a 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.”
• 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.
• 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.
• Some say the Margarita is a version of a popular prohibition drink called the Daisy, a drink found on Mexican border towns substituting brandy with tequila. Margarita in Spanish means Daisy.
• 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.
• A recipe for a tequila-based cocktail first appeared in the 1930 book My New Cocktail Book by G.F. Steele. Without noting a specific recipe or inventor, a drink called the Tequila Daisy was mentioned in the Syracuse Herald as early as 1936.
• 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 on 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 South accounts for the majority (34.9%) of the nation’s margarita sales.
• The margarita allegedly made its print debut in America in December 1953, when Esquire named it the “drink of the month.”
• The Tucson Originals and the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance get together every year to bring the public the World Margarita Championship. Renowned bartenders from Tucson come to duke it out for the honor of best margarita in Arizona. Visitors also vote for their favorites in a People’s Choice category.
• MARGARITA MEANS DAISY IN SPANISH. The daisy is an old prohibition drink that has a base spirit, sugar, and a sour. The cocktail later inspired the sidecar, which is basically a margarita with cognac and lemon. Some believe that the margarita is just a spin on a tequila daisy.
• 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.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Days of the Year

Foodimentary

Mobile-Cuisine

Useless Daily

Mental Floss

Illinois Liquor Marts