The Margarita archives
The world would be less interesting if everything in it didn’t have a story about it. These stories or legends have a certain appeal to it. Once you are familiar with it, you would start seeing the object in a different light altogether. These stories would give you an insight into what makes it what it is!
Even your food and beverages have ancestors you can trace it back to. When you are sitting in a bar and sipping on some margarita, did you ever give it a thought about how it originated? Well, everything evolves and your favorite drink too has evolved. What was a simple margarita back then has been modified and now when you surf the internet for various margarita recipes, the list is endless.
The origins of margarita is a bit murky as there are many stories behind it. One such popular belief is that it was invented by Carlos Danny Herrera at his restaurant Rancho La Gloria near Mexico. He had created this drink for the vivacious Ziegfeld dancer, Marjorie King. The story states that Ms. King was allergic to all sorts of spirits other than tequila. So, Herrera tried making a special drink for his customer with tequila, lime, and some salt. And this is the recipe of the first ever margarita.
The second popular story is quite different. According to it, it was not some bartender who came up with the margarita recipe. Instead, it was a Texas socialite, Margaret Sames a.k.a Margarita Sames. It is believed that she had randomly mixed some spirits together and concocted this widely popular drink. However, if you wish to have a professional opinion, then the famous cocktail historian David Wondrich has something to say. After much research, he came to the conclusion that the margarita has evolved from a cocktail called daisy. Daisy was a mixture of citrus juice, alcohol and grenadine served with shaved ice. After a period of time, the Mexican tequila daisies became popularly known by its Spanish name margarita.
There are a lot of assumptions about how the famous drink came into existence and these stories give you something to ponder on. If you wish to try your hand at making the original margarita, pour some tequila, Cointreau and lime juice in a cocktail shaker with some ice and shake it vigorously. Strain the drink into a martini glass and soak half the rim in water and half of it in salt. Add a lemon wedge on the rim and there, your original margarita is ready to serve. You can look up different margarita recipes on the internet and become a savvy bartender at your house parties!