Margarita

The Margarita is the most ordered cocktail in the world and one of the most disputed in history. Margarita means daisy in Spanish, and the drink is almost certainly a tequila variation of the Daisy — a classic sour family from the 1870s made with base spirit, orange liqueur, and citrus. The oldest known recipe identical to a Margarita appears in the 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book in London under the name Picador, using tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice in exact Margarita proportions. The name Margarita first appeared in print in the December 1953 issue of Esquire. Origin stories are many — Carlos Herrera in Tijuana in 1938, socialite Margarita Sames in Acapulco in 1948, Francisco Morales in Ciudad Juarez in 1942. None is definitively proven. Always use 100% agave blanco tequila. Mixto tequilas — made with less than 100% agave — produce a noticeably inferior drink. Reposado works for a rounder, slightly oaked version but changes the character of the cocktail. Cointreau is the standard; triple sec works but delivers less complexity. The salt rim is traditional but not mandatory — always offer the choice. The IBA official ratio is 50% tequila, 29% Cointreau, 21% lime juice. The 1:1:1 equal parts version is simpler and more forgiving for high-volume service. The classic Margarita was originally served straight up in a coupe or cocktail glass. The rocks glass became standard in modern bars for the on the rocks version, and the iconic wide-rimmed Margarita glass is an American invention from the 1970s associated with Tex-Mex restaurant chains — not the original recipe.