![]() On the other hand, the important takeaway is that the classic Margarita is part of the expanded Daisy family of cocktails, and that it’s very specifically a close sibling of the Sidecar. On the one hand, all of this history is clear as mud. ![]() Eventually, the Margarita became a sort of sludgy, barely distinct non-thing: cheap tequila, sweetened and soured, with some salt on the rim. Sour mix was introduced into the equation, giving way to the oversized, poorly made versions I drank at Florida beach bars. But as the decades passed, many versions grew larger, filling giant mugs and ridiculous cocktail glassware. The drink began as a small, pure thing like most classic cocktails, it was just a few ounces. Later, frozen and blended versions appeared. And there was at one point a cocktail in circulation referred to as a “Tequila Daisy.”Įarly versions of what would become the Margarita were served up, with no ice - again, like a Sidecar. But in Spanish, Margarita means “Daisy.” And the Daisy, as we have discussed previously, is a style of pre-Prohibition cocktail with links to the Sidecar. Why the Margarita? Again, no one knows for sure. But by the 1950s, the drink, which had come to include a salt rim, would be written up as a Margarita, most notably in a 1953 Esquire article that described the drink thusly: “She's from Mexico, Señores, and her name is the Margarita Cocktail - and she is lovely to look at, exciting and provocative.” I say “Margarita-like,” because the cocktail was probably not called a Margarita at that point. The earliest Margarita-like drinks took that basic structure and swapped in tequila and lime juice, leaving out the sugar rim. The Sidecar, of course, is traditionally a mix of cognac, lemon juice, and orange liqueur, often with a sugar rim. It is likely that the drink began in the 1930s as a variation on the Sidecar. Still, Wondrich offers a helpful timeline of the drink’s probable evolution. There are multiple competing claims, each with some documentary evidence.Īs David Wondrich writes in The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails, “the precise origins of the Margarita are one of cocktail history’s most notorious swamps and remain resistant to even the most diligent investigation.” If Wondrich, in his capacity as a full-time cocktail historian, can’t definitively pin down the drink’s backstory, there’s little hope for the rest of us. Instead, I’m going to briefly walk you through this cocktail’s much-debated history, look at how that history informed the drink’s construction, and then go over three different ways to make a Margarita, each of which highlights some essential aspect of the drink, and each of which is incredibly satisfying on its own terms. ![]() So for this week’s newsletter, I’m not going to give you a single perfected version of the drink, because I don’t think there is a single definitional Margarita. As much as I believe the classic Daiquiri to be the ultimate summer cocktail, I am well aware that the Margarita is what everyone actually drinks when it’s hot out.Īnd yet, despite the Margarita’s adaptability, there are obviously superior versions that rely on quality ingredients, more precise proportions, and various other tweaks - including and especially the addition of agave syrup, which gives the drink a viscous texture and a subdued sweetness that pairs exceptionally well with both tequila and mezcal versions of the drink. I wouldn’t care for a drink like that now, but I can’t say I don’t understand the appeal. A pitcher of Margaritas is welcome at almost any outdoor party.Įven a bad Margarita is not so bad: Decades ago, before I knew anything about cocktails, I drank sugary, sloppily made Margaritas built from cheap ingredients at Florida beach bars. A single Margarita goes well with a meal or an afternoon by the pool. It can be served up or on the rocks, with tequila or mezcal, with a salt rim or without, with orange liqueur or with syrup. Part of the drink’s appeal is that, provided you stay within some basic parameters, it’s hard to make a truly terrible version the Margarita’s popularity is matched by its flexibility. The Margarita is a cocktail that has been so widely and thoroughly embraced that it is barely thought of as a cocktail anymore: It’s just a drink, and everyone seemingly already knows how to make it. If you don’t want to Google your way through recipe sites, there’s even an Archer meme that purports to explain the drink’s fundamental properties.
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