The first known publication of a margarita recipe was in the December 1953 issue of Esquire, with a recipe calling for an ounce of Sierra tequila, a dash of triple sec, and the juice of half a lime or lemon. He supposedly named it after the Spanish version of her name, 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.' The Balinese RoomĪnother common origin tale begins the cocktail's history at the legendary Balinese Room in Galveston, Texas, where, in 1948, head bartender Santos Cruz created the margarita for singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee. Tommy Hilton reportedly attended, bringing the drink back to the Hilton chain of hotels. Others say the inventor was Dallas socialite Margarita Sames when she concocted the drink for her guests at her Acapulco, Guerrero vacation home in 1948. Mexico's official news agency Notimex and many experts have said Morales has the strongest claim to having invented the margarita.

Morales later left bartending in Mexico to become a US citizen, where he worked as a milkman for 25 years.

There are also claims that the margarita was first mixed in Juárez, Chihuahua at Tommy's Place Bar on July 4, 1942, by Francisco 'Pancho' Morales. Hussong's, however, has enjoyed widespread popularity as the home of the original margarita. Cesena was a ranch operator by trade, and it is disputed whether she was the daughter of a German ambassador as the story claims. Bartender Don Carlos Orozco reputedly named a new drink after Mexican-German patron Margarita Henkel Cesena, a frequent customer to the cantina. Hussong's Cantina also claims to have been the site of the margarita's creation in Ensenada, Baja California, in 1941. Īccording to Jose Cuervo, the cocktail was invented in 1938 by a bartender in honor of Mexican showgirl Rita de la Rosa. The story was debunked in 1992 by the San Diego Reader. This story was related by Herrera and also by bartender Albert Hernandez, acknowledged for popularizing a margarita in San Diego after 1947, at the La Plaza restaurant in La Jolla. One of the earliest stories is of the margarita being invented in 1938 by Carlos 'Danny' Herrera at his restaurant Rancho La Gloria, halfway between Tijuana and Rosarito, Baja California, created for customer and former Ziegfeld dancer Marjorie King, who was allergic to many spirits, but not to tequila. The Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, published in the UK in 1937, contains a recipe for a Picador using the same concentrations of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice as a margarita. A sidecar and gin daisy are other related drinks.) There is an account from 1936 of Iowa newspaper editor James Graham finding such a cocktail in Tijuana, years before any of the other margarita 'creation myths'. (Daisies are a family of cocktails that include a base spirit, liqueur, and citrus. According to cocktail historian David Wondrich, the margarita is related to the brandy daisy ( margarita is Spanish for 'daisy'), remade with tequila instead of brandy. The history of the margarita is shrouded in mystery and folklore due to its numerous origin stories. The margarita is one of the world's most popular cocktails and the most popular Tequila based cocktail. Most bars serve margaritas in a stepped-diameter variant of a cocktail glass or champagne coupe called a margarita glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rocks), without ice (straight up), or blended with ice (frozen margarita). Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. † Margarita recipe at International Bartenders AssociationĪ margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Margarita IBA official cocktailĪdd all ingredients into a shaker with ice. For other uses, see Margarita (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Pizza Margherita.

Blood orange margarita new london