There are many stories about the invention and naming of the margarita. Two of the most popular accounts locate the cocktail's beginings in Mexico and Texas. According to one legend, Pancho Morales was working at Tommy's Place in Juarez, Mexico, in 1942, when a woman ordered a "magnolia." Morales could not remember any of the ingredients in the drink except cointreau. After mixing in tequila, he named the new concoction after the daisy, "margarita" in Spanish. The second story says the drink was created by Dallas socialite Margarita Sames for her 1948 holiday party. Sames wanted to combine tequila and cointreau to make a soothing drink that was neither too sweet nor too sour. Eventually she added lime juice and a little salt on the rim to give it a kick.
Margarita's husband gave her a gift of champagne glasses engraved with her name and soon the glass and cocktail were both branded "margarita." Among the Sames’ guests who sampled the new cocktail were close friends Hilton Hotels owner Nick Hilton, Tail O' The Cock owner Shelton McHenry, and Hotel Bel-Air owner Joseph Drown. Each took the recipe back to their establishments and helped spread the word.Famous stars of the time, including John Wayne and Lana Turner, helped the drink rise become one of America’s most popular frozen drinks. American’s consume 185,000 Margaritas per hour, making the US the world’s number one tequila market. National Margarita Day is celebrated each year on February 22.
If you would like to tell us more interesting facts about cocktails or frozen drinks that we can publish, drop us a note with the relevant citations so that we can confirm. If we publish yours, we will give you credit in conjunction with the name of your bar or restaurant. A little national or international publicity wouldn't hurt, would it? Tell us here.