February 22nd is National Margarita Day! This, naturally, means that it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, all day long. The margarita is a classic cocktail unimpeachably associated with having a great time. Its refreshing flavor profile and its being very easy to drink makes for a delicious cocktail that’ll keep you smiling and dancing until it’s time to call it a day.
While a night of margaritas might leave you trying to piece together just how you got home at the end of the night, the beginning is what this drink leaves incredibly vague. That is, the origin of the margarita is widely debated—many different and clashing origin stories exist, many of them with strong claims to truth. If you know how to make a margarita and how to make a Daisy, you’ll notice that these are essentially the same drink just swapping around the tequila and the brandy. These two cocktails were and are popular in Mexico and in the United States respectively. The rise in popularity of the margarita in the US began during prohibition as people would float over the border in search of these outlawed drinks.
Even before then, however, the margarita had to have been invented. One early claim to creation calls to the Mexican state of Baja California, in which, reportedly, Carlos “Danny” Herrera crafted the cocktail in his restaurant for Marjorie King who was allergic to many spirits, but not tequila. Other claims call to Juárez, Chihuahua, where Francisco “Pancho” Morales is said to have shaken the very first margarita at Tommy’s Place Bar. This last story seems to have the strongest claim to truth. Other claims take this origin story to Acapulco and even to Texas all in a variety of different situations.
Clearly, there’s no clear way of knowing just where this famous party classic first got shaken up. Luckily, this doesn’t make it any less delicious. Whether or not you subscribe to the frozen variety, frozen margaritas are an incredibly popular way of enjoying this timeless classic.
Want to shake one up for yourself and enjoy this important national holiday? We’ve got you covered.
Classic Margarita Ingredients:
- 2 ounces of tequila (view brands of Tequila we carry at Zipps)
- ½ ounce of triple sec, Cointreau if possible
- Juice of a whole lime, preferably a Mexican lime
- Salt, optional for the rim
- Lime wedge for garnish
Margarita Recipe:
- Fill your shaker with ice along with your tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice
- Shake until chilled
- Pour into your glass of choice (ice and all), salting the rim first if you take your rim salted
- Garnish with the lime wedge
Need something cooler? Scaling up the ingredients, you can make yourself a mean frozen margarita. Simply take a cup of tequila, a cup of lime juice, a half cup of Cointreau, and a couple of tablespoons of sweetener (agave syrup works great) into a blender along with 6 cups of ice. Blend all of this into a slushie and serve immediately into four different glasses.
Get all the margarita ingredients you’ll need to celebrate National Margarita Day at your local Zipps Liquor store!
Visit your local Zipps Liquor store to stock up on your favorite beer, wine, & spirits!
