Is the margarita actually American?

Other than straight up, what’s the best way to enjoy tequila?

Easy. Have it in a margarita. It’s been one of America’s favourite mixed drinks for the past 10 years and it’s a stone-cold tequila, and mezcal, classic. What’s more, it’s a superb sip for summer, it’s simple to make and easy to drink — even if you’re apprehensive about agave spirits. You need, however, to let agave spirits into your life. They were the only spirits to see a rise in UK sales and last year.

Sounds good. What is it?

Depending on which bartender you ask, the margarita is a tequila twist on a sour, a sidecar or a daisy – all of which comprise of a base spirit, an acidic component (lemon, lime) and a sweet ingredient (liqueur). The first written recipe, published in a 1953 issue of Esquire, recommended an ounce of tequila, a dash of triple sec and lime or lemon juice — and purists argue that, aside from the addition of a salt rim, a true margarita shouldn’t veer away from this core trio. In this, its most classic form, it’s served either on the rocks, straight up or frozen.

Who invented it?

Oh no. We were hoping you weren’t going to ask that. No other cocktail’s creation is mired in more mystery. All manner of theories abound — many of which, like the margarita itself, should be taken with a generous pinch of salt.

Several bars, either side of the Mexican border, claim to have been the drink’s birthplace, with some believing it was a Texan drink, created in homage to either actor Rita Hayworth (whose real name was Margarita Cansino) or singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee in the late 1940s.

Another popular tale is of a Texan socialite called Margaret ‘Margarita’ Sames who, while living it up in Acapulco, mixed tequila with Cointreau before adding lime and a salt rim. Known initially as ‘Margarita’s drink’, its popularity spread via her significant social network, which included John Wayne and Tommy Hilton, who added it to the cocktail menu across his eponymous hotel chain.

While the marketing folk at Cointreau push Sames’s story, some hail bartender Carlos ‘Danny’ Herrera as the creator, claiming he first poured the drink at a Tijuana roadside restaurant for a young dancer named Marjorie King. Danny served the drink to Majorie, who claimed she was allergic to every spirit other than tequila, in a stemmed glass rimmed with rock salt and christened it ‘margarita’ — the nearest name in Spanish to Marjorie. When pressed on the exact date for when this happened, Danny wavered between 1947 and 1948. “Three things happen when you get old,” he said. “You lose your memory, and I can’t recall the other two.”

What if you find tequila and mezcal, you know, a bit ‘challenging’?

Just like the martini and the daiquiri, the popularity of the margarita has seen it mutate. Some use additional or alternative ingredients, ranging from chilli and amaretto to red wine, Chartreuse and even single malt Scotch whisky.

The Tommy’s margarita, however, is the most iconic twist on the classic. Created in Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco in the late 1980s by owner, and legendary agave aficionado, Julio Bermejo, it’s a slightly sweeter version (owing to the use of agave syrup instead of triple sec), which is served on the rocks.

Recipe for the perfect margarita

by Agave spirits expert Jess Estes

Ingredients
50ml Ocho Blanco tequila
25ml Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao
25ml freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt flakes (ideally Maldon)
Lime wedge (optional)

Method
Shake all the tequila, dry curaçao and lime juice vigorously in a cocktail shaker before double straining (running the mix through two strainers) into a rocks glass half-rimmed with salt, over cubed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge, if you like.

Where to drink it?

1. Hacha, London
This awesome agaveria in south London’s Brixton Village is the spiritual home of the sensational mirror margarita. Designed by owner and bartender legend Deano Moncrieffe, it’s entirely see-through and made with the oils of red, white and pink grapefruits.

2. Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant, San Francisco
Hailed as the epicentre of agave spirits in the US and stocking more than 300 tequilas and mezcals, this iconic yet unassuming Mexican restaurant is owned by Julio Bermejo, who tirelessly campaigned for quality 100% agave tequilas in the 1990s.

3. Cantina OK!, Sydney
It’s all about the agave at this tiny, 20-person, hole-in-the-wall bar. Its legendary margaritas are made with hand-sourced tequilas and mezcals, hand-shaved ice and fresh hand-pressed lime juice.

4. 400 Rabbits, Nottingham
A cracking cocktail burrow inspired by Mayaheul, the Aztec deity of the agave plant, who was said to have birthed a bountiful brood of intoxicated rabbits. Expect fun times, knowledgeable staff and great drinks at reasonable prices.