Margarita
The margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with triple sec and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States.[1] The drink is usually served shaken with ice, on the rocks, blended with ice (frozen margarita) or without ice (straight up). All three methods are frequently served with salt or sugar on the rim of the glass which is optional.
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Variations
Common ratios for a margarita are
- 2:1:1 = (50% tequila, 25% Triple Sec, 25% fresh lime or lemon juice)
- 3:2:1 = (50% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 17% fresh lime or lemon juice)
- 3:1:1 = (60% tequila, 20% Triple Sec, 20% fresh lime or lemon juice)
- 6:3:1 = (60% tequila, 30% Triple Sec, 10% fresh lime or lemon juice)
- 1:1:1 = (33% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 33% fresh lime or lemon juice)
although the IBA (IBA Official list of Cocktails) standard is
- 7:4:3 = (50% tequila, 29% Triple Sec, 21% fresh lime or lemon juice)
Margaritas often contain an additional sweetener, such as simple syrup or plain sugar, alternatively the margarita can be made with bottled lime juice, with frozen limeade, or sour mix [2] (each of which contains sugar). Margaritas can also be made with muddled or blended fruits like lime, lemon, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, orange, mango or blueberries.
Flavored liqueurs
Other than triple sec, other types of orange-flavored liqueur are sometimes used, such as Patrón Citrónge (produced in Mexico), Cointreau (produced in France), blue curaçao yielding the blue margarita. The "top shelf," "grand", "royal", or "Cadillac" margaritas often contain a premium citrus liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Gran Gala. Such higher quality or "top shelf" margaritas will usually use a premium grade of tequila as well. When sweeter fruit juices or freshly puréed fruits are added to the margarita, the amount of orange-flavored liqueur is often reduced or it is eliminated entirely. In addition to orange-flavored liqueurs, secondary liqueurs may occasionally be added to the cocktail, including black raspberry-flavored Chambord.
Fresh lime juice
Margaritas come in a variety of flavors and colors.Fresh squeezed lime juice is the key ingredient. The most common lime in the U.S. is the thick skinned Persian lime. However, margaritas in Mexico are generally made with Mexican limes (Key limes). These are small, thin skinned limes and have a more tart and an often bitter flavor compared to Persian limes. Margaritas made with lemon have a softer taste, especially when Meyer lemons are used.[citation needed]
Other fruits
Alternate fruits and juice mixtures can also be used in a margarita. Many recipes call for a splash of orange juice. When the word "margarita" is used by itself, it typically refers to the lime or lemon juice margarita, but when other juices are used, the fruits are typically added as adjectives in the name; with lime juice or lemon juice added like a condiment (and a wedge of lime often added to the glass). Examples of popular combinations are:
- Texas margarita, with orange juice, and beer sometimes
- Raspberry margarita, with lime juice
- Strawberry or peach margarita, with lemon juice
- Mango margarita, with lime juice
- Melon margarita, often with melon liqueur such as Midori
- Banana margarita, with orange and lime juice
- Apple margarita, with Berentzen's apple liqueur
- Margarona, with a mini Corona beer turned upside down in the cocktail.
History
Origin
A blended margaritaThere are many stories about who invented the margarita and why. The following are perhaps the most commonly repeated tales of the creator of the margarita cocktail:
- Barman "Willie" from Mexico City, 1934 in the employ of the Melguizo Family
- Marguerite Hemery lived in the Rio Grande Valley since the 1930s and went to a restaurant in Matamoros called Los Dos Republicas. She was friends with the owner and, as the story goes, his bartender composed a special drink for her.
- Los Dos Republicas @ americantourassociation.com
- Danny Negrete, 1936
- Ratios: 1:1:1 (33% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 33% fresh lime juice).
- According to Salvador Negrete, the son of Daniel Negrete, the family story goes that Daniel opened a bar at the Garci Crispo hotel with his brother, David. The day before David's marriage, Daniel presented the margarita as a wedding present to Margarita, his sister-in-law.
- It was a combination of one-third Triple Sec, one-third tequila and one-third squeezed Mexican lime juice. The drink was not blended and was served with hand-crushed ice.
- Danny Herrera, 1938
- In Ensenada, Mexico, Danny Herrera, a renowned Mexican bartender who worked at the Riviera del Pacifico Hotel and Casino was completely in love with Marjorie King, an American actress who hated taking tequila pure. Tequila was also the only liquor that her body could tolerate. Thus, with the intention of wooing her, Herrera used his ingenuity to bring together flavors to meet Marjorie's tastes, until he finally found one of the world's most famous drinks.
- October, 1941 by bartender Don Carlos Orozco
He concocted the perfect mixture of equal parts tequila, Damiana (Cointreau is used now) and lime, served over ice in a salt-rimmed glass for Margarita Henkel, daughter of the German Ambassador to Mexico at Hussongs Cantina
- Enrique Bastate Gutierrez, early 1940s
- Gutierrez, who lived in Tijuana, Mexico, boasted to have created the Margarita as a homage to actress Rita Hayworth, whose real name was Margarita Cansino.
- Other versions of the story claim the Margarita was indeed named after the actress, but in the 1930s, before she adopted her screen name. As a teenager, Margarita Cansino worked as a dancer at the Foreign Club, in Tijuana, where she supposedly inspired a bartender.
- Francisco "Pancho" Morales, 4 July, 1942
- A bartender, Pancho Morales invented the margarita on July 4, 1942, at a Ciudad Juárez bar named Tommy's Place. Supposedly, a woman requested a Magnolia (brandy, Cointreau, and an egg yolk topped with Champagne). Morales was a little fuzzy on the recipe; he improvised and his ersatz creation was a big hit.[3]
- Santos Cruz, 1948
- According to the promotional flyer for the legendary Balinese Room in Galveston, Texas, head bartender Santos Cruz created the Margarita for singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee in 1948.
- The Balinese Room was opened in 1941 and was Texas's finest nightclub with A/C, casino gambling, superb food and drinks, and stellar entertainment until the Texas Rangers finally shut it down in 1957.
- Margaret Sames, December 1948
- Ratios: 2:1:1 = 4:2:2 (50% tequila, 25% Cointreau, 25% fresh lime juice).
- Sames, who created the drink at her Acapulco bar, gave the reason of being "close with a lot of famous hotel and restaurant people" in introducing the margarita.[4]
- Sames used one part Cointreau, two parts tequila and one part lime juice for her margarita. Knowing that most people drank tequila preceded by a lick of salt, she chose to garnish her cocktail with a rim of coarse salt.
- Sames moved to El Paso, TX in 1958 where she was well known for her lavish parties. In 1982 she appeared on NBC's Today show demonstrating the proper way to make a margarita.
Glass
An archetypal margarita glass. A margarita served in an old fashioned glass.Margaritas may be served in a variety of glasses, most notably the stereotypical margarita glass, a variant of the classic Champagne coupe; this is particularly associated with blended fruit margaritas, and the glass is also used for dishes such as guacamole or shrimp cocktails. In formal settings margaritas are often served in a standard cocktail glass, while in informal settings, particularly with ice, margaritas may be served in an old-fashioned glass.
Popularity
A strawberry margarita in can.The margarita cocktail was the "Drink of the Month" in Esquire magazine, December 1953, pg. 76:[5]
- 1 ounce tequila
- Dash of Triple Sec
- Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
- Pour over crushed ice, stir. Rub the rim of a stem glass with rind of lemon or lime, spin in salt—pour, and sip.
See also
| The Wikibook Bartending has a page on the topic of Margarita |
References
| This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008) |
- ^ The most popular tequila cocktail in Mexico, by contrast, is the paloma.
- ^ Recipe for a Sweet Frozen Margarita Cocktail
- ^ Brad Cooper (October 1974). "The Man Who Invented the Margarita". Texas Monthly.
- ^ Today's Columbus Woman. June 1994.
- ^ Barry Popik. "Texas, The Lone Star State: Margarita (cocktail)". http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/margarita_cocktail/. Retrieved 12 August 2006.
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Categories: Cocktails with tequila | Frozen beverages | Cocktails | Mexican alcoholic beverages
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