One of the most popular cocktails among the alcoholic drinks lovers is Margarita. The mixture of tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice is said to be clean, refreshing, and perfect for summer days and a must-have in pubs and bars around beaches. Mojito is another cocktail that has the same type of taste. Margarita is usually served in a high-stemmed glass, a cocktail glass, or champagne coupe with salt and a lime wedge added to the rim. In this article, we will list down a few of margarita recipes from around the world that you can try at home also a little look at the origin and variations of the drink.
Why it is named Margarita
There are several versions of circulating stories as to why the name is chosen for the cocktail. One of the oldest says that Margarita was invented by a guy named Carlos Herrera in 1938 at his restaurant in Baja, California. He whipped it up for Marjorie King, a dancer who was also his special customer. She was allergic to spirits but tequila, and so the margarita was made. Another story mentions that Francisco Morales was the first to mix the cocktail on 4th of July, 1942 in Juarez, Mexico at a bar called Tommy’s Place. He shortly then left bartending to move to the U.S.A. and became a milkman.
A few other stories may sound more convincing since they do have the “margarita” names involved. One comes from a Dallas socialite called Margarita Sames who mixed the cocktail for her party guests in 1948 in Acapulco. But the story was debunked since three years earlier, in 1945, Jose Cuervo had already ran margarita ad campaigns that said, “Margarita: Its’s more than a girl’s name.” Cuervo claimed that the drink was invented in 1938 by a Mexican bartender to honor Rita de la Rosa, a showgirl.
Variations of the cocktail
The International Bartender Association has the 7:4:3 standard for Margarita with 7 or 50% for the ratio of the tequila, 4 or 29% for Cointreau – a French orange liqueur, and 3 or 21% for the fresh lime juice. This standard can be tweaked, of course, to meet people’s preference. The Cointreau can be replaced with other orange-flavored liqueurs like Grand Marnier, Gran Gala, Triple Sec, and Blue Curaçao. If desired, another fruit liqueur is also added to enhance the flavor. Sometimes fruit juice and puree are added to completely replace the orange liqueurs. One thing that can’t be eliminated from the concoction is the fresh lime juice, no matter the kind – Persian lime, Mexican lime, or any lime that one can find nearby.
The traditional way to serve a glass of margarita is shaken like other cocktails, but it can also be served as blended ice slush by pouring the ingredients over crushed ice and then blending them together. This serving method is known as frozen margarita and also done to other tropical mixed-drinks like hurricane or pina colada. This can be done in any house kitchens, but there are machines that can make a large batch of frozen margarita and the first one was invented in Dallas, Texas on May 11, 1971 by a Mariano Martinez. He modified an originally soft ice cream machine into a slush machine.
MARGARITA RECIPES
And here we are to the core of the article where we will list down some of the best margarita recipes you can try at home. It is said that to make a good margarita you need to have a nice balance of sweet and sour, so keep an eye on the ingredients that decide those tones. Let’s get started.
Horchata Margarita
You can find this version of margarita in Mexico or Puerto Rico. Unlike the standard cocktail, this one has a creamy taste in it and sharp with cinnamon.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cups of long-grain rice
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 cups of water
- 1 ½ cups of milk
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1/3 to ½ cups of granulated sugar
Directions:
Put rice, 2 cups of water, and 2 cinnamon sticks into a blender, and then blend until the rice and cinnamon are roughly ground. Add the remaining cups of water and continue blending. Pour the mixture into a container with a lid and let it sit overnight or at least 8 hours. Then strain into a pitcher, add milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar. Serve over ice.
Italian Margarita
This one is thick with almond flavor which becomes the signature of the Italian version of the drink.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Amaretto
- 1 oz Triple Sec
- 1 oz gold tequila
- 4 oz mixture of lime and simple syrup
- Wedges of lime
- Sugar for the rim
Directions:
Prepare the rim of the glass with sugar and lime. In a shaker, add ice, Amaretto, Triple Sec, Tequila, and the sweet-n-sour mixture. Shake well then pour into a margarita glass.
Japanese Cherry Blossom Margarita
Normally people love their sake warm, but for this concoction it comes frozen in the margarita glass.
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ oz pear-infused tequila (prepare this beforehand, about two days)
- 2 oz sake
- ½ oz cherry syrup
- 1 oz lime juice
- ½ oz lemon juice
- Sugar, cherry, and lemon wedges for garnish
Directions:
Rim the margarita glass with granulated sugar. In a shaker, add ice, pear-infused tequila, sake, cherry syrup, lime and lemon juice – shake well. Strain into the margarita glass, and garnish.
There are many, many more margarita recipes you can try and tweak. The term “each to their own” really applies when it comes to this cocktail, since it can combine a lot of different ingredients and still come out nice and refreshing. For the Russian version, you can replace the tequila with vodka. The margarita recipes from around the world we have listed above are definitely worth to try to liven up your get-together with friends and family.