QandAs: Food

What is a Margarita?

Answer:
A Margarita is a tequila-based cocktail which

can be served straight, on the rocks or as a frozen fruit-flavored slush. The basic ingredients of a traditional Margarita are tequila, cointreau or Triple Sec, and key lime juice.

There are dozens of variations on this basic Margarita recipe, however, including the addition of fruits and more exotic liqueurs or cordials such as Chambord.

There is little agreement over the origins of the Margarita. One theory suggests the drink was inspired by a young Mexican dancer in the 1930s named Margarita. When the beautiful Margarita moved to Hollywood, she took the stage name of Rita Hayworth. Another story involves a different inspirational entertainer, a singer named Margaret "Peggy" Lee.

There is also a story that a bartender in Tijuana, Mexico misheard an order for a Magnolia cocktail and instead concocted a new recipe he called a "Daisy". The word margarita does mean "daisy" in Spanish, from the Latin word for "pearl". It is also possible the Margarita was invented as a Mexican bartender's wedding present for his future sister-in-law Margarita.

While the ingredients remain relatively the same, the proportions can vary widely from recipe to recipe. The most authentic Margarita recipe calls for three parts silver tequila, two parts Triple Sec or cointreau, and one part freshly squeezed key lime juice. Because the lime juice and tequila can both be bitter, however, some recipes suggest adding a simple syrup and/or other fruit juices.

Some Margarita purists insist that a good Margarita should never see the inside of a blender, but others believe building up a froth makes a smoother drink. In the 1970s, special frozen cocktail machines allowed bartenders to serve oversized Margaritas, often made with additional fruit juices such as strawberry and peach.

Many Margarita cocktails are served in cocktail glasses with salted rims, but some mixologists suggest this is not strictly necessary. The salt is believed to counteract the objectionable flavor of substandard tequila, so a good bartender should consider using top shelf silver tequila at all times.

Triple Sec can be used as a substitute for the more expensive orange-flavored cointreau, and lemon juice can take the place of lime juice if good limes are not available.


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