The Margarita: A Complete History & Classic Recipe

Before it was a vacation drink, before it was poured from salt-rimmed plastic cups on Cinco de Mayo, and long before frozen machines whirred it into mass culture, the Margarita was something far older, quieter, and far more elegant. It was never “born” in Acapulco in a single afternoon — it evolved through travel, translation, and the inheritance of a family of cocktails known as the Daisy: spirit + citrus + orange liqueur + sugar, shaken hard and served crisp.

The Margarita didn’t materialize because someone needed a tequila limeade; it emerged because the Daisy — a darling of the pre-Prohibition bar world — met Mexico’s native spirit at exactly the right time in history: as cross-border drinking culture reawakened in the late 1930s and early 1940s. More than an origin story, the Margarita is a small history of cultural exchange — a drink carried not merely by characters but by concepts: translation, adaptation, and appetite.

Today, it is the most ordered cocktail in the United States, and arguably the most globally recognizable tequila serve in the world. Yet behind the frozen party drink lies a deeply historic structure reflecting an older craft lineage — not a gimmick, but a serious cocktail in its bones.

I. Origins

If you follow the paper trail rather than the postcard romance, the Margarita descends from the Daisy — a once-standard cocktail format pairing a base spirit with citrus, sweetener, and orange liqueur. In fact, “margarita” is literally the Spanish word for daisy, a linguistic breadcrumb that ties the drink into its own genealogy.

• In the 1870s–1890s, bartenders in the United States were already serving gin daisies and brandy daisies.

• When Prohibition shuttered U.S. bars (1920–1933), Americans seeking a drink traveled south — to Mexico.

• There, bartenders had citrus, salt, and Mexico’s native agave spirit: tequila.

As the Daisy’s structure migrated, the Mexican Daisy — tequila + lime + orange liqueur — appears in recorded print before nearly all the later “I invented it for a woman named Margarita” legends. Drinks historian David Wondrich, the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, and pre-Prohibition bar manuals all support this family-tree logic: the Margarita wasn’t a bolt of inspiration — it was an inheritance.

II. Historical Evolution

The Margarita reflects three overlapping evolutions:

1. The Template Evolution:

The Daisy family moved from brandy to whiskies to gin — tequila was simply the next branch.

2. The Border Evolution:

Cross-border tourism in the 1930s–40s introduced American palates to Mexican agave spirits. Travelers wanted something familiar (a Daisy) but rooted in a local spirit (tequila).

3. The Marketing Evolution:

By the 1950s, tequila producers and tourism boards realized the Margarita was a cultural export vehicle — glamorous, “exotic,” and marketable to American drinkers.

The romantic origin myths (the showgirl, the socialite, the mysterious lover named Margarita) emerged only after the drink had already taken root. They were icing, not foundation. The Daisy lineage is the historical skeleton; the legend-driven Margaritas are the clothes later hung on it.

III. Ingredients & Technique

The Margarita works because each component plays its part with architectural intent:

Component	Role
Tequila (blanco or reposado)	The backbone — vegetal, mineral, peppery
Lime juice	Structure + acidity
Orange liqueur	Balancing sweetness + aromatic lift
Salt	Enhances brightness and suppresses bitterness
Sweetening (optional/simple syrup)	Corrects tartness ratio depending on limes

The Margarita is one of the few shaken cocktails where the garnish — salt — is not decoration but function: it interacts with the palate to elevate sweetness and reduce perceived acid.

IV. Cultural Significance

The Margarita is a borderland drink: born of translation, naturalized through migration, and universalized by taste. It is both:

• A Mexican cultural export

• A pre-Prohibition American cocktail lineage reborn

It represents:

• The globalization of tequila

• The postwar tourism boom of the 1950s

• The craft revival of agave spirits in the 2000s

It is not an accidental hit — it is an intersection of regional identity and international palate.

V. How to Make the Classic Version Today

Recipe — The Classic Margarita

Ingredients

• 2 oz (60 ml) 100% agave blanco tequila

• 1 oz (30 ml) fresh lime juice

• 0.75 oz (22 ml) Cointreau or dry curaçao

• (Optional) 0.25 oz (7 ml) agave syrup if limes are especially tart

Method

1. Rim half the glass lightly with salt.

2. Shake tequila, lime, and orange liqueur with ice.

3. Strain into a chilled double old fashioned or coupe.

4. Garnish and serve.

Specs

• Glass: Double rocks or coupe

• Ice: Up or large rock (regional preference)

• Garnish: Lime wheel or wedge, salt rim

• Style: Shaken, short

Technique Notes

• Salt should cover only half the rim — balance, not dominance.

• Use fresh lime juice; bottled shifts the entire profile.

• Tequila must be 100% agave — mixto flattens the palate.

Variations & Lineage

• Tommy’s Margarita (agave syrup replaces liqueur)

• Margarita “Jalisco style” (reposado, no rim)

• Daisy → Sidecar → Margarita (lineage chain)

Service & Pairing Tip

• Pairs exceptionally with high-fat dishes (birria, carnitas, fish tacos)

• Salt rim acts as a micro-seasoning for food pairing

VI. Modern Variations & Legacy

Frozen machines in the 1970s democratized the Margarita for mass casual dining. In the craft revival of the 2000s, bartenders returned to the Daisy roots — crisp, simple, balanced. Today, it is a paradox: both a party drink and a serious cocktail, depending on who is holding the shaker.

The Margarita endures because it is structurally perfect — spirit + citrus + orange liqueur — balanced, compact, elegant. Its staying power comes not from novelty, but from geometry.