The Tommy’s Margarita: A Complete History & Classic Recipe

It’s a warm San Francisco evening in the 1990s. Inside a modest family-run cantina, the air hums with laughter, the scent of grilled carne asada, and the rhythm of clinking shakers. Behind the bar, Julio Bermejo pours a measure of 100% agave tequila, squeezes fresh lime by hand, and reaches not for triple sec — but for a golden stream of agave nectar.

No Cointreau. No sugar rim. Just tequila, lime, and agave. The drink glows golden-green under the soft bar light.

This is the Tommy’s Margarita, a cocktail that quietly rewrote tequila history — transforming the humble Margarita from tourist cliché to craft icon. What began as one bartender’s devotion to authenticity became a global movement, uniting bartenders around purity, provenance, and respect for the agave plant.

I. Origins

To understand the Tommy’s Margarita, you first need to understand its creator: Julio Bermejo, son of Mexican immigrants and longtime bartender at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant, a San Francisco institution founded in 1965.

By the early 1990s, the Margarita was one of the world’s most famous — and most mistreated — cocktails. It had become synonymous with bottled mixes, sugary rims, and low-grade tequila. Bermejo, a tequila enthusiast and educator, wanted to change that.

He began replacing orange liqueur with agave nectar, a natural sweetener derived from the same plant as tequila itself. This seemingly small change did two radical things:

1. It centered tequila as the hero of the drink.

2. It aligned sweetness with terroir — the agave plant giving both spirit and syrup.

The result was harmony. Clean, elegant, perfectly balanced — an authentic Margarita that finally respected its origins.

II. Historical Evolution

The Classic Margarita Lineage

The original Margarita, likely created in the 1930s or 40s, was a simple tequila Daisy — a template cocktail of spirit, citrus, and sweetener (hence the name Margarita, Spanish for “daisy”). Its earliest known recipes include Cointreau or triple sec as the sweet component.

As tequila grew in popularity through the 1950s–70s, especially in the U.S., bottled “Margarita mixes” replaced real citrus, and the drink drifted far from its craft roots.

Julio’s Innovation

By the 1990s, Julio Bermejo — after years of trips to Jalisco and relationships with distillers — began serving only 100% agave tequila at Tommy’s and crafting Margaritas with three ingredients:

• 100% agave tequila

• Fresh lime juice

• Organic agave nectar

It was minimalist, pure, and deeply respectful. Word spread among bartenders, and by the early 2000s, the “Tommy’s Margarita” had become a calling card of the new craft cocktail renaissance.

The Recognition

In 2003, Tommy’s Margarita became the first drink to enter the International Bartenders Association (IBA) list of official cocktails under a specific bar’s name — a testament to its global influence. Julio himself was later dubbed the U.S. ambassador for tequila, teaching generations of bartenders about agave spirits from the heart of Jalisco.

III. Ingredients & Technique

The Tommy’s Margarita is defined by its clarity and honesty. Every ingredient has a voice, and none dominates the others.

Core Components:

• Tequila: Always 100% blue Weber agave — reposado or blanco depending on taste.

• Sweetener: Agave nectar — naturally balanced, round, and earthy.

• Citrus: Fresh lime juice — the essential acid backbone.

Unlike many cocktails that rely on modifiers, the Tommy’s has no liqueur. Its structure depends entirely on balance — tequila’s vegetal spice meeting the smooth sweetness of agave and the bright snap of lime.

The secret: Shake with conviction, then taste. Adjust the agave nectar drop by drop until harmony sings.

IV. Cultural Significance

The Tommy’s Margarita isn’t just a drink — it’s a manifesto.

It challenged the global cocktail world to look inward, toward provenance and integrity. Bermejo’s philosophy of “respect the plant” resonated deeply with the emerging farm-to-glass and terroir movements in food and beverage culture.

For tequila, it was revolutionary. The Tommy’s became the ambassador drink for 100% agave tequila at a time when mixto (51% agave) dominated exports. Through one cocktail, Julio Bermejo educated thousands about tequila’s true artistry — from the jimadores’ fields to the bartender’s glass.

In an age of excess, the Tommy’s Margarita stood for less but better.

V. How to Make the Classic Version Today

Recipe — The Classic Tommy’s Margarita

Ingredients

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

• 1 oz (30 ml) Fresh lime juice

• ½ oz (15 ml) Agave nectar (diluted 1:1 with warm water for easier mixing)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.

2. Shake hard for 10–12 seconds.

3. Strain into a chilled rocks glass with fresh ice.

Specs

• Glass: Old-fashioned / rocks glass

• Ice: Cubes or one large rock

• Garnish: Lime wedge or wheel

• Style: Spirit-forward citrus sour

Technique Notes

• Dilute thick agave nectar before shaking for a smoother blend.

• Taste and tweak — lime acidity and agave sweetness vary seasonally.

• Avoid salt rims; they interfere with agave nuance.

Variations & Lineage

• Classic Margarita: Add ½ oz Cointreau or triple sec for orange lift.

• Mezcal Tommy’s: Substitute half or all tequila with mezcal for smoky depth.

• Tommy’s Picante: Add muddled jalapeño for modern spice.

Service & Pairing Tip

• Pairs beautifully with ceviche, grilled fish tacos, or roasted corn.

• Serve as a pre-dinner aperitif or as a slow sipper on warm nights.

VI. Modern Variations & Legacy

The Tommy’s Margarita is now considered a modern classic, its minimalist template inspiring countless riffs worldwide. From London’s Milk & Honey to Mexico City’s Licorería Limantour, the Tommy’s serves as both a cocktail and a philosophy: clarity, authenticity, and respect for origin.

Bartenders treat it as a benchmark of technique — a calibration test for balance. Consumers adore it for its clean, natural profile. And tequila producers revere it for introducing millions to the nuanced character of true 100% agave spirits.

Today, you’ll find Tommy’s Margaritas gracing luxury hotel bars, beach cantinas, and home cocktail shakers alike — proof that simplicity, when built on integrity, never goes out of style.

As Julio Bermejo famously said:

“If you want to know tequila, start with the Tommy’s Margarita. It’s the agave, the lime, and nothing else.”