Who’s responsible for inventing it? Welcome to the tequila-laced rabbit hole of margarita myth and legend. In mainstream media, it first appeared in Jose Cuervo ads as early as 1945 with the tagline, “Margarita: it’s more than a girl’s name”. And then in 1965, it debuted in print when the Oxford English Dictionary defined the Margarita as “a cocktail made with tequila and citrus fruit juice.” However, the actual invention probably happened in the 1930s.
We’ll start with the creation story that’s most widely accepted. In 1938, Carlos “Denny” Herrera —bartender and owner of a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico —went the extra mile for a beautiful, booze-allergic Ziegfeld girl named Marjorie King. Tequila was the only spirit she could drink without getting sick but didn’t like it straight up. So, Herrera added lime and salt for the first Margarita.
The other legend, also female-centric, credits Margarita Sames. Sames, like a retro Real Housewives of Dallas, claimed she mixed up the drink for friends at her villa in Acapulco in 1948. She served tequila and Cointreau. The drink’s popularity, known as “Margarita’s drink,” spread among her socialite friends, including Joseph Drown, owner of the Hotel Bel-Air, and Conrad Hilton, Jr., son of Hilton Hotel chain founder. They began serving it in their hotel bars and, as they say, the rest is history.
The original recipe for the Tequila Daisy, he says, called for Tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and a splash of soda. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that margarita means “daisy” in Spanish.
Today, the basic recipe is blanco Tequila (though reposado is a popular and delicious variation), mixed with lime juice and orange liqueur, often served in a glass with a salted rim.
The frozen margarita became popular in the 1950s, as blenders began to appear in bars. But it truly took off in 1971, when Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez created the first frozen margarita machine. His original machine resides in the Smithsonian museum.
Another popular variation is the Tommy’s Margarita, which a growing number of bartenders profess is the best version of the drink. Julio Bermejo, the owner of the legendary Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, is the expert behind this modern classic, which swaps in agave nectar to replace the standard orange liqueur.