Classic Margarita
Blanco tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime, shaken hard and poured over fresh ice in a half salt-rimmed glass: the sour that Mexico, Texas and California all claim.
Nobody knows who made the first margarita, and at least five places say they did. Wikipedia's margarita article lists the claims: bartender Carlos "Danny" Herrera at Rancho La Gloria near Tijuana around 1938 (a story it says the San Diego Reader debunked in 1992); Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada in 1941; Francisco "Pancho" Morales at Tommy's Place in Juárez on July 4, 1942, whom it says many experts consider the strongest claim; Dallas socialite Margarita Sames at her Acapulco house in 1948; and Santos Cruz at the Balinese Room in Galveston, also 1948. The paper trail is older than most of the stories. "Margarita" is Spanish for daisy, and cocktail historian David Wondrich traces the drink to the brandy daisy; a "Tequila Daisy" turns up in 1936 newspapers; a British book, the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book, prints a "Picador" with the margarita's 2 to 1 to 1 tequila, orange liqueur and lime; and Cuervo ran margarita ads by 1945, three years before the Sames party. The first known recipe under the name ran in Esquire in December 1953 (Wikipedia; Difford's Guide).
Why it works the kitchen science
A sour in three parts
Spirit for strength, orange liqueur for sweetness and orange oil, lime for acid. The same skeleton as the sidecar and the brandy daisy Wondrich links it to.
Salt on half the rim
Salt mutes bitterness and lifts the lime, and leaving half bare lets each sip be salty or clean.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Shaken. Chill a rocks (old-fashioned) glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Run the lime wedge around half of the outside rim and roll that half in the salt. Tap off the loose salt and fill the glass with fresh ice cubes.
- Step 3
Squeeze the lime juice just before mixing; it tastes flat after about an hour.
- Step 4
Add the tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice to a shaker, fill it two-thirds with ice cubes and seal it.
- Step 5
Shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds, until the outside of the shaker is frosty and too cold to hold comfortably.
- Step 6
Strain into the prepared glass over the fresh ice, add the lime wheel and serve right away.
Classic Margarita
Serves 1 · 1 drink · 3 min total
Drink
- 1 3/4 oz (50 ml) blanco tequila (100% agave)
- 1 oz (30 ml) orange liqueur (triple sec)
- 3/4 oz (22 ml) fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
Glass and garnish
- 1 lime wedge, for the rim
- About 1 tbsp kosher or flaky sea salt, on a small plate
- 1 lime wheel
- Ice cubes, for shaking and serving
Method
- Method: Shaken. Chill a rocks (old-fashioned) glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Run the lime wedge around half of the outside rim and roll that half in the salt. Tap off the loose salt and fill the glass with fresh ice cubes.
- Squeeze the lime juice just before mixing; it tastes flat after about an hour.
- Add the tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice to a shaker, fill it two-thirds with ice cubes and seal it.
- Shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds, until the outside of the shaker is frosty and too cold to hold comfortably.
- Strain into the prepared glass over the fresh ice, add the lime wheel and serve right away.
Adapted from Difford's Guide, "The Original Margarita": 50 ml blanco tequila, 30 ml orange liqueur (triple sec), 20 ml fresh lime juice, shaken and strained over ice into a salt-rimmed old-fashioned glass. We write it as 1 3/4 oz, 1 oz and 3/4 oz, and rim only half the glass so the drinker can choose. Difford's notes the older 1937 ratio was 2 parts tequila to 1 each of triple sec and lime; the IBA standard is 50 ml tequila, 20 ml triple sec and 15 ml lime (Wikipedia's infobox). diffordsguide.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Want it "up"? Strain into a chilled coupe with no ice. Want it stronger in orange? Use a full 1 oz lime and a full 1 oz liqueur.
- Use a 100% agave tequila, as the IBA spec does for the paloma; the label says so.
- Our math: about 1.8 US standard drinks, assuming both the tequila and the orange liqueur are 80 proof (Difford's lists 1.8 for its version).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Carlos Herrera invented it for Marjorie King in 1938. Disputed: the most told Tijuana story; Wikipedia says the San Diego Reader debunked it in 1992.
- Margarita Sames invented it in Acapulco in 1948. Disputed: Sames told the story herself, but Cuervo's margarita ads ran in 1945 (Wikipedia, citing Anthony Dias Blue).
- Pancho Morales has the strongest claim. Disputed: Mexico's Notimex and "many experts" back him, per Wikipedia; the evidence is still his own account.
- The margarita is a tequila daisy. Documented as Wondrich's view (Wikipedia), and "margarita" does mean daisy in Spanish.
- The ratio is 2:1:1. Documented for the 1937 "Picador" (Difford's Guide); the IBA uses 10:4:3. Both are "correct".
Every other cocktail
Frozen Margarita (Dallas, 1971)
The margarita as Texas made it famous: tequila, orange liqueur, lime and a little syrup blended with crushed ice into a smooth, spoonable slush, the drink a Dallas restaurateur put in a machine in 1971.
Cuban Daiquiri
The original daiquiri is not pink and not frozen: white rum, fresh lime and a little sugar, shaken ice cold and strained into a chilled coupe, the way it was made in Cuba before America put it in a blender.
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
How America remade the Cuban daiquiri: white rum, lime and sugar blended with frozen strawberries and crushed ice into a thick red slush, the version that came with the electric blender.
Cuban Mojito
Havana's highball: mint pressed gently with lime and sugar, white rum, a mound of crushed ice and a splash of soda, built and churned right in the glass.
Negroni (and the Americano)
Equal parts gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth, stirred cold and served over one big cube with orange: Italy's bittersweet classic, plus the older "American-style" Americano it came from.
Old Fashioned (the Whiskey Cocktail)
The drink that defined the word cocktail: whiskey, a little sugar, bitters and water, stirred over one big cube with an orange peel, before fruit salad got muddled into it.
Manhattan
Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters stirred ice cold and served up with a cherry: New York's whiskey classic, and a famous origin story that cannot be true.
Tom Collins
Gin, lemon and sugar shaken, poured over ice in a tall glass and lengthened with soda: a sparkling lemonade for grownups, named, maybe, after a newspaper hoax.
Moscow Mule
Vodka, fresh lime and spicy ginger beer over ice in a cold copper mug: the 1940s American drink that sold a nation on vodka, and its famous mug.
Piña Colada (Caribe Hilton style)
Puerto Rico's official drink: white rum, sweet cream of coconut, a splash of heavy cream and fresh pineapple juice blended with ice, the way the Caribe Hilton shares its 1954 recipe.
Mai Tai (Trader Vic, 1944)
The real mai tai is not pink and has no pineapple juice: aged rum, lime, orange curaçao, almond orgeat and a touch of syrup, shaken and poured over crushed ice with mint and a spent lime shell.
Paloma
Mexico's everyday highball: blanco tequila, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt topped with cold grapefruit soda over ice, built in the glass in under two minutes.
Gin and Tonic
London dry gin and cold tonic water over plenty of ice with a squeeze of lime: the two-ingredient highball with a malaria-medicine backstory that is half history and half legend.
Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
All the mint, lime and fizz of a mojito with no alcohol at all: mint pressed with lime and syrup, crushed ice and plenty of club soda, built in the glass in four minutes.
Shirley Temple
The original American mocktail: cold ginger ale and a pour of grenadine over ice, with two maraschino cherries, the pink drink named for a child star who said she never liked it.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.