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.
Blended margaritas existed before the machine: Wikipedia credits bartender Albert Hernandez with popularizing the margarita in San Diego and with an early blended frozen version in 1947. What changed America was consistency. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History announced on September 27, 2005 that it had acquired the world's first frozen margarita machine, invented on May 11, 1971 by Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez, who modified a soft-serve ice cream machine after seeing a 7-Eleven Slurpee machine; the museum's credit line reads "Gift of Mariano Martinez" (press release,, seen through search results because the museum's site refused our requests). Martinez never patented or trademarked it, according to Wikipedia's article on him), and the idea spread to every Tex-Mex restaurant in the country.
🇺🇸 This one is American
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.
🇨🇺 The original
The original daiquiri is three things shaken hard with ice: Cuban white rum, fresh lime juice and sugar, served straight up and very cold. See the Cuban Daiquiri recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Sugar keeps it soft
Syrup lowers the freezing point, so the blended ice stays a smooth slush instead of a hard block, which is the same reason soft-serve machines work.
Dry blend first
Mixing the liquids before the ice goes in means the blender only has to break ice, so it finishes faster and melts less.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Blended. Chill a coupe or margarita glass in the freezer for 10 minutes. Salt the rim now if you want it (wet the rim with lime, dip in salt).
- Step 2
Pour the tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and simple syrup into a blender with no ice and blend on low for 5 seconds to mix.
- Step 3
Add the crushed ice.
- Step 4
Blend on low for 10 seconds, then on high for 20 to 30 seconds, until smooth with no ice chunks and the vortex in the middle closes up.
- Step 5
Check the texture: it should mound on a spoon. Too thin, add 2 tbsp more ice and blend 5 seconds; too thick, add 1 tsp lime juice and blend 5 seconds.
- Step 6
Pour into the chilled glass, add the lime wheel and serve with a short straw right away, before it separates.
Frozen Margarita (Dallas, 1971)
Serves 1 · 1 drink (about 8 oz) · 5 min total
Drink
- 1 1/2 oz (45 ml) blanco tequila (100% agave)
- 3/4 oz (22 ml) orange liqueur (triple sec)
- 3/4 oz (22 ml) fresh lime juice
- 3/4 oz (22 ml) simple syrup (1:1; see Tips)
- 1 cup crushed ice (about 6 oz)
Garnish
- 1 lime wheel
- Coarse salt for the rim (optional)
Method
- Method: Blended. Chill a coupe or margarita glass in the freezer for 10 minutes. Salt the rim now if you want it (wet the rim with lime, dip in salt).
- Pour the tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and simple syrup into a blender with no ice and blend on low for 5 seconds to mix.
- Add the crushed ice.
- Blend on low for 10 seconds, then on high for 20 to 30 seconds, until smooth with no ice chunks and the vortex in the middle closes up.
- Check the texture: it should mound on a spoon. Too thin, add 2 tbsp more ice and blend 5 seconds; too thick, add 1 tsp lime juice and blend 5 seconds.
- Pour into the chilled glass, add the lime wheel and serve with a short straw right away, before it separates.
Adapted from Difford's Guide, "Margarita (frozen)": 1 1/2 oz blanco tequila, 3/4 oz triple sec, 3/4 oz lime juice and 1/2 oz rich (2:1) sugar syrup, dry-blended first, then blended with a 7 oz scoop of crushed ice and poured into a chilled coupe. We swap the rich syrup for 3/4 oz plain 1:1 simple syrup (about the same sugar), leave out the optional xanthan gum, and give blend times, which Difford's does not. diffordsguide.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Simple syrup: stir 1/2 cup sugar into 1/2 cup hot water until clear; cool; keeps 2 weeks in the fridge.
- Making four? Multiply by four, use 4 cups ice, and blend in two batches; one big batch over-fills most home blenders.
- Our math: about 1.5 US standard drinks, assuming 80-proof tequila and liqueur.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Mariano Martinez invented the frozen margarita. Disputed wording: he invented the frozen margarita machine (Smithsonian press release, via search results); blended frozen margaritas were already served in the 1940s (Wikipedia credits Albert Hernandez, 1947).
- He started from a soft-serve ice cream machine. Documented in the Smithsonian's announcement as reported in search results; some retellings say a Slurpee machine. The Slurpee was the inspiration, the soft-serve machine the base.
- His friend the chemist who helped build it was John Hogan. Disputed: one Smithsonian page names John Hogan, another names Frank Adams (search results). Leave the helper unnamed.
- The machine has been in the Smithsonian since 2005. Documented by the press release date (September 27, 2005) and accession number 2005.0226.01; Texas Monthly said 2003 (search summary). Use 2005.
Every other cocktail
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.
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.