Margarita
Origin
Origin contested. The most-cited claim credits Carlos 'Danny' Herrera at Rancho La Gloria near Tijuana c. 1938; Francisco 'Pancho' Morales (Tommy's Place, Juárez, 1942) and Santos Cruz (Balinese Room, Galveston, 1948) also have documented claims. Wondrich notes the drink is structurally a Tequila Daisy ('margarita' is Spanish for daisy).
Variations
- Spicy MargaritaMuddle jalapeño slices before shaking
- Mezcal MargaritaSwap tequila for mezcal for a smoky version
- Tommy's MargaritaReplace triple sec with agave syrup
Related guides
Agave Spirits
Tequila, mezcal, and the rest — what the labels actually mean and which bottles deserve your shelf.
Bitters and Modifiers
The small bottles that turn liquor into a cocktail — what each bitter and modifier does, and what to buy.
Food Pairing — What to Drink With What
A cocktail-pairing framework: match weight, mirror sweetness, use bitterness, and know the combinations that actually work.
Garnish Like You Mean It
Twists, wedges, rims, and cherries — what each garnish actually does, when to use it, and what to skip.
Home Bar Setup — What to Buy at $200, $500, and $1000
Tiered shopping lists for cocktails per dollar, plus orphan bottles to skip and cheap bottles that punch above their price.
Hosting — Cocktails for People Who Have Other Things to Do
A working host's playbook. Batch the stirred drinks, pre-portion the citrus, and stop trying to bartend through your own dinner party.
Mocktails Without the Sad-Soda Energy
How to build non-alcoholic drinks that taste deliberate, not deprived. The flavor architecture, the modifiers that fix flat soda water, and what to skip.