(PCM) The curious thing about the Margarita is that there is multiple tales about the inception of the drink, and each tale is steeped in urban legend. The unlikely stories behind the famous drink likely started because of the nature of how the drink surged in popularity in the early 1940s so fast that it didn’t leave much room for people to figure out where the charming, sweet and salty cocktail came from. As bartenders across Mexico and California wanted to cash in on the Margarita craze, it would seem everybody had some unique story about the origin of the drink—and unsurprisingly those stories would often be related to the promotional effort of a bar.
The most popular story involves Hussong’s Cantina in Enseneda, Mexico in the early 1940s. When you ask most Margarita know-it-alls about the origin of the drink, they’ll tell you that the famous bartender Don Carlos created the drink for a woman named Margarita who was the daughter of a German ambassador, and that he first fashioned the drink using a type of orange liqueur. This story, of course, has added to the fame and mystique of Hussong’s Cantina, and although the story can’t be disproven, it’s not the final word on where the drink came from.
Another popular story is that it was created for a popular Hollywood golden-age entertainer named Peggy “Margaret” Lee who would attend a famous nightclub called the Balinese Room, in Galveston, Texas. However, given that the Margarita was definitely around before the date of this storyline (1948), it seems less likely as an origin tale. Yet more stories of the Margarita place the origin to Juarez, Mexico and San Diego, California with equally spun stories of famous bartenders and famous patrons.
Another theory is that the drink is a variant of the Daisy, which is a brandy or Cognac based cocktail that uses lemon juice and yellow Chartreuse. Perhaps the real mystery of the Margarita is how it achieved its name, as variants of the drink were certainly around for a long time, and probably pre-date most of the inception stories. Since the Daisy is an American drink, and the Margarita is clearly Mexican, it would seem that a lot of bartenders, around the same time, were realizing that Tequila was a great substitute for Cognac, and somewhere along the way savvy marketers started branding one of these variants the Margarita, invoking the imagery of beautiful Mexican senoritas. This was around the same time that Hollywood was helping glamorize Mexico, and Americans were frequently visiting areas like Cuba for their vacations, so it’s no surprise Latin American imagery could be infused into the commercial success of a new and tasty cocktail.
Whatever the story is, one thing is clear is that the Margarita is a world-famous drink with a unique zest that has allowed it to travel from its potential origin in Mexico, to just about every location under the sun, as every bar or club worth its salt knows how to mix a Margarita. And, just like the uncertain origin of the drink, the preparation also remains a mixed bag of opinions, as the “perfect” Margarita remains as elusive as the history of it.
Gabe Roberts is a professional blogger that enjoys discussing event planning topics. He writes for Themargaritamasters.com a party supplies rental company.
