Margaritas & Cinco de Mayo

Photo courtesy of Cabrini.edu

Ah, Cinco de mayo! Having a margarita on Cinco de Mayo? Before we dive in, I thought we could explore the cocktail’s mysterious origins! How did it end up on cocktail menus all over the world? There are many versions of the story.

One of these stories involves American socialites & hotel barons. In a second version, a Mexican bartender named this drink in honor of one of its first taste tester, Margarita, the daughter of a German ambassador. Yet a 3rd is that the recipe started as a wedding gift.

Most of the stories of the origins of the margarita have been passed around saying it took place in Mexico between the 1930s – 1940s, according to Marie Sarita Gaytán, author of “¡Tequila!: Distilling the Spirit of Mexico”. Usually, the tale involves a man, typically a bartender, who creates a new drink for a woman – sometimes Mexican, and other times she is American.

All that aside, drink historians (apparently this is a profession?) say that the marvelous margarita most likely came to over time, as people and liquor spread around the world, mixing and mingling.

Margarita Recipe

Courtesy of Liquor.com’s version you can see here, check out this highly rated Margarita recipe:

Margarita
Courtesy Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

If there is any one drink most people associate with Cinco de Mayo, it’s probably this one. This classic cocktail is a combination of tequila, lime juice, and orange liqueur or agave syrup (or both, depending on the recipe) is popular for a reason: It’s a delicious drink and easy to make.

Ingredients:
2 ounces blanco (white) tequila
1/2 ounce orange liqueur
1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 ounce agave syrup
Garnish: lime wheel
Garnish: kosher salt (optional)

Steps:
1. Add tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and agave syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
2. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
3. Garnish with a lime wheel and kosher salt rim (optional).

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It's not that margaritas are horrible, it's that they're often made with subpar ingredients and not enough care to live up to their full potential. Here's how to fix that.
Courtesy CORNERS74, GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

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