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Home » Mary’s Classic Margarita Recipe

Mary’s Classic Margarita Recipe

Who doesn’t daydream about sitting on a white sand beach, the sound of waves crashing, sand between your toes and a cold margarita in your hand? The margarita has a way of transporting you to a sunny beach bar no matter where you are.

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A BRIEF HISTORY

As lovely as a daisy, as exquisite as a pearl, a woman dances with windswept hair, her green eyes sparkle in the moonlight. The true embodiment of the iconic cocktail, the margarita.

Although Jose Cuervo used the tagline, “Margarita: it’s more than a girl’s name” in 1945, we still see confusion based around which woman’s name inspired this mystery bartender to make America’s next favorite cocktail. It is estimated that Americans consumed on average 185,000 margaritas per hour in 2008 and we still can’t figure out exactly who to thank for this simple, 3-part, delectable beverage. We couldn’t pick just one mixologist to give the credit to, so we thought we’d let you decide for yourself.

Margaritas became popular during the Prohibition as U.S. residents travelled to Mexico for alcohol in the 1920’s and 30’s. Margarita translates to the English word “daisy”. The Daisy, is a popular Mexican drink similar to the margarita but made with brandy instead of tequila. Margarita also translates to “pearl” in Latin, therefore the drink was said to gain its name from daisy flowers resembling the beauty of a pearl.

 

THE MYSTERY WOMAN

The most common folklore came from a restaurant in 1938 in between Tijuana and Rosarito, in Baja California. The restaurant was named Rancho La Gloria by Carlos “Danny” Herrera, the owner and speculated mastermind behind the margarita. Marjorie King, a popular showgirl of the time, was allergic to all alcohol, except tequila… or maybe she was just picky and didn’t like hangovers LOL. No matter the reason, she would only drink tequila. Danny Herrera accepted the challenge and set to work trying to find the perfect combination of ingredients to satisfy her needs, the iconic cocktail he would name after the lady he customized it for, Margarita.

In the following years, many more women would come forward with stories about why it was their name behind the origin story of the margarita.

Actress Rita Hayworth claimed she was offered one by an admiring bartender in Tijuana in the 1940s, since her real name was Margarita Cansino, it must have been named after her, right?

Or was it first served to singer Peggy Lee from Galveston, Texas. Peggy is a traditional nickname for Margaret, which then translates to Margarita… Maybe a bit of a stretch.

One of the strongest claims comes from a Mexican bartender, Francisco “Pancho” Morales, who claimed that he first mixed the margarita in Juárez, Mexico at Tommy’s Place Bar on July 4, 1942. Morales later left bartending in Mexico with his three kids and wife named… wait for it… Margarita. He became a US citizen and worked as a milkman for 25 years.

We may never know the true creator of this magical concoction, but we can pay tribute to their fine work by mixing up this citrusy cocktail at home for family and friends!

 

CHOOSING YOUR TEQUILA

When choosing a tequila, you want a reposado or blanco that’s low to mid-price range, the better the tequila, the better the flavor of your margarita. The more expensive tequila should be saved for sipping or used in our Cadillac Margarita Recipe.

COINTREAU VS. TRIPLE SEC

Cointreau is a name brand and is made from sweet and bitter orange peels and beet sugar alcohol. It has a crisp, smooth orange flavor. Triple Sec is a kind of orange liqueur made by many different companies; it is a drier style that originated in France.

If you want to make a higher-end margarita, Cointreau is the way to go. Triple Sec is a more economical choice and works in a pinch.

MARY’S MARGARITA MIX

Take the hassle out of making the perfect margarita. Rated “Best Margarita You Can Buy” by Purewow.com, we only use the highest quality ingredients including Organic Blue Agave. We start with lime for the base flavor. Since straight lime can be extremely bitter, we add key lime for a little sweetness and floral notes. Next, we add a little tangerine juice to naturally curb the acidic bite while still maintaining the citrus profile. We finish it off with calamansi which gives it a slightly tart, pucker finish that resembles authentic margaritas of Mexico. The tangerine is what lends Mary’s Margarita Mix to fit perfectly with a Cadillac Margarita and allows us to use less cane sugar than most brands on the market. The sweetness of the Organic Blue Agave mixes perfectly with tequila.

 

HOW TO MAKE A MARGARITA:

 

Prep your workspace:

You will need a shaker filled with ice, a measuring/shot glass, a few wedges of lime, and a glass of your choosing. We are using a classic margarita glass.

 

Step #1:

Gather your ingredients: Tequila, Cointreau, Mary’s Margarita Mix, lime wedges, and margarita salt.

 

Step #2:

Take a lime wedge and run it along the rim of the glass, turn the glass over and gently press the rim into the margarita salt. Add ice to the glass and set aside.

 

Step #3:

Measure out 1-2 oz of the tequila of your choice, 1 oz of Cointreau and 3 oz of Mary’s Margarita Mix.

 

Step #4:

Add all ingredients to shaker.

 

Step #5:

Shake until chilled, about 30 seconds should do it.

 

Step #6:

Pour contents into your prepared glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

 

Step #7:

Enjoy!

 

Try this recipe with one of our other mixers!

 

Mary’s Pineapple Jalapeno Margarita Mix

Mary’s Strawberry Margarita Mix

Mary’s Dark Cherry Pomegranate Mix

See our other Margaritas

 

 

Mary's Classic Margarita

Servings 1

Equipment

  • Knife
  • Cocktail Shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1-2 oz Tequila Reposado or blanco
  • 1 oz Cointreau or triple sec
  • 3 oz Mary's Mixers Margarita Mix
  • Margarita salt for rim optional
  • Lime wedge for garnish optional

Instructions
 

  • Take a lime wedge and run it along the rim of a chilled cocktail glass, turn the glass over and gently press the glass rim into the margarita salt. Fill with ice and set aside.
  • Add tequila, Cointreau and Mary’s Margarita Mix to a cocktail shaker with ice. 
  • Shake to combine, strain into prepared cocktail glass.
  • Garnish with a lime wedge.
Keyword best margarita mix