Triple Sec: The Margarita

Depending on which bartender you ask, the Margarita is a tequila-twist on a Sour, a Sidecar or a Daisy – all of which comprise of a base spirit, an acidic component (lemon, lime) and a sweet ingredient (liqueur).

The first written recipe, published in a 1953 issue of Esquire, recommended an ounce of tequila, a dash of triple-sec and lime or lemon juice – and purists argue that, aside from the addition of a salt rim, a true Margarita should not veer away from this core trio.

In this, its most classic form, it is served either on the rocks, straight-up or frozen.

No other cocktail’s creation is mired in more mystery.

All manner of theories abound– many of which, like the margarita itself, should be taken with a generous pinch of salt.

Several bars, either side of the Mexican border, claim to have been the drink’s birthplace while some say it was a Texan drink, created in homage to either actor Rita Hayworth (whose real name was Margarita Cansino) or singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee in the late 1940s.

A popular tale is of a Texan socialite called Margarita Sames who, while living it up in Acapulco, mixed tequila with triple sec before adding lime and a salt rim.

Known initially as “Margarita’s drink”, its popularity spread via her significant social network including John Wayne and Tommy Hilton, who added it to the cocktail menu across his eponymous hotel chain.

While the marketing folk at Cointreau push Sames’ story, some hail bartender Danny Herrera as the creator, first pouring the drink at a Tijuana roadside restaurant for a pretty young dancer named Marjorie King.

Herrera served the drink to King, who claimed she was allergic to every spirit other than tequila, in a stemmed glass rimmed with rock salt and christened it ‘Margarita’ – Spanish for Marjorie.

When pressed on the exact date when this happened Hererra wavered between 1947 and 1948. “Three things happen when you get old,” he said. “You lose your memory, and I can’t recall the other two.”

Just like the martini and the daiquiri, the popularity of the margarita has seen it mutate into distinct departures from the original. Some use additional or alternative ingredients ranging from chili and amaretto to red wine, Chartreuse and even single malt Scotch whisky.

The Tommy’s Margarita, however, is the most iconic ‘twist’ on the classic. Created in Tommy’s Bar in San Francisco in the late 1980s by owner, and legendary agave aficionado, Julio Bermejo, it’s a slightly sweeter version (owing to the removal of Triple Sec with agave syrup) that’s served on the rocks.

Margarita (On The Rocks) – by Jesse Estes, agave spirit expert.

50ml Tequila Ocho Blanco

25ml freshly squeezed lime juice.

25ml Ferrand Dry Curaçao

Glass: rocks

Garnish: half salt rim (ideally Maldon brand salt flakes) and optional lime wedge

Method: Shake all ingredients vigorously before double straining into rocks glass over cubed ice.