Every cocktail aficionado worth their drink will rank the margarita amongst their favorite drinks. And it’s so easy to see why—the margarita, with its myriad of sweet, salty, and sour flavors, is an instant classic enjoyed the world over.
But where did the margarita come from? And who invented this famous drink? Let’s dive into the story behind the creation of this elixir.
Margarita History
Interestingly enough, the exact history of the margarita is still unclear. No one truly knows who invented it. But that’s not to say there haven’t been a few remaining legends surrounding its creation. We will explore some of them below.
The Carlos Herrera Story
One of the popular origin stories of the margarita is concocted by Mexican restaurant owner, Carlos (Danny) Herrera. As the story goes, one of Carlos’ customers, Marjorie King, was allergic to all kinds of alcoholic drinks, except for tequila.
Marjorie never liked straight tequilas. In a bid to make a suitable drink for her, Carlos combined tequila shots, a lick of salt, and a wedge of lime. By doing so, he created the famous margarita.
The Margaret Sames Story
Another contender for the margarita origin story is Texas socialite Margaret (AKA Margarita) Sames. Sames claimed that she whipped up the drink to serve her guests at her Acapulco home in 1948. Amongst her many guests was Tommy Hilton, who quickly added the drink to his hotels’ bar menus.
However, Jose Cuervo used the tagline “Margarita: it’s more than a girl’s name” in 1945–3 years prior to when Sames claimed to have invented the drink.
“Margarita” Name Meaning
According to the cocktail historian, David Wondrich, the author of Imbibe!, we can surmise that the margarita was created from a cocktail known as the Daisy.
A Daisy is a mixture of alcohol, grenadine, and citrus juice served with ice. There were many variations of daisies in the 1930s and 1940s, including the gin daisy, whiskey daisy, and tequila daisies (now known as margaritas). This makes sense, as the word “margarita” is the Spanish word for “daisy flower.”
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