The Margarita – A Classic and A (More) Seasonal Riff

The margarita is one of the most classic cocktails in existence. They can be expertly-crafted, intriguing libations. They can also be sickly-sweet frozen sludge that comes out of a machine somebody paid way too much money for based on an old song. (If we’re talking margarita songs, I prefer the one from Mas Ysa on their very-weird atmo-rock album Seraph…)

A good one is amazing – Nick Kokanas says in his intro to The Aviary Cocktail Book that the first great drink he had was a simple margarita. I know several people that have recently discovered excellent, simple margaritas that they won’t shut up about. It’s an excellent cocktail when made properly.

The margarita is not, generally, thought of as a winter cocktail. It’s more associated with sitting on a beach somewhere during the dog days of summer. But, with all the citrus involved, it actually fits quite well with the season, and it’s easy to riff on and make it even more seasonal.

The Story

The specific history of alcohol is a tricky thing. When it’s not being argued over by now-defunct semi-autonomous medieval kingdoms like vermouth, it’s usually being attributed to a single person in some far-flung bar that had a random great idea that stuck. This, as Punch expertly points out in this excellent article, is almost never true. Instead, it’s just the result of extensive brand marketing efforts by liquor conglomerates with obscene amounts of money.

The Myth

The margarita falls prey to this common issue. Cointreau (which I do love, and which is now owned by Remy Martin) claims that a fancy Dallas socialite by the name of Margarita Sames created the drink with her favorite ingredients. Of course, this includes that particular French orange liqueur.

This is lent credence by the fact that Cointreau is the official liqueur used in the drink as defined by the International Bartenders Association. These folks maintain the “official” recipes for 77 different drinks, as well as definitions of different ingredients in an effort to ensure consistent guest experience at bars all around the world. They don’t always specify a specific variety of an ingredient, but when they do brands like to flaunt that fact and add to the myth of the drink.

The (Likely) Truth

In reality, the margarita was likely created a hundred different ways in a hundred different bars by a hundred different bartenders until it got popular enough to start being truly defined in different recipe books. A margarita is just a class of the much-older Daisy cocktail where the original brandy is swapped out for tequila (there are other changes, of course, but that’s the base).

This could happen anywhere in-or-around Mexico, and it likely did. By the 1940s, this had happened enough that the margarita could stand on its own, and big brands with deep pockets jumped on board to increase their own sales. Cointreau undoubtedly won this round, though Grand Marnier lays claim to the “Cadillac Margarita” as its own superior version, and you’ll still see this called out on cocktail lists.

The Classic

Because it’s really only 3-4 ingredients, there are an unlimited number of specific mixes you can find on exactly which ratio works best. The IBA official recipe calls for 7 parts tequila, 4 parts Cointreau, and 3 parts lime juice. Serious Eats recommends a version with 8 parts tequila, 4 parts Cointreau, and 3 parts lime juice (so a bit hotter).

The version above is my own version, but it’s not much different. It uses 2 parts tequila (anejo in this case, because it’s January and brown spirits are better in winter), 1 part Cointreau, and 1 part lime juice. It’s a bit more acidic than either of the above recipes, and that’s what I’m looking for when I order a straight margarita.

I want to taste the tequila clearly, but I want it to start with a bite of acid and I want it to finish with a citric sweetness. This recipe achieves that better than the others I’ve tried, and, frankly, it’s just easier to remember because the proportions are cleaner.

The Winter Version

If you’re still not on board with a regular margarita in the middle of winter, I completely understand. After all, with so much good citrus around this time of year, why limit yourself to limes? The recipe below should work for any of the sweet citrus juices you’ll be able to squeeze this season, but I used Dekopon in my version.

This is, unfortunately, not nearly as clean as my base recipe. I use 9 parts tequila (again, anejo), 3 parts Cointreau, 2 parts seasonal citrus juice, and 2 parts lime juice. It’s a bit hotter with more tequila, and a bit sweeter because the acid of the lime is split with a sweeter juice along with the liqueur.

It maintains the characteristics of a margarita, but the added sweetness and citrus character give it a bit more depth that feels appropriate on a cold, cloudy day.