The Correct Way to Make a Margarita

This is the Mexican version of the Sidecar, swapping out the brandy for tequila and the lemon juice for lime juice. Practically every bartender living in Tijuana during the late 1930s claimed to have invented this and has some divine epiphany story of how they thought it up. Hell some even claim William J. Tarling in London invented it, and to his credit he did publish one of the oldest recordings of it in his 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, he called it the Picador though. Most likely it was just creative bartenders making variations of a whiskey sour or sidecar with alternate spirits. I’m always intrigued when different people from around the world invent or discover similar creations at the same time. As if a kind of global society has reached the same wall and is ready to climb over it to the other side… I shouldn’t get too deep though, we’re just talking booze here.

Margarita Cocktail
Margarita Cocktail

Margarita ingredients:

  • 60 mls (2 oz) Silver Tequila
  • 30 mls (1 oz) Orange Liqueur
  • 20 mls (2/3 oz) Lime Juice


ABV = 32%

Commonly believed to have come from Tijuana, Mexico but the first know recipe of the Margarita is from London, UK from the Cafe Royal. A bar known for experimenting with less more exotic ingredients.
