Multiple claimants, 1930s–40s.
| 2 oz · 60 ml | BLANCO TEQUILA | 40 % |
| 1 oz · 30 ml | LIME JUICE | |
| ¾ oz · 22 ml | TRIPLE SEC | 30 % |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
Variants: Mezcal Margarita.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 3.75 oz mixed with ice, 1.03 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.75 oz of water |
| Served | 3.75 + 0.75 = 4.5 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 1.03 ÷ 4.5 = 22.8 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 1.03 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 24 g · about 167 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM LIME · the lemon aroma
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
ALSO IN Mojito · Daiquiri · Whiskey Sour · Gimlet · Moscow Mule · Paper Plane · Aviation · Corpse Reviver #2
FROM ORANGE LIQUEUR · citrus peel oil
An orange rind, squeezed, throws a spray that catches the light. That's d-limonene boiling off. It's roughly 95% of orange peel oil by mass, and the molecule that puts the "orange" in orange anything. Used industrially as a green solvent because the chemistry that dissolves citrus oils also dissolves greasy machinery. The expressed-peel garnish on a cocktail is delivering vaporized limonene to the rim of the glass.
ALSO IN Old Fashioned · Martini · Gin & Tonic · Cosmopolitan · Mai Tai · Piña Colada · Hemingway Daiquiri · Americano
Tequila, lime and orange liqueur, shaken. Citral from lime oil delivers the bright top note, and d-limonene from the triple sec anchors the orange. Unaged blanco tequila means congeners run moderate compared to brown-spirit cocktails.
The most-cited origin is Carlos 'Danny' Herrera at Rancho La Gloria near Tijuana, who said he made the first one in 1938 for showgirl Marjorie King, who was allergic to all spirits except tequila. Competing claims include Dallas socialite Margarita Sames (Acapulco, 1948) and Tommy's Place in Juárez. The Cointreau-lime ratio crystallized in print by the early 1950s.
