Some People Say There’s a Woman to Blame

By Darryl Beeson

"The Margarita is one of the most requested pre-dinner cocktails," says the bartender. Not a bartender in Guadalajara, but Salvatore Calabrese, bar manager at the Lanesborough Hotel in London. "The name has intrigue, a hint of romance and femininity. I prefer to use a little less Tequila in my recipe. This succeeds in a better balance between the Tequila and the lime because it gives the drink a more lip-smacking finish," adds Calabrese.

Margarita, the drink, is popular the world over. But how was this ethereal balance of Tequila, orange liqueur and a relevant splash of lime-juice invented? Accounts differ, but all are anchored in the 1930's and 40's, matching an actress, socialite or wife named Margaret to the on-the-spot creation of a new, magical drink.

"American actress Marjorie King was the guest at Rancha La Gloria in Tijuana, Mexico, owned by Danny Herrera," explains Calabrese, winner of The Campari Bartender of the Year in 1993. "When he discovered that the actress was allergic to every spirit but Tequila, he mixed the drink and named it Margarita, the Mexican equivalent of Marjorie."

Realizing that I should never let the truth get in the way of a good story, especially about such a fine drink mixture, I ask another expert where it all began and got a completely different explanation. "It was an evolution of the Side Car," says Lance Cutler, a California winemaker known in some circles as the Mondavi of agave.

Admittedly Cutler’s frank explanation is about as romantic as kissing your mother. Make that mother-in-law. Nonetheless, the Side Car's recipe, brought back from France by soldiers in World War I and later stealing the show during the less than prohibitive "Roaring 20's," was the drink of a drinking era. Built from Cognac, lemon juice and Cointreau orange liqueur, with sugar on the rim, no less, the Side Car preceded the Margarita by close to twenty years.

The challenge with Prohibition was that necessity dictated that drinks be made with the ingredients at hand. Movie celebrities and thirsty consumers easily slipped down to Mexico from California. Limes instead of lemon, no problem. Tequila instead of V.S.O.P. Sounds swell, but salt instead of sugar on the rim? Si, señor.

Think of the retro-fitting of the Side Car as not unlike how the Bob Wills orchestra retro-fitted Big Band music with western instruments. Use what you have and go forward. The results can be amazing. Ah-ha, my Mexicali Rose!

For a European approach to making a Margarita, here is Salvatore Calabrese's recipe from London's Lanesborough Hotel (maybe this should be called a Margarita Thatcher).
    1oz Tequila
    1oz fresh lime juice
    2/3oz triple sec (or Cointreau)

Rub the rim of the glass with a wedge of lime and dip the glass into a saucer of fine salt. Place all ingredients into a shaker. Shake sharply and strain into the glass. Garnish with a wedge on the rim of the glass (from Classic Cocktails by Salvatore Calabrese, $14.95 hardback, Sterling).

If you are a Tequila purist, like Lance Cutler, opt for a Paloma (Spanish for “dove”). The recipe is simply your desired dose of Tequila, juice from a quarter of a lime and a pinch of salt mixed with Squirt, a popular soft drink in Mexico and distributed by Dr. Pepper in the US.

For more than you ever dreamed possible about Tequila, consult Lance Cutler's The Tequila Lover's Guide to Mexico and Mezcal, $17.50 paperback, Wine Patrol Press.

Over the past decade, as sommelier or cellar master of restaurants such as The Mansion on Turtle Creek and the Adolphus Hotel's French Room, Dallas-based Darryl Beeson helped garner the Wine Spectator's Grand Award and Food & Wine Magazine's Best Wine List Award. He has also been nominated for The James Beard Foundation's Award For Best Restaurant Wine Service.

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