The Bar Journal

The 22nd of February marks International Margarita Day, a full day dedicated to one of the world’s most popular tequila cocktails. See below some interesting facts and figures about the tipple and our ITALICUS Margarita recipe. Salute!

The history of the Margarita 
Translating to “Daisy”, the tequila-based cocktail first originated in the early 1900s, although it’s unclear who the original founder was. The prohibition era saw some of the most famous bartending books created, and there is a reference to margarita style drinks listed in there, from London’s Cafe Royal’s Picador (tequila, lime and Cointreau) to New York’s Charlie Connelly’s tequila sour, which even included a salt rim.

Why is the Margarita so popular?
The margarita cocktail has stood the test of time and to this date, it’s still one of the most popular cocktails around the world. One country that excels in margarita drinking is the US, which reportedly drinks on average 185000 margaritas per hour. Other countries that enjoy the tipple include the UK, Canada, Australia and France. Bars are becoming more experimental with the ingredients they use in the cocktail, swapping out the orange liqueur for alternatives or adding different varieties of fruit to the mix.

Margarita with a twist
We’ve put an Italian twist on the classic cocktail and created the ITALICUS Margarita. By swapping out the orange liqueur for ITALICUS, the cocktail has fresh citrus and Mediterranean flavours. See the full recipe below.

Ingredients
30ml Blanco tequila
30ml Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
15ml fresh lime juice
1 bar spoon of agave nectar
lime zest garnish

Method
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and shake. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lime zest.

Salute – The Italspirits Team