The History of the Margarita: How the World's Favourite Tequila Cocktail Was Born

There are cocktails, and then there's the margarita. It's the drink that's been poured at more parties, more dinners, more rooftop sessions than almost anything else on the menu. But how did it actually get here? Who started it? And why does everyone seem to have a different story?

Ask ten bartenders where the margarita came from, and you'll probably get ten different answers. That's because nobody really knows

Grab a glass. Let's get into it.

The Daisy Connection

Back in the early 20th century, a whole category of cocktails was called "Daisies." They typically consisted of a spirit, citrus juice, and a sweetener. The formula was simple, and it worked.

When tequila started crossing the US-Mexico border, bartenders started making tequila daisies. Margarita is just the Spanish word for daisy. So in a way, the margarita didn't appear overnight; it evolved from something that already existed, and tequila made it better.

The Moment It Went Mainstream

Regardless of which origin story you believe, by the 1940s and 1950s, the margarita was catching on.

US soldiers passing through Mexico during World War II developed a taste for tequila and brought it home with them. Hollywood stars were heading south for holidays and coming back with a serious appreciation for what Mexico's national spirit could do.

Then in 1945, José Cuervo took out an advertisement with the tagline: "Margarita: it's more than a girl's name." That was arguably the moment tequila's most famous cocktail got its first official marketing push.