-1-

Margarita Quest

By George Sinclair

1) Danny Negrete ( invented 1936),

"Garci Crespo hotel" (1934 – 1948), Peubla, México

Danny Negrete's
Margarita
Ingredients Preparation Glass Garnish
1 part silver Tequila Shake & Strain Rocks None
1 part triple sec (crushed
(Cointreau) ice)
1 part fresh lime juice

The most circulated origin story of Negrete’s Margarita is a), though b) is the
official Negrete Family version of events.

a) Invented the Margarita in honour of his girlfriend, who liked salt in all her drinks.
b) Invented the Margarita for his sister-in-law, Margarita, as a wedding present.

Danny Negrete went on to work at various other places in México, one of which is
Agua Caliente, where there is a race track that claims to be the birthplace of the
Margarita.

2) Francisco 'Pancho' Morales (Invented: 4th of July, 1942),

Died January 3rd 1997, aged 78. (ministry of tequila)

'Tommy's Place', Ciudad Juárez, México

“Pancho was a teacher in the Juárez bartenders’ school, the drink was soon well-
known all over the state of Chihuahua.” (“The Book of Tequila- A Complete Guide,
by Bob Emmons).

A customer asked for a Magnolia, which 'Pancho' didn't know, except that it had
Cointreau.

Francisco ”Pancho” Morales’

Margarita
Ingredients Preparation Glass Garnish
2 parts silver Tequila Shake with crushed Cocktail Salt rim.
ice,
1 part Triple Sec then strain into glass.
1 parts fresh lime
juice
 -2-

juice

3) Carlos ”Danny” Herrera (invented: 1947– 48),

died, May 14th 1992, aged 90 (The Houston Chronicle)

Invented the Margarita in honour of Marjorie 'Margarita' King, a show girl.

Marjorie King died, January 3rd 1998, aged 91 (LA Times)

Marjorie King starred in the following films:

· My Weakness (1933)
· Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1931)
· The Great Gabbo (1929)

"Rancho La Gloria", Rosarito Beach, México

“Rancho La Gloria”, located on the road between Tijuana and Rosarito Beach, close
to the Caliente Racetrack.”

- The Book of Tequila- A Complete Guide, by Bob Emmons.

Note: The Caliente Racetrack claims that it is the birthplace of the Margarita.

Carlos "Danny" Herrera's

Margarita
Ingredients Preparation Glass Garnish
3 parts silver Tequila Shake with crushed Cocktail Salt rim.
ice,
2 parts Cointreau then strain into glass.
1 part fresh lime juice

4) Enrique Bastante Gutierez (Invented: 1940’s)

Former World Cocktail Champion (?)

Invented the Margarita for Rita Hayworth

Hayworth’s Real name: Margarita Carmen Cansino,

born: 17th October 1918, Died: 14th May 1987.

no specific cocktail recipe found.

Margarita Cansino had, at one point, worked at the Agua Caliente Racetrack (early
1930’s). Did Gutierez work at Agua Caliente Racetrack? I am still waiting for an
answer, from Agua Caliente.
 -3-

5) Margaret Sames (Invented: December 1948),

Acapulco, México

Margaret Sames’
Margarita
Ingredients Preparation Glass Garnish
3 parts silver Tequila Shake with ice, Champagn Salt rim.
e
1 part Cointreau then strain into glass. Saucer
1 part fresh lime juice

GS: The Sames story is a little strange, some of the versions of the story lead me
to believe she was copying a drink she had seen somewhere else. But she, herself,
claims that she personally invented it.

Margarita ratios:

2:1:1=6:3:3 (50% tequila, 25% Triple Sec, 25% fresh lime juice).

3:2:1=6:4:2 (50% tequila, double as much Triple Sec than fresh lime juice).

3:1:1=6:2:2 (60% tequila, 20% Triple Sec, 20% fresh lime juice).

1:1:1=6:6:6 (33% tequila, 33% Triple Sec, 33% fresh lime juice).

GS: there is little difference between the 6:4:2 & 6:3:3, a mere shift of 1 (from
lime juice to Triple Sec)

GS: I feel it is safe to assume that it was invented in México, using Mexican limes
(“limons”), Triple Sec and Tequila.

GS: I find it curious that each inventor of the Margarita, appears to have invented
a different drink proportionally.

Debating It (Texas Monthly, August 1995):

Who created the Margarita, and when? It would be easier to identify the missing
link between man and ape. So many Margarita candidates have been put forward
and so little hard evidence has been offered that the origin of the now-ubiquitous
drink will probably never be known.
 -4-

The most frequently told version is that the Margarita was first made in the forties
by an unnamed bartender in Palm Springs, California, to mimic—but soften—the
classic combination of a shot of tequila accompanied by a lick of salt and a bite of
lime.

A favorite story among Texans is that a bartender named Pancho Morales invented
the Margarita on July 4, 1942, at a Juárez bar named Tommy's Place ("The Man Who
Invented the Margarita," TM, October 1974). Supposedly, it all began when a
woman requested a Magnolia (brandy, Cointreau, and an egg yolk topped with
champagne). Morales was a little fuzzy on the recipe, so he improvised—and his
ersatz creation was a big hit.

Another popular theory cites society hostess Margarita Sames (formerly of Dallas,
now of San Antonio), who claims to have concocted the drink for Christmas
houseguests at her Acapulco hacienda in 1948 ("Barroom Brawl," TM, July 1991).

But of all the people said to be associated with the Margarita, the one who
deserves the most credit is Vern Underwood, who first imported Jose Cuervo
tequila into the U.S. in 1945 and promulgated a great advertising slogan:
"Margarita: It's more than a girl's name."

Vernon O. Underwood
Chairman of the Board,

Young’s Market Company,

(Wine and Spirits Wholesaler),
2164 North Batavia,
Orange, California 92865,
(800) 317-6150

http://www.youngsmarket.com/

Response to E-mail, from George Smith at Young’s Marketing Company:

“THE TEQUILA BOOK has most of these answers”

“The Tequila Book” (1978) – Marion Gorman

ASIN: 0809281759

This is an out of print publication.

GS: Until I get a copy of “The Tequila Book”, I will defer to Robert Plotkins
statement that 1955 is the year of the “Margarita: It’s more than a girls name”
slogan.

Carlos “Danny” Herrera

 -5-

http://www.cerias.purdue.edu/homes/spaf/Yucks/V2/msg00063.html

SAN DIEGO Carlos "Danny" Herrera was always a little vague about the exact date
he mixed a jigger of white tequila with lemon juice and triple sec, creating a
smooth and salty concoction he named "Margarita."
It would have been October or November of 1947 or 1948, he told friends.
And then he would add: "Three things happen to you when you get old. You lose
your memory, and I can't recall the other two."
Mr. Herrera died here in San Diego of natural causes at the age of 90. He had
moved here five years ago to be with his daughter, Gloria Amezcua.
He was born in México City in 1901 and worked his way across México as a
young man, finally settling in Tijuana in 1929. He built a home seven miles south of
Tijuana in what was then wide open land he and his wife called "La Gloria," after
his daughter.
The couple added a bar in the home, the only one for miles, to entertain the
many friends who dropped in. Traffic was so heavy that the couple decided to
operate the bar as a business.
Their home became a restaurant in 1935, offering Mexican cuisine, mixed
drinks, beer and wine. Within a few years, the couple decided to add 10 motel
rooms next to the restaurant. Then came a swimming pool. Then came a booming
clientele from across the border including Hollywood stars.
Called Rancho La Gloria, it was midway on the old road that connected
Tijuana with Rosarito Beach.
Among the bar's clientele was a showgirl and sometime actress who called
herself Marjorie King. She was allergic to hard liquor, except for tequila, but she
didn't like to drink it straight or even with a lemon and salt.
Mr. Herrera started experimenting and came up with a concoction that was
three parts white tequila, two parts Cointreau and one part fresh lemon juice. He
added shaved ice and blended the mixture with a hand shaker.
He called the drink "Margarita," after the actress. He dipped a small, short-
stemmed glass in lemon juice, twirled the rim in a bowl of rock salt and poured in
the liquid.
He later bragged that she loved the drink from the first moment it touched
her lips. So did a lot of other people.
The drink made its way to a small restaurant in San Diego. Bartender Al
Hernandez mixed the concoction for the first time in the United States. He did
some more experimenting with different blends of juices and tequilas.
By the mid-1950s, Margaritas were served in almost every San Diego bar, and
their popularity eventually spread across the country.
Mr. Herrera and his first wife were divorced in 1940. He married a Coronado
socialite, the late LaVenda Van Ness, in 1950, and the couple built a large home in
La Gloria.
During the next 30 years the couple entertained many Hollywood
personalities, including Walt Disney, Mickey Rooney and Vincent Price. His wife
died in 1989.
Besides his daughter, Mr. Herrera is survived by four grandchildren and 12
great-grandchildren.

http://www.premiersystems.com/holiday/margarita.html
 -6-

The Tequila Margarita, its history and an original recipe.

The origin of the Margarita is problematical. It has been attributed to the Garcia
Crespo Hotel in Puebla, Bertita’s Bar in Taxco, a San Antonio party girl in Acapulco,
the Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, and even places in Los Angeles and San Diego.
Wherever it was invented, it had gained popularity by the 1930’s in both México
and the United States. My parents spoke of enjoying Margaritas in the ‘30s in
Guyamas. The Hussong family, who have owned Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada,
Baja California, since the 1860’s, did not claim to have invented the Margarita, but
they have served them since the 30’s and claimed their recipe to be as original as
exists. Hussong’s was a favorite watering hole of the fishing and hunting crowd out
of Southern California in the 40’s and 50’s, and I had my first taste of a Margarita
there around 1948 or 49. Before he died in the early 1960’s, Dick Hussong gave me
their original Margarita recipe, seldom used by then for tourists, and I have
preserved it. Hussong’s has changed over the years, and is now one hell of a fall-
down-on-your-face tourist and surfer bar, but sadly, with tourist-surfer Margaritas.
Here, though, is Dick Hussong’s recipe as he gave it to me:

2 oz. Cuervo Gold Tequila

1 oz. Fresh squeezed lime juice
7/8 oz. Mexican Controy Liqueur

Salt a cold champagne glass by wiping a cut lime around the rim and dipping into
coarse salt to the depth of 1/8th inch. Put the ingredients into a shaker with an
abundance of cold, fresh ice. Cap the shaker and shake the Margarita well. Strain
into the prepared glass. French Cointreau or even Triple Sec may be substituted for
the Controy and any good Anejo Tequila will do.

http://ensenada.baja.com/nightlife/hussongs/

Hussongs Cantina

Ave. Ruiz #13n

Old Town Ensenada
Tel. 011-52-61-78-32-10

Danny Negrete

http://www.pocolocolombardo.com/margaritachronicles_1.htm
 -7-

”I interviewed Salvador Negrete, the son of Daniel Negrete, the purported inventor
of the Margarita. Salvador says there are many fallacious stories about the origin of
the Margarita, such as the one above, but that " this is the true story." The family
story goes that Danny opened a bar at the Garci Crespo hotel with his brother,
David. The day before his brother's marriage, Daniel presented the Margarita as a
wedding present to Margarita, his sister-in-law. Danny combined one-third Triple
Sec, one-third Tequila and one-third squeezed Mexican lime juice. The drink was
not blended and was served with hand- crushed ice. In perusing the internet,
Danny's Negrete is the earliest name credited with creating the worlds most
popular cocktail. Salvador describes his father as a quiet "Caballero" who was only
angered by one thing. His ire was stirred by the abortions created by blending
strawberries, bananas, pinas and other fruits into his beautiful Margarita. He asks
that they call these concoctions by some other women's name and let his sister-in-
law have her unblemished prize. Danny was born in México City in 1911. In México
City, he started what may have been the first bar in México for respectable
women. In 1944 he moved to Tijuana and worked as a bartender at Agua Caliente
and continued to internationalize his cocktail. He came to Ensenada in 1950 and
worked at the Riviera and the San Nicolas Hotel. Salvador learned from his father
that the qualities of a good bartender are intelligence, good shoes and dress, clean
fingernails and being bilingual. Danny Negrete is world famous and articles about
him have appeared in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. He was invited
by many mayors to their cities and was invited to Europe and Hawaii. Today, we
pay tribute to the many contributions Mr. Negrete has added to the history, allure,
and charm of México. Though there are many contenders, Danny Negrete is most
likely to be dubbed "The Father of the First Margarita." Danny was a homeboy until
his death five years ago. I think the dude deserves a statue on Mateos.”

Salvador Negrete,
Grand Chaparral,
Avenida Reforma,
Ensenada
México

Spa-Peñafiel Hotel, formerly Garci-Crespo Hotel.

The name change occurred in 1948.

Spa Peñafiel
Carretera Puebla-Tehuacan Km 20 Tel +52-238-382-0190 Fax +52-238-382-0191

Or

Hacienda Spa Penafiel

Penafiel, Tehuacan, México
Phone: +52 (0) 2 383 820 190

Translated from: http://www.tehuacan.gob.mx/images/Historia/mainhechos.htm

5th of August of 1934 Inauguration of Great Hotel GARCI? CRESPO later

 -8-

SPA PEÑAFIEL symbol of the tourist height of Tehuacán.

The hotel is in a town renowned for its mineral waters, a famous national brand
produced there is called “Garci-Crespo”.

Margarita Sames

Margaritaville

From Today's Columbus Woman, June 1994

Margarita (the drink) Celebrates a Happy 45th

If Margarita Sames had been just about anyone else, America's most famous drink --
now celebrating it's 45th anniversary--may never have gone beyond the four walls
of her home. Luckily for millions of "Margarita" lovers, the drink's creator had some
powerful friends.

"I was very close with a lot of famous hotel and restaurant people," said 81-year-old
Mrs. Sames of the drink she concocted at her Acapulco home during the 1948
Christmas holidays. "I guess they played a big role in introducing the Margarita to
our society."

In the late 1940's, Mrs. Sames was a rich, young American socialite renowned for
hosting wonderful parties in Acapulco that were attended by a circle of powerful
movers and shakers. It was at one of those parties that the Margarita came to be.

Looking to create a good daytime cocktail that "you could have several of," Mrs.
Sames recalled, she took two of her favorite drinks--Cointreau, the famous French
spirit, and tequila--and mixed them together. She added lime juice, rimmed the
glass with salt and brought a tray of the cocktails to her friends at poolside.

Among those friends who sampled the first batch of Margaritas were Nick Hilton,
founder of the Hilton Hotel chain, Joseph Drown, who owned the Hotel Bel-Air in
Los Angeles, and Shelton McHenry, who owned the popular Tail O' The Cock
restaurant in the Los Angeles suburb, Studio City.

The concoction was a big hit among Mrs. Sames' friends who referred to it as "The
Drink" or "Margarita's Drink." The name evolved finally into "The Margarita" after
Mrs. Sames' husband one day presented his wife with champagne glassware etched
with one word: "Margarita."

Soon after they first tasted Mrs. Sames' new cocktail, Hilton, Drown, McHenry and
other influential business people began introducing the Margarita at their
establishments. They also ordered the drink when traveling, instructing bartenders
on how to prepare it.
 -9-

Mrs. Sames, who today lives in San Antonio and retains a busy social life, first
noticed her creation being served at the Acapulco Airport. It then moved quickly
into California and gradually began spreading across the United States.

As the Margarita grew in popularity, several variations of the drink began

appearing, some of which have strayed from the original recipe of Cointreau,
tequila, and lime juice. Among those versions is the popular frozen Margarita and
its array of flavors.

Many types of Margaritas have become favorites, but in Margarita Sames' home,
where interesting and exciting friends still regularly drop by, only one type of
Margarita is served.

"And that's the original...the one I created 45 years ago," Mrs. Sames said with a
smile.

http://www.nightclub.com/magazine/April01/cocktail.html

America’s Cocktail

by Robert Plotkin

The Margarita has enjoyed far more than the standard 15 minutes of fame. In fact,
after climbing to the forefront of mainstream popularity 20 years ago, the drink
continues to rank among America's favorite cocktails. Tequila shortage
notwithstanding, the rage continues.

Did you ever stop and ask yourself how a drink became a worldwide phenomenon?
We wondered that about the Margarita, and, after some interesting detective
work, we discovered a good story.

San Antonio native Margarita Sames was a self-described socialite who, along with
her husband Bill, owned a villa near the Flamingo Hotel in Acapulco, México. The
year was 1948 and times were good. The war had ended three years before and the
country was experiencing a prolonged period of prosperity. For the rich and
famous, Acapulco was an irresistible playground.

The Sames lived in Acapulco for part of the year. There they developed a close
circle of friends, affectionately dubbed the "team." The cadre consisted of Fred
MacMurray, Lana Turner, Nick Hilton, next-door neighbor John Wayne, Joseph
Drown, owner of the Hotel Bel-Air, and restaurateur Shelton McHenrie, owner of
the Tail o' the Cock restaurant in Los Angeles.

This group of influential, high-profile friends was practically inseparable. They

reveled in the festive, laid-back attitude of Acapulco, spending their nights playing
by the pool and downing a considerable number of cocktails. Lunch was typically
served somewhere around sunset.

Cocktail On a Bet
 - 10 -

Margarita Sames had an effervescent personality and a disarming smile. She was a
social magnet and the unofficial leader of the group. The Sames house was the
setting for many wild parties, raucous affairs that sometimes lasted days on end.

Shortly before Christmas of '48, Margarita Sames was challenged by several ranking
members of the team to devise a new and exciting cocktail, something to break up
their regimen of beer and Bloody Marys. Her initial attempts were loudly and
unanimously rejected. After each round of successively worse drinks, her friends -
this band of movie stars and distinguished businessmen - expressed their
displeasure by tossing her in the pool.

Undaunted, a soaking wet Margarita Sames went back to work. She mixed together
tequila and Cointreau with fresh lime juice. Having grown up in France, Sames was
familiar with Cointreau, and after spending years vacationing in México, she had
developed an appreciation for México's native spirit, tequila.

She tried several different formulations; however, some came out too sweet, some
not sweet enough. Then she hit on what she thought was the perfect blend: one
part Cointreau, three parts tequila and one part lime juice. Knowing that most
people drank tequila preceded by a lick of salt, she chose to garnish her cocktail
with a rim of coarse salt.

She brought out a tray of Champagne glasses brimming with her new creation. Her
friends sipped heartily and the approval was overwhelming. They proclaimed it a
triumph. It quickly became the group's signature cocktail, the main course and
featured attraction during Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Sames credits the proliferation of the drink to her friends, John Wayne, Fred
MacMurray and Lana Turner. Her esteemed emissaries would go to restaurants and
bars, tell the bartenders about the Margarita and order a few rounds. Soon it was a
specialty at the Acapulco Airport. Nicky Hilton began promoting the cocktail at the
bars in the popular Acapulco Hilton, as did Joe Drown at the Hotel Bel-Aire.

One account has the Margarita originating at the fashionable Tail o' the Cock
restaurant near Los Angeles. Owned by team member and Acapulco veteran Shelton
McHenrie, the Tail o' the Cock restaurant may likely have been where many
Americans first sampled Margarita's drink.

In the years following, Margarita Sames remained a socialite in the international

set. She continued serving her cocktail to her growing host of friends. She spent
many afternoons sipping Margaritas with Eleanor Roosevelt, and the legendary
baseball manager John McGraw was a lifelong friend of the Sames and the
Margarita.
 - 11 -

http://www.independenttravelagents.com/acapulco10.htm

The “Los Flamingos” hotel was bought by John Wayne, Johnny Weissmuller et al.

1950- 1984

Official “Los Flamingos” Hotel Website:

http://www.acabtu.com.mx/flamingos/index.html

http://fodorstravel.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?cur_section=lod&destination=a
capulco@7
 - 12 -

Almost a historical monument, this hot-pink hotel was the favored hangout of John
Wayne, Johnny "Tarzan" Weissmuller, Errol Flynn, and the rest of the "Hollywood
gang" back in the '50s, and their photographs adorn the walls of the lobby. The
hotel is strung along a cliff that has some of the finest views in Acapulco -- from
Pie de la Cuesta all across Acapulco Bay. Los Flamingos attracts plenty of
Europeans who come to bask in the ambience of Old Hollywood and toss down the
coco locos, rum drinks that barman Esteban Castañeda will tell you were invented
here in the 1960s.

Francisco “Pancho” Morales

http://www.ministry-of-tequila.org/margaritas.htm

Inventor of Margarita Cocktail Dies

7:11am EST, 1/3/97 EL PASO, Texas - The man widely credited with inventing the
Margarita, a smooth tequila-based cocktail renowned for its potent kick, was
buried after dying of a stroke. He was 78.

Family members said Francisco "Pancho" Morales died on Monday in the southwest
Texas border city of El Paso and was buried on Thursday morning.
It was just across the border in Ciudad Juárez where Morales reportedly poured the
world's first Margarita on July 4, 1942.

Legend has it he was working in Tommy's Bar when a woman came in and asked for
a drink he had not heard of. Feigning expertise, he whipped up a cocktail of
tequila, Cointreau and lime juice.

The woman loved it and asked Morales what the drink was called. The rest is
history.
Several people have proclaimed themselves the inventor of the Margarita over the
years, although many experts and México's official news agency Notimex said
Morales had the strongest claim to fame.

His son, Gabriel Morales, said on Thursday his father never patented the drink and
made no money from it. He later emigrated to the United States and worked as a
milkman for 25 years before retiring in 1981.

But the former barman never forgot how to make and shake a good cocktail. "Once
in a while, someone would come over to see how he would make them and he'd do
one for them," Gabriel Morales told Reuters.

Morales said his father never boasted about his invention, or even particularly liked
the drink. "He was always more proud of being a milkman, and of being a good
father, husband and grandfather."

The most common recipe for a Margarita is to mix two ounces of tequila, 1/2
ounce of triple sec, and the juice of half a lime with salt. The drink is then shaken
with ice and strained into a cocktail glass rimmed with lime and salt.
 - 13 -

Response to E-mail, from Tom Cannon; http://www.PocoTequila.com

“my wife and I were just in Juárez, México last Saturday and we visited the
Kentucky Club, a bar that has been in operation since 1920. The
bartender there is a man by the name Lorenzo, who has worked at
this club for nearly 50 years and was evidently trained by one
Francisco 'Pancho' Morales who claimed to have invented the
Margarita in 1942. Park Kerr the author "The El Paso Chile Company
- Margarita Cookbook" recommended that we stand at the bar and
order a Margarita from Lorenzo and have him relate his story to us.
I agree with a statement by Mr. Kerr, "If the Margarita wasn't invented
here it should have been." The debate I'm sure will continue as to
the exact origins of the Margarita but we watched Lorenzo make ours
by squeezing what looked like 2 fresh limons directly into a shaker,
with 2 shots Blanco tequila, and 1 shot triple sec and crushed ice.
Shook it up well and served it "up" into salt rimmed glasses. It's hard
to imagine improving on the simple beauty of this concoction and I
couldn't help imagine just how many of these great cocktails Lorenzo
had made over his many years at the Kentucky Club.

Always fresh lime or lemon juice. ( the above mentioned author

Al Lucero is also the owner of "Maria's", a great Mexican restaurant in
Santa Fe, NM that has a huge selection of premium tequila and they
make all of their Margaritas with lemon juice because the limes we
normally get here in the States can be somewhat bitter.) Limons are
Mexican limes that are much like "Key Limes" and are great if you can
get them.

There are those that say the salt distracts from the flavors of
the tequila and lime. Personally, I feel a Margarita just wouldn't be a
Margarita without the salt.

I would also never make or order a frozen Margarita. They should

be shaken and served "on the rocks" or "up".

Lorenzo Hernandez: Custodian of the Margarita

 - 14 -

Lorenzo Hernandez works at:

Kentucky Club,
Avenida Juárez 629 Norte,
Cuidad Juárez
México

http://www.texasmonthly.com/food/recipes/9911_Margarita.php

One of the many creation myths about the Margarita is that it was invented in
Juárez in 1942 by bartender Francisco Morales. He has been gone many years, but
you can still have a perfect Margarita there courtesy of Lorenzo Hernandez, who
has been making them at the Kentucky Club, just across the international bridge on
Avenida Juárez, for 53 years. As Hernandez will tell you, many different tequilas
and orange liqueurs make excellent Margaritas. But the single most important
ingredient in a top-notch Margarita is the juice of Mexican limes. True, Mexican
limes are small and they have a lot of annoying seeds. But Margaritas just don't
taste right without them.

Response to E-mail, from Julio Bermejo: http://www.TommysTequila.com

I do not like putting salt on a Margarita for several reasons. As you

know salt is a big flavor enhancer. At Tommy's we want one's
Margaritas to taste of mainly 2 things, which in our case happen to be the largest
components in our Margaritas after ice: 100% Agave tequila and fresh
hand squeezed lime juice. Our barmen actually taste our clients
margies before they are served and we never taste them with salt.; the
properly made Margarita does not need it. However if a client loves salt and
has never been to Tommy's I will usually salt only half the glass to still
try to give that client the opportunity to try the drink the way we
made it. Furthermore if at another bar or restaurant and one receives a
poor Margarita well if you put enough salt on it will become more
palatable. If you ever have the chance to come to Tommy's and you
 - 15 -

order an El Tesoro Reposado Margarita , it will taste of El Tesoro Repo and

fresh lime not of salt.

Tommy's is regarded as serving the best Margaritas in the Bay Area by

City Search, Bay Guardian , SF Weekly, SF Chronicle. The wall Street
Journal calls us "the epicenter of tequila in the US." CNN calls us
"ground zero of tequila in the US." I have been featured in numerous
magazines, television shows and radio programs. I can be more specific
if you like,. I can email you a bio with credits if you desire.

We only use fresh limes because the acid for the drink must be in the
freshest state possible. We buy our limes from a purveyor who does not
refrigerate his limes. As limes are very delicate we do not want them
being in an environment lower than 50 degrees F. Furthermore we use a
handpress and squeeze once. We want juice not pulp . Also we cut the
nibs or the ends of the limes which gives un more surface area on
which to apply pressure for the squeezer and minimizes the oil from the rind
of the lime.

At Tommy's we squeeze approximately 35-40 cases of limes of 175 count

per week.

Embarrassingly I am not a Margarita historian. There are far too many

people who claim to have invented the cocktail. I do believe the most
important information pertaining to this refer to the 2 principle
ingredients: 100% Agave tequila and lime. One's choice of triple sec /
sweetener is relative and personal. Unfortunately too many times
ingredients are determined by price. The well or rail or house pouring
brand of tequila at Tommy’s is Herradura.
 - 16 -

http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/issues/2001-05-01/foodanddrink.php

“'What do we do with this?'" The elder Martinez would whip up a batch of frozen
Margaritas using a recipe he had gotten from a bartender at a private club in San
Antonio in the late thirties.”

Agua Caliente Racetrack

http://sohosandiego.org/reflections/2001september/wecalledit.htm

We Called it Caliente

By Kathleen Kelley-Markham

Agua Caliente has always been more to me than a complex of lovely buildings
designed by a very talented young architect named Wayne McAllister. To me, it is
simply Caliente, a place full of memories and stories told to me by my family. My
mother's family owned a number of well-known Southern California landmarks
including the U.S. Grant Hotel, Viejas Ranch (now Viejas Casino), the Biltmore
Hotel in Los Angeles and the final link on the road to romance, Agua Caliente.
Caliente stories were always the best.

The family trips to Caliente were rather glorious especially since they occurred
during the dark days of the Depression. My mother and her older brother viewed
the resort as their personal playground, everyone knew who they were and with
free run of all the facilities except the casino, their time was spent sw imming in
that fabulous pool, trying to retrieve coins from the wishing well and riding horses.
Their older brother and sister were teenagers during this time and the lure of
seeing celebrities and sports legends (including the famous racehorses Seabiscuit
and Phar Lap) and attending soirees filled their memory books. The sight of Jean
Harlow in a white satin dress at an adjacent table on the patio remained
unblemished and fresh in my uncle's teenage memories.
My grandfather served as the general manager and the person who happened to
audition and hire Eduardo and Margarita Cansino as dancers. A few years later she
would be known to the world as Rita Hayworth. If you believe my family's version,
the Margarita cocktail was invented at Caliente and named after her. My Grandpa
tried to look out for her. Years after she attained stardom she would always call or
visit Pops (as she called him) whenever she was in town.
The shutdown and confiscation by the Cardenas government produced its share of
sad memories. Grandpa had been in charge of taking the profits from the casino
and making deposits at the Border Bank that was built in San Ysidro. This clever
tactic would serve to be invaluable as the change in government policies about
gambling began to emerge. He would make the drive alone from Caliente up the
Strand to Coronado every morning at about 4:00am. My mother waited up for him
on the very last night. He was heartbroken.
But even the sad moments had a bit of humor, especially the story of my Aunt
Martha and her driver loading the trunk of her Cadillac with gold coins and barely
making it across the border due to the immense weight of the casino's gold coins.
 - 17 -

As discussions take place about the preservation of Caliente's vestiges, I hope this
reminds all of us that preservation is more than what meets the eye.

Response to E-mail, from Kathleen Kelley-Markham.

My grandfather's name was Clarence (always called Jerry) Strayer. Our family
version is : my grandfather hired Rita and her father along with all other acts. The
resort had a large amount of tequila that visitors were not ordering.
In fact there was a surplus. So my grandfather asked the head
Bartender to invent a cocktail that would use tequila. Voila! He then decided
to name it after Rita/Margarita.

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/timeline/timeline2.htm

1927 Agua Caliente (hotel, casino, spa) opens in Tijuana (golf course and racetrack
open in 1928).

https://www.caliente.com.mx/english/index.html

Boulevard Agua Caliente 12027 Col. Hipódromo CP 22420 Tijuana, Baja California
México

Agua Caliente Race Track:

Hipodromo Caliente (Race track)

Blvd. Agua Caliente y Tapachula

Tel: (66) 86 – 39 – 58 or (619) 231- 1910

https://www.caliente.com.mx/english/index.html

"The Flowing Bowl: What and When to Drink", William Schmidt, 1892

Whiskey Daisy.
It is made as a whiskey sour; only put a dash of some cordial on top, such as
chartreuse or Curaçao.

Whiskey Sour.
A goblet with the juice of half a lemon or lime in the bottom,
a squirt of seltzer
a little sugar; mix this
2/3 full of ice
a drink of whiskey; mix this well.
Strain, and serve
 - 18 -

"What'll You Have?", Julien J. Proskauer, 1933

Whiskey Daisy

It is made as a whiskey sour; only put a dash of some cordial on top, such as
chartreuse or Curaçao

Whiskey Sour
A glass with the juice of half a lemon or lime in the bottom,
a squirt of seltzer,
a little sugar; mix this;
2/3 full of ice,
a drink of whiskey; mix this well
Strain, and serve.

The fact that these two recipes are so similar, leads one to believe that Proskauer
read “the flowing bowl”.

Both books come along before any claims of the Margaritas creation.

A Tequila Daisy “could” then, at the time, be comprised of: Tequila, Curaçao,
lemon juice. As for the seltzer (soda) and sugar, this is entirely optional on most
drinks anyway. The Daisy is a drink that continually changed, and has in fact
changed to included raspberry syrup, then Grenadine Syrup.

The combination of spirit (tequila), Curaçao (triple sec), sour (lemon/ lime) leads
one to the family of cocktails known as the “Crusta”. From the Crusta comes the
Side-car, which is also of the same period as the Margarita. The earliest recipe for
the Side-car calls for equal parts of the three ingredients, which coincides with the
Margarita of Negrete. As for Negrete/ Herrera’s use of crushed ice, this is easy to
explain. Crushed, or shaved ice, was obtained by depleting a much larger block of
ice. Such ice blocks were common in countries which either didn’t have widespread
electricity supplies, or refridgeration.

To illustrate the commonness of Spirit, Curaçao, Sour cocktail combinations, there

follows a list:

(Note: Triple sec is a type of Curaçao.)

Vodka, Curaçao, lime juice= Kamikaze

Vodka, Curaçao, lemon juice= Balalaika

Gin, Curaçao, lime juice= Pegu Club

Gin, Curaçao, lemon juice= White Lady, Delilah

Rum, Curaçao, lime juice= X, Y, Zee

Rum, Curaçao, lemon juice= Cuban Side-car

Whisky, Curaçao, lime juice=?

Whisky, Curaçao, lemon juice= Basin Street
 - 19 -

Tequila, Curaçao, lime juice= Margarita

Tequila, Curaçao, lemon juice= Baja Side-car

According to Dick Bradsell: (London’s Bar Guru)

Barwise this cocktail [Margarita] is obvious. It is a tequila sour. Imagine being in a

bar in México and wanting a true old style cocktail, 3 ingredients, strong, in a
cocktail glass. They have got tequila and Limons, so all you need is a sweetener.
[triple sec] is quicker and easier than making bar sugar [syrup].

http://www.sailmexico.com/west_coast_of_baja1.htm

The walls inside the elegant old casino, the Riviera del Pacifico, display
photographs of many of the famous people who frequented the casino, for
example, Rita Hayworth and Bing Crosby. Former world heavyweight boxing
champion Jack Dempsey managed the casino.

GS: Some stories say that Marjorie King at one point owned the Riviera del Pacifico.

President of the A.M.B. (Mexican Bartenders Association)

Mr. Roberto Castellanos Tovar

Retorno Cocodrillo 364 Supermanzana,
51 Manzana Quintana Row,
Cancun,
Mexico.

Acknowledgments:

The Cocktailian Club: http://groups.msn.com/drinkboy

Dr. William K. Lombardo (http://www.pocolocolombardo.com ),
Dick Bradsell,
Theodora Sutcliffe,
Mark Cannon (http://www.pocotequila.com ),
Julio Bermejo (http://www.tommystequila.com )

People who have been contacted, and I am stilling waiting for a reply from:

1. Vernon O. Underwood
2. Mr. Tovar (president of the Mexican Bartender’s Guild)
3. Agua Caliente Racetrack
4. Los Flamingos Hotel, Acapulco
5. Hilton Hotels.
6. Robert Plotkin.