America’s love affair with the margarita takes center stage in Temecula today, National Margarita Day. This thirst-quenching beverage is the most popular cocktail in North America, with a whopping 56 percent of bar-goers saying a margarita is their go-to order.  

If you want to know where the margarita originated, there are many stories. Legend has it that it was invented in 1945 in Juarez, Mexico, when bartender Poncho Morales could not remember the ingredients for a “magnolia.” He mixed it with tequila and named the new concoction “margarita,” which means daisy in Spanish. The lady enjoyed it so much that she ordered a second, and then she told other customers about it. The rest is history!

Thirsty yet? Well, you are in luck, because several fine establishments in Temecula will honor National Margarita Day with special versions of this delicious beverage. For those who wish to celebrate at home, we have rounded up several recipes:
 

Bottega Italia's Margabella
Bottega Italia 

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz Reposado Tequila
  • 0.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
  • 0.5 oz Cointreau
  • 0.5 oz Amaretto
  • Pink salt for the rim

 

Directions: Rim your rocks glass with Pink Salt using fresh lime juice. Combine all ingredients into a shaker and shake well. Strain over ice in a rocks glass. Salute!

 


Secret Inferno Margarita
 Devilicious Eatery & Apparition Room 

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz blanco tequila 
  • 1/2 oz serrano-infused tequila **
  • 1oz oz fresh lime juice 
  • 1oz oz agave 
  • 1/4 oz Cointreau 
  • 1/4 oz ancho reyes liqueur

**take 1 cup of blanco tequila and infuse 1 sliced Serrano pepper for 2 hours. Strain.

Directions: Add all ingredients to shaker with ice and shake. Shake for 20-30 seconds, Pour into rocks glass.  Garnish with cucumber skin spiral.  Change the ratio of infused to regular blanco tequila to adjust heat up or down, but keep tequila to 2oz total.


Grapefruit Margarita
South Coast Winery Resort & Spa 

 

Ingredients: 

  • 1.5 oz. Casamigos Blanco Tequila 
  • ¾ oz. lime juice 
  • ¾ oz. grapefruit juice 
  • ¾ oz. grapefruit cordial 
  • ¼ oz. simple syrup 
  • ½ oz. Grand Marnier 
  • Slice of grapefruit 
  • Salt for glass rim 

 

Directions: 

  1. Salt the rim of an old fashioned glass. 
  2. Place all ingredients in a shaker and fill with ice. 
  3. Shake for 10-15 seconds. Double strain margarita into the salted old fashioned glass. 
  4. Top with ice and float a ½ oz. Grand Marnier on top. 
  5. Garnish with a torched grapefruit slice. 


Mango Chamoy Margarita
Texas Lil’s Old Town 

Ingredients

  • 3 ounces mago puree 
  • 1 1/2 ounce silver tequila 
  • 1/2 ounce triple sec 
  • 2 ounces of chamoy
  • 2 ounces triple sec 
  • 1/2 lime freshly squeeze juice 

 

Directions

  1. Pour Chamoy onto a small plate and rim your glass with it
  2. Pour Tajín onto another small plate and coat top of Chamoy  
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients into a blender on high until smooth and creamy throughout
  4. Pour frozen cocktail into glass, layering the Chamoy sauce between frozen cocktail 
  5. Top off with fresh diced mango, lime slice and extra Tajín sprinkled on top
  6. Enjoy this tasty fiesta right away - Ole! 


El Pepino
1909

Ingredients:
  • Muddled cucumbers
  • 3/4 ounces Elderflower syrup
  • 1 1/2 ounces of tequila
  • 3/4 ounce agave syrup 
  • 1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
  • Garnish: Tajín rim and cucumber slice


Pineapple Express
Be Good Restaurant & Experience  

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz tequila Blanco
  • 1 oz pureed cucumber (not strained)
  • 1 oz pineapple juice
  • .5 oz lime juice
  • .5 oz agave

Tajin rim Collins glass Garnish with fresh cucumber and lime wheel
 


The Coco Melon Margarita
Be Good Restaurant & Experience  

Ingredients:

  • 1.5oz tequila
  • 2 spoons of cocoloco
  • .75 melon liqueur
  • 1 Oz pineapple 
  • 1 Oz sweet and sour 

Sugar and tajin rim 

Lime and cherry garnish

Directions: Shake vigorously and pour over ice