Lindsey Turner, Flikr Creative Commons
Like any truly world changing event, the invention of the Margarita has several origin stories. Anyone who reads this blog will know by now that I am a proud Texan, so the origin story of the Margarita that I prefer to believe happened right here in Texas!
Ahem… it was a dark and stormy night in 1948, and an internationally known leggy lady singer named Peggy Lee sauntered into the Balinese Room in Galveston, TX. She stood there a moment, surveying the room. The South Seas style interior of the club was dimly lit, the bandleader saw her and immediately broke into “Mañana (Is Soon Enough For Me),” which was her song currently at #1 on the Billboard Charts. She nodded to him, then made her way to the bar.
“Good evening Miss Lee. What would you like me to make for you?” bartender Santos Cruz asked as she placed her handbag atop the bar.
“Hello Santo! I don’t know, how about something new? Just for me?” Peggy responded happily.
“Yes ma’am!” he said, fetching down a bottle of Tequila. He scratched his head for a moment, then started to reach to the right, changed his mind, and bent down to bring out a bottle of Triple Sec. He looked around the bar for a short moment, then brought out a small basket of limes.
“Wow, Santo. This is going to be quite the production,” she laughed.
He grinned back at her and set a thick glass on the bar. A moment later he added two ice cubes, poured in a shot of Tequila, added a dash of Triple Sec, cut a lime in half, and, after he’d squeezed the lime over the glass, he rubbed the rim with the lime and sprinkled a tiny amount of salt on the rim.
“With my compliment, Miss Lee,” he smiled, and placed the drink in front of her.
She reached down, smiled, and took a sip.
“Why, this is MARVELOUS!” she sighed. “What do you call it?”
“I don’t know ma’am, I just made it. You said you wanted something just for you, so let’s call it Peggy,” he said.
“No, no, no… this is a Spanish drink. What is Peggy in Spanish?”
“I don’t know… err, what’s your middle name?”
“Margaret.”
“Perfect! Margaret in Spanish is Margarita, so happy Margarita Miss Lee!” he beamed, and thus the Margarita was born. And if it didn’t really happen that way, well, it should have! Happy Margarita from all of us at PPL Motorhomes!