Señorita Margarita! Encore!!

Something has happened to the margarita and it's to the good. Oh, the classic margarita is alive and well; in fact, thriving. But a new dimension has been added to this perennial favorite--flavor! Better make that plural-flavors--because if you're so inclined, you can have a boysenberry margarita, a tutti-frutti margarita, a melon margarita, a coffee margarita, a strawberry margarita, an orange-coconut margarita or any of 30-odd distinctively flavored margaritas, many available in such Mexican restaurants as the El Torito and The Red Onion chains or in other eateries featuring Tex-Mex cuisine. You can even have margaritas tailored to your personal taste, such as amaretto or apple pie-whatever (concluded on page 194)Señorita Margarita(continued from page 119) happens to be your heart's desire. There's only one absolute: The irreplaceable ingredient is tequila. Without it, you do not have a margarita. Tequila was the first spirit distilled on the North American continent, and it's enveloped in myth. It is commonly thought to be a fiery, lethal drink, but anyone who has sipped a properly fashioned margarita knows better.

Appropriately, there's a touch of mystery attached to the margarita as well as to its basic spirit. No one really knows the margarita's origins, though there's no dearth of opinions. Buller's Professional Course in Bartending insists it was created by a Los Angeles bartender for a drink competition sponsored by tequila bottlers in 1954. Others claim the drink emerged from the Tail o' the Cock restaurant in Los Angeles in the mid-Fifties.

The Tequila Book lists three versions involving ravishing creatures named Margarita, while Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez says his father found the recipe in a San Antonio speak-easy around 1939. Still, there's little doubt as to the margarita's bloodlines. It stems from the traditional Mexican way with the spirit--a lick of salt, a bite of lime and a shot of tequila, all followed by a gasp for air. Somewhere along the line, a nip of triple sec was added, perhaps in deference to sensitive Anglo tonsils. The tequila, lime juice and orange liqueur are shaken with ice, strained into a salt-rimmed glass and--caramba--a margarita!

In most drink-wise watering spots, a margarita consists of 11/2 ozs. white tequila, 1/2 oz. Cointreau or triple sec and 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice--cold and straight up in the obligatory salt-rimmed glass.

However, proportions vary, sometimes considerably, by region, place and the barman's artistic sensibilities. In Texas and the Southwest, the drink is apt to be sweeter and lighter: less tequila, more liqueur and more citrus--and it's frozen. Californians prefer lemon to lime. Harry's New York Bar in Paris uses equal parts of the three ingredients--sort of a Mexican sidecar. On the East Coast, as well as in Mexico, drier margaritas are the rule. Herb Lee, who heads The Association of Tequila Producers, offers this as "the best margarita recipe going": 11/2 ozs. white tequila, 1/2 oz. triple sec and 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice. Shake well; strain into a stemmed glass rimmed with coarse salt.

Salting can be a tricky business. You want just a smidgen, either sitting atop the rim or forming a narrow band around the outside of the glass. Sprinkle a thin layer of table salt onto a flat dish. With a lime wedge or juice, lightly moisten only the area you want to frost. Invert glass and place on salt; do not rotate. Lift glass and tap to knock off excess salt. Many bars use coarse or kosher salt for appearance, and some add pizzazz with special glassware. Chili's, a restaurant chain, pours frozen margaritas into 10-oz. frosted beer mugs; Mariano's uses an 111/2-oz. stubby Pilsener type; and lots of places have adopted the saucer champagne glass.

Unlike other popular cocktails, the vast majority of margaritas are consumed on the premises in clubs, cafés, bars and restaurants. Mariano, a devout margaritaphile and a canny entrepreneur, vowed to correct that imbalance. To that end, he contrived a margarita mix in a bucket--a stroke of merchandising genius epitomizing the generous, celebratory quality of the tipple. The gallon bucket contains 97 ozs. of margarita makings--everything but the tequila. Simply by adding a bottle of the spirit, then stashing the bucket in a freezer for 16 hours, you have a mother lode of 25 to 30 frozen margaritas. Instant party! Competitive buckets are now appearing on the shelves of supermarkets, groceries and liquor stores. Up the margarita!

[recipe_title]Strawberry Margarita[/recipe_title]

[recipe]11/2 ozs. white tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. triple sec[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. strawberry liqueur[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 oz. lime juice[/recipe]

[recipe]5 ripe strawberries, cut up[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup finely crushed ice[/recipe]

Add all ingredients to chilled blender container; buzz until almost smooth. Pour into large, salt-rimmed wineglass.

[recipe_title]24-Kt. Margarita[/recipe_title]

[recipe]11/2 ozs. gold tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. Grand Marnier[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 oz. lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]Lemon slice for garnish[/recipe]

Briskly shake all ingredients but garnish with cracked ice. Strain into salt-rimmed glass. Hang lemon wheel on rim.

[recipe_title]Frozen Margarita[/recipe_title]

From Pancho Villa's Mexican Restaurant, New York.

[recipe]11/2 ozs. tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 oz. Cointreau[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 oz. lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]6 ozs. finely crushed ice[/recipe]

[recipe]Lemon slice for garnish[/recipe]

Add all ingredients but garnish to chilled blender container; buzz until slushy or snowy, as you prefer. Pour into salt-rimmed wineglass. Garnish with lemon wheel.

[recipe_title]P & P Pineapple Margarita[/recipe_title]

From Manhattan's Pen & Pencil Restaurant, a hangout for media people.

[recipe]11/2 ozs. white tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 oz. Cointreau[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]2 canned pineapple slices, chilled[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon pineapple syrup[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 to 1/2 cup crushed ice[/recipe]

[recipe]Cherry, 1/3 pineapple slice, for garnish[/recipe]

Combine all ingredients but garnish in chilled blender container; buzz until almost smooth. Pour into salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with fruit.

[recipe]Five-Lime Margarita[/recipe_title]

[recipe]11/2 ozs. white tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]3/4 oz. Monin Triple Lime liqueur[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon fresh lime juice[/recipe]

[recipe]Lime slice for garnish[/recipe]

Briskly shake all ingredients but garnish with ice. Strain into salt-rimmed cocktail glass. Garnish with lime wheel.

[recipe_title]Kahlúa Margarita[/recipe_title] [/recipe_title]

[recipe]1 oz. white tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]1 oz. Kahlúa[/recipe]

[recipe]2 ozs. lime juice[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon egg white (optional) [/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup crushed ice[/recipe]

Add all ingredients to chilled blender container; buzz until just smooth. Pour into chilled, salt-rimmed wineglass. The drink will have a foamier head if you use the egg white. Fairly tart drink with a lingering taste of coffee.

[recipe_title]Margarita Rose[/recipe_title]

[recipe]11/2 ozs. white tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. Rose's lime juice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. triple sec[/recipe]

Briskly shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into salt-rimmed cocktail glass or saucer champagne glass.

[recipe_title]Margarita Blues[/recipe_title]

[recipe]11/2 ozs. white tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 oz. blue curaçao[/recipe]

[recipe]2 ozs. sweet-sour mix[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup finely crushed ice[/recipe]

[recipe]Lemon slice for garnish[/recipe]

Combine all ingredients but garnish in chilled blender container; buzz until fairly smooth. Pour into salt-rimmed wineglass. Hang lemon wheel on rim of glass. Enjoy the drink and its lovely aquamarine hue.

[recipe_title]Maggie on the Rocks[/recipe_title]

[recipe]2 ozs. white tequila[/recipe]

[recipe]1 oz. Cointreau[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 lime, seeded[/recipe]

Pour tequila and Cointreau over ice cubes in salt-rimmed old fashioned glass. Squeeze in juice of lime; add rind. Stir well. This is deceptively potent.

Here's the best toast to accompany a margarita: Salud, dinero y amor--y tiempo para gustarlos! (Health, money and love--and time to enjoy them!)

"Unlike other popular cocktails, the vast majority of margaritas are consumed in clubs, cafés and bars."