Cinco De Mayo's Origins & 5 Top Tequilas To Craft The Perfect Margarita

Forbes

01-05-2025

Tequila city in Jalisco, Mexico, Pueblo Magico and UNESCO heritage
From National Tequila Day to National Margarita Day, there is no shortage of official celebrations to commemorate Tequila. However, Cinco de Mayo, celebrated each year on May 5, is the most famous holiday associated with Tequila and its signature margarita cocktail. It has become the principal day to commemorate Tequila in the United States. What is Cinco de Mayo, and how did it become central to the celebration of Tequila?
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the improbable victory of the Mexican army against a superior French military force at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This battle, which took place during the Franco-Mexican War, was a significant moment in Mexican history, demonstrating the strength and resilience of the Mexican people in the face of foreign aggression.
Paradoxically, Cinco de Mayo has become a far more important holiday in the U.S. than it is in Mexico. Cinco de Mayo is not a national holiday in Mexico. Other than for Puebla and Vera Cruz, most celebrations are typically a short, low-key military parade or marching band. There are now more Cinco de Mayo parades in the U.S. than in Mexico.
In the US, Cinco de Mayo is an occasion to honor Mexican culture and the contribution of Mexican Americans to the United States. The festivities have also given rise to the urban legend that more margaritas are served on Cinco de Mayo than on any other day of the year. According to the Distillers Council of the US, on Cinco de Mayo, half of all the cocktails served in America are margaritas.
Per DISCUS, the margarita is the most popular cocktail in the U.S., representing 25 percent of all cocktails sold. More than 1.6 billion margaritas are served in the U.S. annually, an average of more than 4.4 million daily.
Cinco de Mayo Mexican holiday poster
With the U.S. preoccupied with the Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy, France's emperor, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte III, the nephew of his more famous namesake uncle, saw an opportunity to create a new French empire in Mexico.
In December 1861, a 6,000-strong French army landed in Vera Cruz and advanced toward Mexico City. At Puebla, on the main road to the capital, a Mexican army of 2,000 poorly equipped soldiers stood against the superior French force. Outnumbered three to one against a better-trained and equipped force, the Mexican Army won an improbable victory and crushed the French force. Cinco de Mayo celebrates that unlikely victory.
No one is quite sure how the association between Tequila and Cinco de Mayo was established. Many Mexican Tequila producers point to Brown-Forman's Herradura, one of Mexico's leading Tequila producers, as the instigator of using Cinco de Mayo as an occasion to promote Tequila and its signature Margarita cocktail.
Regardless of the cause, Cinco de Mayo has become an important holiday in the U.S.; a splendid occasion to celebrate Mexican culture and Tequila's ubiquitous cocktail, the margarita.
The margarita has an equally colorful, though less historically significant, history. Generally, it is two parts Tequila to one part sweet liqueur, to two to four parts lime juice or mixer, depending on how potent the cocktail is.
Over the years, the sweet liquor portion has consisted of different spirits, including triple sec, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, and Curaçao. The drink is typically served on the rocks or 'frozen' as an icy slush. The rim of the glass is typically salted.
The origins of the margarita have never been determined and remain hotly debated. Notwithstanding its Mexican heritage, most accounts of its invention place its creation either in the U.S. or along Mexican border towns catering to American tourists.
The first printed recipe for a margarita-like drink occurred in 1937. The Café Royal Cocktail Book has a recipe for a drink called a Picador consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.
Another explanation is that the margarita is a Tequila-based version of a popular Prohibition-era drink called a daisy. The original daisy was made with brandy, triple sec, and lime juice. Americans frequenting Mexican border towns in the 1920s may have been offered a Tequila-based version of the daisy. Interestingly, the Spanish word for daisy is margarita.
Jose Cuervo Advertisement Promoting Margaritas
By 1945, Tequila maker Jose Cuervo was already running advertisements promoting 'Margarita, it's more than a girl's name.' According to Cuervo, the cocktail was invented in 1938 as a tribute to Mexican showgirl Rita de la Rosa.
It's likely that the margarita, both the name and the characteristic ingredients, were invented sometime between the 1920s and 1945. Since most of the creation myths about the margarita occurred after those dates, most popular accounts about the margarita's invention are likely incorrect.
Below are tasting notes on various Tequilas offering a range of aroma and taste profiles that would be excellent in margaritas.
Crafted in the Highlands of Jalisco, Humano uses brick ovens (hornos) and autoclaves, ferments with a proprietary yeast and double-distills in stainless steel pots with copper coils, resulting in what the company calls an 'additive-free Tequila that reflects centuries-old traditions.'
The nose features light herbal aromas, sweet notes of baked agave, dried fruits, subtle caramel, cumin, and berry notes. It's silky smooth on the palate, featuring baked agave, citrus, and light caramel notes. The long finish features lingering herbal, citrus, and caramel.
Mijenta's Añejo Gran Reserva is an ultra-premium, additive-free Tequila from Arandas, Jalisco. It's aged approximately 18 months in American white oak, French oak, acacia, and cherry barrels.
On the nose, the Tequila features cocoa, butterscotch, cooked agave, and herbal hints of tobacco leaf. It's smooth and velvety on the palate with a pronounced mouth weight. It exhibits a layered complexity of dried fruit, wood spices, caramel, coffee, and seasoned oak notes. The finish is long with lingering dried fruit and caramel notes.
Pātsch is an organic, additive-free Tequila produced in Amatitan, Jalisco.
The Tequila features a distinctive lime zest aroma that morphs into grapefruit and lemongrass, with slight anise and baked agave notes. It's sweet on the palate, featuring baked agave, subtle caramel, peppercorn, and hints of anise/licorice. The finish is long and smooth with just a hint of smoke and lingering citrus and caramel notes.
Ghost is a unique Tequila infused with a touch of ghost pepper. Distilled at Casa Maestri in Tequila, the infusion of ghost pepper provides a quick hit of heat followed by a fruity, smooth finish.
The Tequila features floral and fruity notes on the nose, chili pepper, herbal agave, and citrus zest. The palate exhibits a fruity/spicy heat from the ghost pepper, herbal agave, and black pepper. The finish is long and peppery, ending on a sweet and fruity note.
Tears of Llorona is an ultra-aged, Extra Añejo Tequila created by Master Distiller Germán González Gorrochotegui. Aged for five years in a blend of Scotch, Sherry, and brandy barrels, it offers a complex flavor profile reminiscent of fine Cognac or aged whiskies, while retaining the essence of agave.
The Tequila is incredibly complex on the nose, featuring creamy caramel custard, dried fruit, and dark chocolate. The palate showcases a layered complexity of dried cherries, dark chocolate, roasted agave, vanilla, salted caramel, chipotle peppers, and chili. The finish is smooth and creamy, with a subtle spiciness the company calls "a warm scarf on a cold day."
These Tequilas offer a range of aroma and flavor profiles, from spicy/peppery to green agave herbaceousness to creamy vanilla/caramel custard. They can be enjoyed neat or in a cocktail. All are excellent bases for a Margarita—something to look forward to on Cinco de Mayo.
Salud!
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