Esquire’s Margarita (1953): historical recipe
A source-based reading of the 1953 clipping. Its dash and citrus yield are not fixed volumes. Instructions are paraphrased; this reconstruction has not been prepared or taste-tested.
Equipment
- 1 Jigger
Ingredients
- 1 US fl oz Tequila No brand or expression specified. Modern conversion treats the ounce as a US fluid ounce.
- 1 dash Triple Sec The source gives no volume for the dash.
- ½ lime or lemon, juiced Use the juice from this amount of fruit, not a fixed volume of juice.
- crushed ice For mixing; amount and melt dilution unspecified.
- salt and citrus rind For the glass rim; not a measured incorporated ingredient.
Instructions
- Moisten the rim of a stemmed serving glass with citrus rind, then coat the rim with salt.
- Extract the juice from the listed amount of lime or lemon. The amount is a fraction of a fruit, not an ounce measure.
- Measure the listed tequila and add the listed dash of triple sec. No fixed dash volume is specified by the historical source.
- Combine the tequila, triple sec, and extracted citrus juice over crushed ice.
- Stir, then pour into the prepared glass. The clipping does not specify a stirring duration or whether to retain or strain away the mixing ice.
Notes
Source: Esquire, December 1953, “Painting the Town,” p. 76, as identified by the caption to the photographic clipping in Academia Patrón’s Mixología de México, printed p. 12 (PDF p. 14).
No fixed-volume dash, citrus yield, exact ratio, nutrition, strength, or MFK2 can be supplied from these historical measures.
My Notes
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