How to make the perfect margarita – three great recipes

Photographed for generations in the hands of countless celebrities, the margarita is the classic American party drink, a staple of socialite soirees from Hollywood to New York City.

But what is a margarita and how do you make the perfect one? At an event at Harvey Nichols's Wallpaper* Bar in Knightsbridge to celebrate International Margarita Day (yes, it really does exist), expert mixologist Zoran Peric tells me about the history and structure of this versatile good-time drink.

"When you think of tequila, you think of parties," says Peric, adding that tequila is the one component of a margarita that is irreplaceable.

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Rather than one set recipe, the margarita is a wildly versatile drink, with any number of variants appealing to a wide range of taste buds. Such is the range of margaritas available, there are even awards for the finest recipes in the world.

"It started in the 1930s with the Daisy cocktail, which was originally made with gin, but by a lucky mistake a bartender in Mexico picked up tequila instead of gin and started using tequila in the Daisy," says Peric. "A lot of good things in life came out of that lucky mistake."

Peric adds: "By 1937, the tequila Daisy started spreading across the US due to how popular tequila is over there. Then in 1942 the margarita was officially born at Tommy's Bar in Juarez, Mexico.

"Made with tequila, orange liqueur, lime zest and maybe a bit of agave nectar as a sweetener, it was very simple."

Yet, as the drink grew in popularity across the US, its fundamentals morphed dramatically. Whether you add ice, Earl Grey tea or chilli, the accommodating nature of the cocktail goes to show that there's no perfect single recipe for the margarita, there are several.

Ironically, the first cocktail on Peric's tasting itinerary is the Perfect Margarita, named for its traditional simplicity based on the original 1942 recipe.

Using reposado tequila (tequila "rested" in a wooden barrel for a few months), orange, lime and agave, the first thing you notice about this minimalist variant is the almighty kick.

"It has to have a kick or else people will tell you your tequila is not strong enough," says Peric. This is the perfect summer's day cocktail – the liberal use of lime lends the drink a zesty, refreshing quality, and despite the margarita's hefty strength, the quality of the tequila reposado stops the unpleasant burn you get from cocktails of a similar strength. Be sure to pace yourself with this one.

How to make a Perfect Margarita

• 45ml tequila reposado

• 25ml orange liqueur

• 22.5ml fresh lime juice

• 7.5ml simple syrup, to taste

• 1 lime wheel for garnish

• Kosher salt crushed on rim (optional)

Next Peric brings out an unusual variant – the English Garden Margarita. Created by Sophie Bratt of London’s OXO Tower Restaurant, the English Garden has been chosen as the UK entrant to the 2017 Margarita of the Year awards.

Patron's website calls the English Garden "a margarita with a floral and sophisticated tea-steeped twist" and says "this cocktail finds the sweet spot between tea time and happy hour."

And yes it is steeped in tea. Made with Earl Grey tea syrup and orange flower water, this gentle cocktail is a quintessentially British take on the margarita – understated, classy and a little bit eccentric. A far softer drink than the Perfect Margarita, this recipe is the ideal starting point for those who are new to the world of margaritas.

How to make an English Garden Margarita

• 45 ml quality tequila

• 15 ml orange liqueur

• 22.5 ml fresh lemon juice

• 15 ml apricot liqueur

• 15 ml Earl Grey tea syrup*

• 3 drops orange flower water

• 2 sugar snap peas, one for garnish

• 2 sprigs mint, one for garnish

• Pumpkin oil and smoked salt (for the rim)

Method:

• Add the liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker, along with 1 cracked sugar snap pea and 1 sprig of mint.

• Fill cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously.

• Use a fine strainer to strain into a glass rimmed with pumpkin oil and smoked salt.

• Garnish with mint sprig and sugar snap pea.

• *Earl Grey tea syrup: Combine simple syrup with hot water and 5 tea bags.

"In the 1950s and 1960s, you had bartenders experimenting more and more, and in hotter places they ended up with the frozen margarita," says Peric. "From there, by the late 1980s and 1990s, we had Tommy's Margarita – the most popular margarita currently in the US."

Tommy's Margarita was invented in the late 1980s by Julio Bermejo, co-owner and bartender of Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, California. After coming to the conclusion that the orange-based liqueurs or triple sec normally used in margaritas were too overpowering, he replaced them with the more natural and subtle agave syrup as a sweetening agent. Shaken with ice and strained, the Tommy's Margarita has a pleasantly tart, dry quality that many other variants lack.

Tommy's Margarita is perhaps the simplest form of the drink, but it's also one that requires a good eye for tequila. The use of agave syrup instead of orange liqueurs really strips back the flavours around the tequila, allowing the drink to rely on the spirit itself. Consequently, the Tommy's Margarita depends on a good quality reposado or anejo (aged) tequila.

How to make a Tommy's Margarita

• 60 ml reposado tequila

• 30 ml fresh lime juice

• 15 ml agave nectar, to taste

• Kosher salt (for the rim)

• Lime wedge for garnish

Method:

• Combine liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

• Shake vigorously with ice to chill.

• Strain onto fresh ice in a salt-rimmed rocks glass

• Garnish with a lime wedge.

As Patron's brand ambassador, Peric recommends the following tequilas in his margaritas. For a good "rested" tequila, he goes for the Patron Reposado, in place of orange liqueur he opts for Patron Citronge Orange and for an ultra premium tequila (for use in Tommy's Margarita, for example) he recommends Patron Silver.