Add limes for margarita time!

There was a question on Facebook the other day about what drink gave you the worst hangover of your life. An alarming number of people mentioned the margarita, which was also cited as one of the top three most popular cocktails in the universe. How anybody would know, beats me.

Margarita means “daisy” in Spanish, a rather innocuous name for something that seems to produce worldstopping hangovers.

There are numerous stories about how the drink was invented, the most common being that Mexican restaurant owner Carlos “Danny” Herrera invented it in the late 1930s for Ziegfeld showgirl Marjorie King. Marjorie, poor girl, was allergic to all forms of alcohol except tequila, but didn’t like it straight, so Danny added salt and lime to make it more drinkable.

If you’re inclined to make one, here’s a recipe.

1 part tequila

½ part triple sec

½ part fresh lime juice

Ice

Salt to encrust the glass rim Lime wedge, to garnish Combine to tequila, triple sec and lime juice in a jug with the ice. Put some salt in a shallow bowl, moisten the rim of the glass with the lime wedge, then dip the rim into the salt. Pour the margarita into the glass and garnish with the lime wedge.