Here's why the sweet, boozy, acidic margarita is the perfect drink

Who doesn't love a classic margarita? Tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur, and a hint of sweetener, poured over ice. But bartenders are going to tinker, and innovation is the name of the game.

Margarita Time: 60+ Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails, Served Up, Over & Blended showcases more than 60 variations on the iconic tipple. It was written by Caroline Pardilla who is a digital editor at Imbibe. Many Angelenos, however, will already know her as a longtime chronicler of cocktails and a doyenne of drinks.

Evan Kleiman: I find it incredibly impressive that you managed to find enough margarita recipes to fill a book. Tell us a little bit about the history of the margarita. Do we know where and when it originated? So many food and drink origin stories turn out to be myths.

Caroline Pardilla: What's funny about the margarita is that it has plenty of origin stories or people taking credit for it, and usually they created it for a woman named Margarita. A few of the stories [say] it was created for Rita Hayworth when she was a dancer in Mexico. Another one was this Texas socialite who created it for her celebrity friends. Ultimately, though, I asked David Wondrich, and he actually wrote about it too. They could all be right because during Prohibition, when everybody went down to Mexico to drink, and bartenders went down there to work, they were probably making the daisy cocktail, which was a classic cocktail that's basically like brandy, lemon juice, orange liqueur, and sweetener. They were working with what they had down there and basically, "daisy" in Spanish is margarita.

"Margarita Time" showcases more than 60 variations on the iconic tipple. Photo courtesy of Ten Speed Press.

I love that so much. It makes sense. The margarita is a fairly simple drink — tequila, lime juice, and orange liqueur. It's the perfect combo of boozy, acidic, and sweet. So why should anyone veer away from this classic combo? 

Oh, why not? What's great about classic cocktails is that it's basically a template. And a lot of bartenders have risen to the challenge of coloring outside the lines of the classic template. And the margarita, while it's easy to mess up, it's also easy to make it your own in a good way. 

You could top it with sparkling champagne. You can change up the sweetener. You can infuse the tequila with different ingredients. As long as you stick to those components, I think it still counts as a margarita. Everybody should have fun with it. And I think that's the point of this book. 

"What's great about classic cocktails is that it's basically a template," says Caroline Pardilla. "And a lot of bartenders have risen to the challenge of coloring outside the lines of the classic template." Photo by Elon Schoenholz.

Can we talk about salt? Where do you fall on this crucial issue, to salt the rim, or not to salt the rim? 

Okay, so the salt thing, I understand. I get it because salt, it enhances that sweetness and it mutes that bitterness of a not good lime. I don't like it when the salt is rimmed all around the glass. I'm a fan of just a swath of it, like half of it. But if anything, I prefer it with maybe adding a couple saline solution drops to the shaker or that salt air. I can appreciate it, but, yeah, too much. Salt is bad. You don't want a salty cocktail. 

So let's talk about some of the variations. Tell me about the Salt Air Margarita from chef Jose Andres. 

Yeah. That one came out in the early 2000s when they were doing molecular mixology, and he had experience with foams and airs and everything. He was on a beach with his wife, and they were watching the waves come in, and he was looking at the foam and saying how it would just feel so much better on your mouth, on your lips, than the crunchy salt. So his Salt Air Margarita is basically the margarita, but with this layer of soft salt foam on it. It's beautiful, and it sounds [like it's] so much fun to drink.

For fruity margaritas, strawberry is a very popular twist. Tell me how to make one of the lesser known fruity versions, maybe coconut or watermelon. 

Yeah. So what I found was that you can basically add three quarters of an ounce or an ounce of your favorite fruit juice, or whatever, to your margarita. And you'd be good to go. But if you wanted to have some depth, then you would add a liqueur. For the Coconut Margarita in my book, Beau Du Bois, who used to be at the Corner Door, and he's now at Puesto in San Diego and at Roma Norte, he adds an ounce of coconut cream, then offsets that with this grapefruit tincture that he makes. So it gives it this depth and complexity instead of just a coconut bomb. 

Oh, that sounds so good. And what about watermelon? 

Yeah, you basically just add watermelon juice to your margarita. It's the perfect summer Margarita. 

I have to say that I really do love cocktails with cucumber but I'm really curious about using other, less common veggies in the drink. What I find very intriguing is the Red Zeppelin Red Onion Margarita. 

Yes, so that one, I first tasted it at Big Bar in Los Feliz, and it was by Abigail Smith. I usually don't like red onions but she cooks it down and makes this salted red onion syrup. So she cooks the red onion, then she uses the broth and mixes that with sugar and [adds] that into the margarita with pineapple juice and a little bit of pineapple rum. It makes these subtle savory notes. Combined with the pineapple, it's this beautiful patio drink that's actually perfect. I would actually say it would be good for fall too, because it has those savory notes. But, yeah, it's a beautiful cocktail. 

Abigail Smith of the Big Bar in Los Feliz cooks down red onions for a salty syrup for her Red Zeppelin Margarita. Photo by Leela Cy.

Oh, I'm definitely gonna try that. I'm a huge onion fan. You have a whole chapter on spicy margaritas. What is your favorite one and why? 

Okay, so I have a confession. I'm actually, like a spice wimp. I don't like anything too spicy. I had a spicy Margarita the other day, and it was painfully hot. What I like to do is at home, if I'm just going to throw something together, I have this Scrappy Bitters Fire Tincture, just a couple drops of that into the margarita. 

But in the book, I love the Margarita Al Pastor, which is from Licorería Limantour in Mexico City. It doesn't have any meat in it. He makes a taco mixed syrup with a serrano chili-infused agave syrup, and has some cilantro and herbs and stuff like that, and a little bit of pineapple juice. And it has this nice, subtle heat and a little bit of savoriness, and something about that pineapple, too. That cocktail is actually globally popular. It's been served in 55 countries. That's a really good one.

So we do have to talk about frozen and blended margaritas, despite my personal preference. They are perfect for summer, of course. I love the sound of the Summer Melon Marg, which involves sherry, which I actually really like.

I actually have two frozen sherry cocktails in there. I love that one because you have cantaloupe in it. That sweet melon bounce with the sherry and then the salinity of it, is just perfect. You blend it up and you can have it with, I don't know, cheese and crackers or something like that. It just sounds like a lovely afternoon. 

Is the sherry used in addition to tequila? 

Yeah, you have three ounces of blanco tequila, then an ounce of manzanilla sherry, an ounce and a half of lime juice, and then 10 ounces of cantaloupe puree. Sounds so good. 

You know, I'm going to have a margarita after this. 

I should hope so. I feel like I need a margarita too.