Tommy’s Margarita Recipe

Although there are numerous riffs and variations on the Margarita — and extra seem each day — few have reached “trendy traditional” standing fairly just like the Tommy’s Margarita. Invented by Julio Bermejo within the early Nineties at his household’s restaurant, Tommy’s Mexican in San Francisco, the drink turned a turning level within the historical past of tequila cocktails. The restaurant, opened by Bermejo’s father, Tomas, in 1965, is now thought of one of many premier tequila bars on the planet.

The Tommy’s Margarita is a straightforward but revolutionary construct: 100% agave blanco tequila, freshly squeezed lime juice, and agave nectar. It breaks from the standard Margarita method by omitting orange liqueur (sometimes triple sec) because the sweetener. As a substitute, it makes use of agave nectar, highlighting the earthy, vegetal notes of high-quality tequila slightly than citrus. This enables the spirit to take middle stage, slightly than be masked by artificially sweetened liqueurs.

Bermejo has lengthy championed higher tequila illustration in america. In a daring transfer throughout the Nineties, he overhauled Tommy’s bar program to serve solely tequila constituted of 100% agave, at a time when an estimated 98% of tequila on the U.S. market was mixto, or blended with sugars, impartial spirits, and different components. When many bars had been embracing sugary, fruit-forward cocktails, Bermejo’s minimalist, spirit-forward Margarita created a brand new template that bartenders around the globe would undertake within the a long time to come back.

Why the Tommy’s Margarita is so iconic

The traditional Margarita has been a staple since its creation across the Nineteen Forties, with its signature mixture of agave, lime, and orange flavors making it one of many world’s hottest examples of the bitter fashion of cocktail. By the late twentieth century, nevertheless, triple sec and lime juice usually dominated the drink, used to masks the harshness of subpar tequilas and push the cocktail’s profile towards fruitiness.

The Tommy’s Margarita flipped the drink’s profile to 1 through which the parts had been tailor-made to work in service of the tequila. Bermejo eliminated the orange liqueur fully and launched agave nectar as a extra impartial sweetener. This rebalanced the drink to focus on the tequila itself, which solely labored as a consequence of Tommy’s Mexican’s dedication to utilizing 100% agave spirits.

Even those that don’t know the cocktail by identify have doubtless tasted its affect. As Bermejo’s variation unfold by phrase of mouth over the last decade since its creation, bartenders throughout the nation took to including agave nectar to their drinks. The Tommy’s variation quickly turned many professionals’ “secret trick” to making a memorable Margarita.

Whereas most trendy agave-based cocktails name for an agave syrup — the nectar diluted with water for simpler mixing — the traditional Tommy’s Margarita makes use of pure agave nectar. This requires shaking vigorously and utilizing much less sweetener than in a conventional bitter. However the payoff is a clear, shiny cocktail that places tequila entrance and middle.