$2,500. That’s how much the most expensive margarita in the world costs. The Silk Stocking Margarita was created by Selena Rosa restaurant in New York City to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the invention of the margarita. Why so much? One of the main ingredients was a $1500 bottle of Clase Azul Ultra Anejo tequila. Now you know.

Relax, you don’t need a second mortgage to sip this amazing tipple because at The Prince Consort in Brisbane, to celebrate International Margarita Day on Monday February 22, it’s MARGARITA MONTH! And all bars are celebrating with their own, unique twists. ALL MONTH at The Prince Consort:

• 400 Rabbits @ The Prince Consort – this tequila and taco bar has specials all month, with the queen sip being the Margarita Diablo, a classic margarita on the rocks with salt rim and red wine float!  They also do an off-the-charts frozen Passionpop Margarita!
• La d Land – here the margarita of choice is the Classic with Prosecco and a splash of pink lemonade!
• The Parlour Bar – it’s Tommy’s Margarita, starring tequila, lime and agave.
• Garden Bar – here’s it’s the Lemon Drop Margarita, featuring lemon infused tequila, Cointreau, lemon juice, orange and lemongrass syrup.
• Don’t Miss: the MARGARITA DAY PARRRTAYYY @ The Garden Bar on Sunday, February 21 from 12noon with a Mariachi band, taco stands and the finest selection of Herradura Margaritas to try.

The story of the margarita, the iconic cocktail of tequila, triple sec and lime juice, is one that’s shrouded in mystery- no-one really knows who invented it. However, there are a few stories, and most of them involve beautiful women.

In 1938, Mexican restaurant owner Carlos (Danny) Herrera made a cocktail for the gorgeous Ziegfield showgirl Marjorie King. Apparently she was allergic to all forms of alcohol except tequila but didn’t like to drink it straight. So, Danny solved the tricky problem by adding salt and lime.

Another set of legends stems from the fact that Margarita is a nickname for Margaret, which stems from the French name Marguerite. Texas socialite Margaret (aka Margarita) could have been the brainchild, mixing one up at a party in Acapulco in 1948; or, it could have even been named for actress Rita Hayworth, whose real name was Margarita Cansino, during a theatre gig in Tijuana in the 1940s; or it may be attributed to singer Peggy Lee, as Peggy was a traditional nickname for Margaret, hence “margarita”. 

But the mystery goes even deeper, with some believing it evolved from a cocktail known as the “daisy”. Cocktail historians say the daisy was a mix of alcohol, citrus juice and grenadine, served over shaved ice and was popular during the 1930s and ‘40s. Patrons drank gin daisies, whiskey daisies and tequila daisies – with the original recipe calling for tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and a splash of soda. The Mexican-influenced daisy became known by its Spanish name, Margarita, which means daisy.

It was Mariano Martinez, a young Texan restauranteur, who started serving frozen margaritas in 1971. The new drink was apparently so popular bartenders struggled to keep up with demand, so Martinez and a friend converted a soft-serve ice-cream machine into a large-scale margarita maker. The machine now resides for all to see in the Smithsonian National Museum.

The cocktail is hugely popular in America – with 185,000 drinks served every hour. And it’s the sip of celebrities –Jennifer Aniston, Neil Patrick Harris and Matthew McConaughey are big fans.

Aniston prefers her Margs on the drier side, nixing the sweetener altogether. She sticks to a basic rendition: tequila, lime and a “squinch” of Cointreau.  McConaughey, well-known as the “duke of taking it eeeeeeeeasy” has his own recipe. It’s called the “Just Keep Living Margarita” and he taught Guy Fieri how to make it on the Food Network (recipe calls for ice, Anejo tequila, freshly squeezed lime juice, orange liqueur, citrus soda, tonic water, cranberry juice and lime wedges).

REFRESHING MARGARITA FACTS

• The world’s largest margarita was made in Las Vegas. The Flamingo Hotel’s Margaritaville Casino in Las Vegas holds the honour of making the largest margarita in the world. The enormous drink was 32, 176 litres and “served” in a 5.18-metre-tall tank. It took 60 people 300 hours to create. The drink, called the “Lucky Rita” was created to celebrate the opening of the casino in 2011. The mixture included  8078.069 litre of tequila, 8638.31 litres of Margaritaville Margarita mix, 2763.35 litres triple sec, and 12870.4 litres gallons of Lemon-x margarita mix.
• The world’s most expensive margarita – in 2018 New York City’s Selena Rosa restaurant celebrated the margaritas 70th anniversary with the Silk Stocking Margarita. It cost $2,500 and was made with a bottle of Clase Azul Ultra Anejo Tequila, which costs $1,500 a pop. 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar and Penthouse Lounge in Manhattan served margaritas that cost $1200 in 2013. The tequila alone cost $1800 a bottle and the ice was made from $450 bottles of Lois Roederer Cristal Champagne. The final product was poured into a Ralph Lauren hand-blown Hungarian crystal glass that could be taken home afterward. But don’t be too alarmed – half the money spent on the drink was donated to a charity of the drinker’s choice.
• If you thought that wasn’t too bad, how does $30k sound? For Valentine’s Day in 2015, the Iron Cactus in Austin, Texas offered an expensive margarita that came with a pair of diamond earrings.
• You can get your margarita in fried form – this strange food is served at the Texas State Fair, along with a variety of other food that shouldn’t be fried. Funnel cake batter is put through a margarita mixer, fried and then soaked in more margarita. The finished product is topped with whipped cream and served in a salt-rimmed glass.