NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY

On February 22, America will celebrate NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY and, in honor of America's favorite beverage, we'd like to share with you some interesting facts about the popularity of the cocktail and its consumption.

 Did you know?

• The original Margarita was invented in 1948 by socialite Margarita Sames. According to the legend it was during a party at her cliffside hacienda in Acapulco that Margarita began experimenting with "the drink". Looking for something to cut the dust of a hot afternoon, she mixed Tequila Herradura, Cointreau and fresh lime juice. Her cocktail kept the party going for two weeks and today the Margarita is the #1 most popular cocktail in the U.S.

• The Margarita was the most popularly ordered drink in 2008, representing 18 percent of all mixed drink sales in the U.S., followed by the Martini, Rum and Coke, Vodka and Tonic, and the Cosmopolitan (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)

• On average, Americans consume 185,000 Margaritas per hour (Brown-Forman, 2008)

• Margarita consumption peaked in the South accounting for 34.9 percent of sales; markets include Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Texas etc.  (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)

• Atlanta, Miami, St. Louis and Nashville are among the best major metro cities for the Margarita (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)

• The first frozen margarita machine was invented in 1971 and it was based off a soft-serve ice cream machine

• The U.S. is the number one tequila market - larger and more important than Mexico (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)  

On behalf of Casa Herradura, Happy Margarita Day!