My ‘NEW’ Favorite Holiday

For tonight's happy hour, grab the lime, salt, tequila, and triple sec. No, it's not Cinco de Mayo quite yet, but today is officially National Margarita Day.Whether you prefer yours frozen or on the rocks, with salt or without, there's no denying that the margarita deserves to be celebrated. The margarita is the most ordered cocktail in the United States Research from 2008 also found that Americans consume approximately 185,000 margaritas per hour!

Though many claim to have been the first to invent the much-loved libation, the favorite theory is the one that has ties to Hollywood. Supposedly, sometime during the 1940s, bartender Enrique Bastate Gutierrez concocted the sweet and tart beverage for none other than legendary actress Rita Hayworth. She was working as a dancer in a Tijuana, Mexico, night club, and she adopted the name Rita from her given name, Margarita, which inspired the name of the drink.

Though the Margarita's origins are not confirmed, how they were popularized is known. The recipe was first recorded in 1953 in the December issue of Esquire magazine. But the drink didn't really take off until the early '70s. Why the 20 year wait? In 1971, Mariano Martinez invented the frozen margarita machine. His inspiration for the slushy cocktail was, in fact, 7-Eleven's Slurpee.

Now margaritas are offered in practically every bar and restaurant across the country. There's no excuse not to celebrate today! Are you going to have a margarita today?