National Tequila Day 2020: 6 Fun Facts About Tequila, Plus 9 Margarita, Cocktail Recipes

Ah, tequila! It’s exotic, sophisticated, but if you exceed a certain limit, it’s sure going to give you the worst hangover of your life. Tequila is delicate. It’s meant to be admired and enjoyed in small quantities, taking your time to warm up to it and letting yourself fall in love little by little. The fastest you take it, the harder is going to hit you, so always be cautious when drinking this nectar of the blue agave plants.

Today is National Tequila Day, a day to celebrate this beverage and enjoy cocktails (particularly margaritas) that use Tequila as the main ingredient, and to make it more fun, we’ve gathered our favorite cocktail recipes you can try at home with tequila (mostly margaritas), as long as you’re 21 and over. But before we share our cocktail-making secrets, here are 6 fun facts about Tequila:

1. On average, Americans purchase 12.3 million cases of tequila a year.

2. Tequila is Mexico's national drink. While Mexico is where tequila originated (more on that later), the United States consumes twice as much tequila.

3. Good tequila, supposedly, does not result in hangovers. That said, it does have a mild hallucinogenic effect.

4. Tequila is made of blue agave Jalisco which is produced in select states in Mexico, including Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.

5. Tequila was first created in Tequila, Mexico in the 1500s by the Spanish. The native Aztecs are said to have made a beverage from the blue agave before the Spanish but there's no information regarding whether or not that drink was similar to Tequila.

6. Wondering what the most expensive bottle of Tequila is? A bottle of Platinum & White gold tequila sold for $225,000 in 2006.

IMUSA's Blood Orange Margarita

Sea salt

2 ounces silver tequila

1-ounce fresh lime juice

1 1/2 ounce fresh blood orange juice (you may substitute with regular navel oranges if you can't find blood oranges)

1 to 2 teaspoon agave nectar

1 orange round, for garnish

Directions:

Using the IMUSA citrus juicer squeeze the lime and blood orange juices and set aside. Pour some salt onto a small plate. Using the just squeezed lime half and run the wet edge along the rim of your glass. Dip the top of the glass into the salt. Carefully add ice cubes to your glass and set it aside.

Fill a small cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the tequila, freshly squeezed lime, blood orange juice, and agave nectar. Shake for 15 to 20 seconds. Strain into your glass and garnish with a slice of blood orange or lime.

Añejo’s Frozen Blueberry Basil Margarita (Serves 4)

6 oz Herradura Silver

3 oz Blueberry Puree

3 oz Thai Basil Syrup

4 oz Fresh Lime Juice

3 cups ice

Directions:

Blend until smooth and garnish with Basil Leaf.

Hornitos Paloma

1 part Hornitos® Plata Tequila

2 parts fresh ruby red grapefruit juice

1 part simple syrup

2 parts club soda

Directions:

Build-in order over ice in a tall glass, stirring once before adding soda and once after. Garnish with a lime wedge or grapefruit wedge. Rosemary sprig optional.

Hornitos Manhattan

1 ½ part Hornitos Añejo Tequila

½ part sweet vermouth

1 tsp maraschino cherry juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients over ice. Stir. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. Served up, no ice.

Hornitos Old Fashioned

1 ½ part Hornitos Black Barrel Tequila

1 part simple syrup

½ part amaro liqueur

2 dashes bitters

2 dashes orange bitters

Directions:

Combine simple syrup, Hornitos Black Barrel Tequila, amaro, and bitters. Add ice and stir. Strain over fresh ice and garnish with an orange peel.

The Blue Rita from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville:

1.5 oz. Margaritaville Silver Tequila

.75 oz. Bols Blue Curacao Liqueur

3.5 Lemon-X Margarita Mix

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and pour over ice.

Mexican Pharaoh:

2.5 oz. Avión Reposado

0.5 oz. Simple Syrup

Mint

Directions:

Lightly muddle mint in a mixing glass, add the remainder of the ingredients and stir without ice. Strain over crushed ice in a rocks glass or julep tin, top with champagne and garnish with a mint sprig.