From Border Bars to Hollywood Cantinas: California’s Case for Cocktail Immortality
California played a significant role in turning the margarita from a regional Mexican novelty into an American icon. While the beverage evolved from a Prohibition-era drink known as a “Tequila Daisy” served at bars along the Mexican border, it was at La Jolla’s La Plaza Restaurant in 1947 that the first blended, salted-rim version we know today was made and popularized.
In fact, the very first printed mention of the cocktail by its modern name appeared right here in California; on September 17, 1953, journalist Michael Demarest published his “Memo from Mike” column in Santa Rosa’s The Press Democrat, marking the very first time the word “Margarita” was used in print to describe the tequila-citrus cocktail – Beating Esquire magazine’s recipe publication by three months.
By the mid-1950s, Southern California had truly cemented the drink’s legendary status. An L.A.-based spirits distributor teamed up with Jose Cuervo for a massive marketing blitz, and iconic Hollywood spots like El Coyote built their empires around high-volume house margaritas. From early blender breakthroughs to the mid-century cantina boom, California is the launchpad that introduced the margarita to the rest of the world.