While tequila tends to steal the limelight on World Margarita Day, the famed cocktail wouldn’t be complete without another spirit in the mix: Cointreau.

The liqueur, which was created in the 1870s and became well-known after the World’s Fair of 1889, is made from sweet and bitter orange peels. And it makes a mighty fine addition to a Margarita.

There are many tales about who created the first Margarita. Dallas socialite Margarita Sames claimed to have mixed her two favourite spirits, Cointreau and tequila, together with lime juice while on holiday in Acapulco back in 1948 to concoct the famed cocktail. Among her well-connected guests was Tommy Hilton, who added the drink to the bar menu at his hotel chain.

Whoever actually invented the Margarita was a genius, as it’s the result is the perfect combination of sweet, salty, sour and bitter. And it’s become one of the world’s most popular cocktails.

Ready-to-drink and mixer company Funkin Cocktails crunched the Google data on the most searched-for cocktail recipes around the world in 2021 and the Margarita topped the search list in 30 countries, including the UK, US, Canada, Australia and France.

Australia’s love of Margaritas has increased in the last year, with searches for Margarita recipes increasing by 83% in the last 12 months alone (Google Trends, 2020-2021).

Here are five Cointreau infused Margarita recipes to try on February 22 as the world celebrates Margarita Day.

Spicy Margarita

• 30ml Cointreau
• 30ml blanco tequila
• 20ml fresh lime juice
• 2 slices jalapeño
• Fresh coriander

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake well until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a jalapeño pepper,

Summer Margarita

• 30ml Cointreau
• 30ml tequila
• 20ml lime
• 4 fresh strawberries
• 1 bar spoon sugar syrup

Method: Rim the glass with some fleur de sel. Combine Cointreau, tequila, lime and strawberries in a shaker with ice. Muddle it, shake it, strain it and serve it. Tip: Garnish with mint sprig on the top of your glass to bring some freshness.

Grilled Watermelon Margarita

• 30ml Cointreau
• 30ml tequila
• 30ml fresh lime juice
• 15ml grilled watermelon syrup
• 15ml fresh grapefruit juice

Method: To make grilled watermelon syrup: Cut watermelon into slices and grill until both sides of the watermelon have grill marks. After letting cool, blend with simple syrup (1:1) and then fine strain. Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake and fine strain over ice into Tajin-salted rocks glass. (3:1 Tajin to kosher salt) Garnish with a lime wheel.

Roasted Strawberry Margarita

• 30ml Cointreau
• 30ml Mezcal
• 30ml Fresh lime juice
• 60ml Roasted strawberry purée

Method: To make roasted strawberry purée: Remove strawberry tops, broil-char in the oven. Let cool. Place in blender. Fine strain.  Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.  Shake and fine strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with lime and roasted strawberry.

Frozen Passionfruit Margarita

• 30ml tequila
• 15ml Cointreau
• 15ml Passoa
• 20 ml lime juice
• 10ml water

METHOD: Add all ingredients to a blender with half a cup of ice cubes. Blend until large chunks are broken up and at the desired consistency. Pour into a tall cocktail glass and garnish with fresh passionfruit.

Original Margarita

30ml Cointreau
30ml tequila
30ml fresh lime juice

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with a lime slice and salt rim.

Cointreau celebrates World Margarita Day with touring Kombi bar

Cointreau is currently touring Australia in a retro Kombi, serving the Original Margarita, Spicy Margarita and frozen Passionfruit Margarita.

The pop-up bar on wheels is a retro VW Kombi, dedicated to serving Margaritas and delicious tacos created by chef Melinda Essey who has a passion for Central and South American cuisine after spending considerable time travelling and cooking in Guatemala and Central America.

He menu will consist of a Chicken Taco with Tomatillo salsa, pickled red onion, slaw and lime crema, as well as a Chilli Black Bean Taco which includes chilli black beans, tomatillo salsa, pickled red onion and slaw for those wanting a vegetarian option, and of course the classic guacamole and tortilla chips. The menu items will be available in meal and drink packages.

The Cointreau Margarita Kombi bar will be touring up and down the East Coast, with its first stop in Sydney from February. Aussies can then track the journey of the van on this website with NSW venues including the likes of The Greens North Sydney, Camden Valley Inn and the Rosé by the Harbour Festival this weekend. From May, the Cointreau Kombi will head down south and land in Victoria. To finish off the tour, the Cointreau Margarita Kombi bar will be travelling north to Queensland from July.

The Cointreau Margarita Kombi bar will also be taking applications from workplaces in Sydney CBD to bring complimentary Margaritas every Friday for ‘Friday Office Margs’ celebrations across the month of March. To register your interest, email your full workplace address and how many people will be attending ‘Friday Office Margs’ to cointreau@margaritas.live

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