If you’re enjoying a margarita today for National Margarita Day, you can thank John Wayne. Yes, the Duke. Mark Bailey’s Of All The Gin Joints features the perfect Margarita recipe along with the story of the Margarita’s not-so-humble beginnings:

“[John] Wayne was, if you can believe it, one of the very first drinkers to try a margarita. The time was 1948, and the place, Acapulco. The Duke had a vacation house down there, near the Flamingo Hotel, and would pal about with the likes of Lana Turner, Fred MacMurray and others ­– pal around being a euphemism for drinking yourself stupid. Conrad ‘Nicky’ Hilton of the Hilton Hotel chain was there, too, as was Joseph Drown, who owned the Bel-Air. The group would gather at the home of Dallas socialites Bill and Margaret “Margarita” Sames. (Maybe you can see where this story is going…)

“Legend has it, the gang began to tire of the standard fare (Bloody Marys, Screwdrivers, beer). Wayne and his cohorts wanted something new under the sun, and they challenged their hostess, Margarita, to come up with it.”

Wayne would later share his tequila secrets with Nikita Khrushchev after his first meeting with Soviet leader, sending a gift that proves that, as Mark Bailey revealed in Of All the Gin Joints, “John Wayne liked drinking more than he hated communists.”

“Three months after their drinking session, a large wooden crate marked CCCP arrived at Wayne’s offices. Inside, packed in straw, were several cases of premium Russian vodka, along with a note that said, ‘Duke. Merry Christmas. Nikita.’ Wayne quickly returned Khrushchev’s gesture, sending the Soviet leader a few cases of Sauza Conmemorativo with a note of his own: ‘Nikita. Thanks. Duke.'”

Before you enjoy your margarita, learn how to properly taste your tequila from The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart:

“A fine tequila or mezcal should be savored on its own, in an Old-Fashioned glass, perhaps with a splash of water or a chunk of ice, just as you might drink a good whiskey. Lime and salt are unnecessary; their only purpose is to cover the taste of poor-quality spirits.”

Enjoy!

Margarita

Lime Wedge

Coarse Salt

2 oz. Silver Tequila

1 oz. Cointreau

3/4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

Rub the rim of the cocktail glass with a lime wedge and press into a plate of salt. Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wedge.

The Margarita is also frequently served on the rocks in an Old-Fashioned glass.