The Frozen Margarita

The day began with three plastic bags lobbed onto a desk.

"I'm so sorry, Cait." My beautiful new co-worker L had just arrived at the office, lugging an array of shopping bags. 

"Mr. Insight asked me to give these to you." 

She dropped the plastic bags on my desk with a sigh. She was still friends with Mr. Insight, but nonetheless was not exactly enjoying her role as ping-pong ball in our table-tennis play-offs.

I poked at the nearest shopping bag. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, all three were emblazoned. They were packed tight, and the final O on the bag nearest my hand spread wide, its double-width berth rippling into the remaining space like a fat man on the subway.

"Ah yes," I thought. "Thank you."

My belongings. Everything I had left at Mr. Insight's place back when we were dating. I had chosen each item so strategically at the time, selecting each piece to leave behind as a sign of our permanence, as insurance against abandonment.

I stuffed the three bags under my desk. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Any plans tonight?" I asked L.

"Well," she kept typing, "we have guests in town, so something."

My foot brushed the taut plastic lurking underneath me.

"But I'm not sure what yet," she continued.

The bags swayed towards my ankles.

"Maybe something in the village..." Her voice trailed off, as she considered her options.

I crossed my legs. The bags toppled onto my toes.

"Margaritas!" I shouted.

Surprised at my vigor, L looked over. I was standing, my legs kicking the dark space underneath my desk. I looked like a maniac. Perhaps I was one.

"Yes." She clipped her sentence as the word blossomed into knowing laughter. 

"Just please don't bring the bags."

"Margarita" is the Latin word for "pearl," the Spanish word for "daisy," and the American word for "fuck this shit and these damn plastic bags." More than a few stories exist about how the drink was first created, and while the place of origin shifts from Jaurez to Tijuana, from Galveston to El Paso, the inspiration remains the same: a beautiful girl who has a taste for something new.

Damn all these beautiful girls, they only wanna do you dirt.

Both Peggy Lee and Rita Heyworth are cited as the Margarita's muse, though neither were quite cold enough to inspire the frozen version. For that, we owe a chemist in Dallas, John Hogan, and his infatuation with the sweetest temptress of all: cane sugar. 

As far as making a margarita for your own sweetheart, keep it cheap. The salted rim is an old trick to hide the taste of low-quality liquor, so save your money and take your drink with a grain of salt. You know, much like the way you'll take home those damn plastic bags, when you finally suck it up, stop kicking the darkness, and walk out into the light of a stunning new day.

THE FROZEN MARGARITA

3 oz. white tequila

1 oz. triple sec

2 oz. fresh lime juice

1 cup crushed ice

blend all ingredients until smooth

garnish with a slice of lime and a salted rim

serve in a margarita glass