I feel like National (insert booze) Day might be redundant. Does anyone really need a special day to consume their favorite libation? Nope! Much like with Valentine’s Day, I find myself wanting to shower my favorite bartender with love (read: tips and possibly hugs) while enjoying a couple of their salt-rimmed cocktail creations. Today is National Margarita Day, and fans of the Mexican classic will flock to their favorite bars or pick up their go-to tequila in tribute.

The origin story of the margarita is a highly contested one. The most popular stories involve dreaming it up for a guest with an allergy to hard liquor, a friend to the Hilton empire concocting it for party guests, an Irishman stumbling across the combination, and the original Jose Cuervo importer proclaiming Margarita was not just a girl’s name. Whoever actually did shake the first one deserves to be celebrated. The one thing that can’t be disputed is the base spirit for this marvelous tart bomb.

Tequila hails from the Mexican state of Jalisco. It was here that 16th-century Conquistadors found the indigenous people drinking a fermented drink from the agave plant called pulque. Necessity being the mother of invention and all, the Spaniards started to produce their own beverage with the agave in the same way they treated their brandy, eventually resulting in what we now know as tequila. Fast forward to the 1800s, families with the last names Cuervo and Sauza are bottling large quantities for local consumption as well as exporting them for the masses.

We all know the different expressions of tequila. There is the blanco that sees zero barrel aging. Resting in barrels for 2-12 months is the reposado. And finally, there’s the anejo – any tequila that sees more than a year in contact with wood. In the world of margarita mixing, blanco reigns supreme. It offers the cleanest flavor profile to go along with the brightness of the lime. But we’re not satisfied with just accepting the status quo and visited Graduate Hospital neighbors at Loco Pez to talk all things margarita.

Bartender Nathanael Reimer at Loco Pez

On their menu, you can find the good ol’ basic margarita as either an individual order or a pitcher along with several house recipes. One of them, The Chevelle, is made with Olmeca Altos Plata (their Blanco) infused with habanero. Want to try this on your own? Take your freshly opened bottle of Plata and throw 2 habaneros into it after removing the stems to expose the insides. Be careful though, the spice will intensify the longer it macerates.

Back to The Chevelle… mezcal lends a smokey flavor. Instead of triple sec or any other orange liqueur, Loco Pez opts for simple syrup. Of course, your lime comes in and is balanced with passion fruit. Instead of just plain salt on the rim, you’ll get a chili salt. The final product is spicy, smoky, slightly sweet and tart – a flavor explosion!

Try one for yourself or one of their other specialty drinks at either the G-Ho location or their sister locations in West Philly and Fishtown. Happy imbibing and enjoy a responsible National Margarita Day!