Margarita Machine Shook up History
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Communities covered in this edition ... Richardson Allen Farmers Branch West Spring Valley Pipes fall from truck, Council candidates see Metro rezoning plan OK'd. 2B killing man. 2B city in different lights. 7B ZheALtlas 3111)114'1g Nets Section B Wednesday, May 11, 201I INNOVATIONS Restaurant manager Justin Hill Margarita machine shook up history pours a fro- zen margari- ta at Mari- Invented 40 years ago in coction to the nation's most popular can restaurant was melting before ano's, home alcoholic beverage with his inven- his eyes. Martinez couldn't master of the frozen Dallas, it put Tex-Mex, tion in Dallas of the frozen margari- the icy consistency of frozen marga- margarita tequila in the limelight ta machine. ritas, much to the dismay of his cus- machine. Forty years later, Martinez's in- tomers. Owner Mari- By MATTHEW HUISMAN vention has increased the U.S. de- With his business on the rocks ano Marti- Washington Bureau and facing a coup from his bartend- [email protected] mand for tequila and contributed to nez invented the widespread popularity of Tex- ers, who complained the slushy con- the machine WASHINGTON — He may not Mex cuisine. coctions were too time-consuming 40 years have created the first margarita, but It was 1971, and he was a 26-year- and complicated to make, Martinez ago. Mariano Martinez transformed the old Dallas restaurateur whose drink from a border cantina con- dream of operating his own Mexi- See MARGARITA Page 6B Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer Margarita machine shook up history Continued from PagelB "It's really important because for Mexican Tex-Mex "basically floated out of the Southwest on a sea of margaritas was desperately searching for a manufacturers, the margarita becomes the drink and Coronas," said Jeffrey Pilcher, a remedy. that introduces Americans to tequila in a way history professor at the University of "I had a sleepless night and the Minnesota. next day, I stopped to get a cup of they weren't able to before." Over time, America's taste for te- coffee at a 7-Eleven and I saw that quila has become more refined; de- Slurpee machine," Jose Orozco, Whittier College history professor mand for top-shelf tequila has Martinez said. reached an all-time high. The big- "The entire con- and entrepreneurism." duces Americans to tequila in a way gest boom is in the super-premium cept hit me at one The drink was an instant success they weren't able to before," said Jose category, which has seen imports in- time." and attracted people from across the Orozco, a Whittier College history crease 336 percent since 2002, ac- An inspired state who wanted to sample Marti- professor. cording to the Distilled Spirits Martinez retrofit- nez's slushy creation. The popularity of the drink only Council of the United States. ted an old soft- "If it hadn't been for that ma- increased with the introduction of "We are past the days of slam- MARIANO serve machine and, chine, I wouldn't be here today," he the frozen margarita machine, ming down tequila," Martinez said. MARTINEZ said. "That machine allowed me to which produced a consistent bever- "We are in an era of 100 percent aga- was inspired using his father's by 7-Eleven's margarita recipe, stay in business for the last 40 years:' age. It became so popular that in ve tequila:' Slurpee. streamlined the The invention saved Martinez's 2006, the margarita surpassed the Tequila has transformed from production of what restaurant and also jump-started martini as the most ordered alcohol- the liquor of peasants to a present fit has become America's most ordered the U.S. demand for tequila as is beverage, representing 17 percent for the Duke of Cambridge. Recent- alcoholic beverage. knock-off machines spread to mom- of all mixed-drink sales, says Brown- ly, a guest who attended the royal Happy hour would never be the and-pop and chain restaurants. Forman, one of the largest Ameri- wedding of William and Catherine same. As early as the 19th century, te- can-owned spirits and wine compa- brought bottles of Tequila Avion, The National Museum ofAmeri- quila manufacturers in Mexico had nies. top-shelf tequila not sold in Eng- can History, having recognized the been trying to sell their blue agave Americans drink an average of land. invention's cultural significance to spirit to an American market that 185,000 margaritas every hour, And as the tastes of consumers Mexican-American food and drink, knew neither what it was nor how to Brown-Forman says. change, so does the margarita menu acquired the machine in 2005. drink it. That changed when the Restaurant owners soon realized at Mariano's Hacienda. Names like "It represents a whole move- margarita started appearing in bars that the perfect pair for the margari- Fire and Ice, the Texas Tornado and ment of American life where all and restaurants along the U.S.-Mex- tas they were pouring was Mexican- Burnt Orange now grace the menu. these things came together," said ico border in the late1930s. inspired foods such as nachos and But don't worry: Martinez's orig- Rayna Green, a curator for the mu- "It's really important because for tacos. So as the frozen margarita inal frozen margarita inspired by his seum. "The margarita machine is Mexican manufacturers, the marga- spread across the U.S., it brought father's secret recipe is still on tap be- also about American innovation rita becomes the drink that intro- Tex-Mex cuisine with it. hind the bar. .