By Haddon Libby
Cinco de Mayo is about Mexican culture, margaritas, the French, Prohibition and American unity.
To understand these connections better, we start at the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture. They have traced the origins of Cinco de Mayo to the Mexican gold miners of California. These miners were overjoyed by the 1862 defeat of French troops in Puebla and began celebrations the following year. In that 1862 battle, French troops outnumbered Mexican troops by a 2:1 margin while possessing superior weaponry and training. Having not lost a military battle in fifty years, the French held ambitions to build a Latin Empire while helping the Confederates to secede from the United States and thereby secure important shipping routes to the Americas. While the French eventually gained control over Mexico, the delay that the Cinco de Mayo victory caused gave the U.S. sufficient time to end its Civil War and begin assisting Mexicans in defeating the French in 1867.
The recognition of Cinco de Mayo has grown dramatically over the last thirty years as Mexicans have immigrated to the United States and beer makers have seized on the holiday as a way to sell more spirits. While few know the origins of the holiday, this lack of knowledge has not deterred most from celebrating vigorously with shots of tequila and margaritas.
As the drink of choice is the margarita, who actually created it? While there are many folktales on the subject, the account that makes the most sense is given by James Graham of the Iowa State Reporter. According to his research, the margarita was first created in Tijuana in 1936 during Prohibition. Margarita is the Mexican word for Daisy and Daisy was a popular drink in the United States. According to Graham, the only difference between the two drinks is the use of tequila instead of brandy. The Margarita was originally called a Tequila Daisy.
The first thing that you should know about the margarita’s key ingredient is that quality tequila does not need salt and a lime. The salt and lime are meant to mask the taste of inferior tequilas. A quality tequila should be 100% blue agave and can be sipped on the rocks or straight up like a fine scotch whisky. Reposado means that the tequila has been aged at least two months. Añejo means it has aged one year while extra añejo, a designation conjured up in 2006, means that the tequila is aged more than three years. Like other fine liquors, some tequilas are aged additional years, typically in French oak barrels, and have the number of years aged on the label.
Price does not equal quality. While a bottle of Ultra Premium Tequila Ley 925 Pasion Azteca sells for $225,000, much of that price is due to the hand crafted, two-piece, one liter bottles that are made of platinum and white gold.
Reknown food blogger, Dave Lieberman states that Arette añejo ($50), Fortaleza blanco ($45) and Siete Leguas ($43) are three must try high-end tequilas. Among more moderately priced tequilas, try Cazadores ($35) or Tapatío ($30). If you are on a budget or making margaritas, Espolón ($20) or El Jimador ($19) taste great and are easy to find. Lieberman also advises us to visit Leyva’s Liquors in Tijuana as they have 600 types of tequila! Thank you, Dave – Tijuana here I come!
Setting our margaritas and tequila shots aside for a moment, Cinco de Mayo is really a celebration of American unity and the importance of our neighbors to the South. Without Mexico, its people and their culture, the United States would be a much different and lesser place today.
