5 Takes On This Cinco De Mayo Classic

Cinco de Mayo, observed on May 5 every year, has turned into a major American celebration of Mexican heritage, but its growing popularity in recent decades has centered on something completely unrelated to the holiday's original designation:

Alcohol.

Think tequila. Americans consume about 126 million liters of tequila alone on Cinco de Mayo, according to data from IWSR, formerly the International Wine and Spirits Record.

Here are five takes on the margarita:

Classic Lime Margarita

Make this recipe from Hy-Vee by the pitcher for a party of six. You’ll need:

1 cup silver tequila
1 cup Coinktreau (a French orange liqueur) or other triple sec
½ cup lime juice
¼ cup agave nectar
½ cup cold water

Run a wedge of lime around the rim of the margarita glasses and dip them into a shallow bowl of kosher salt. Place a wedge on the rim of each of the glasses. Add ice to the glasses then fill with the margarita, taking care not to disturb the salt. Serve immediately.

Spicy Jalapeño Margaritas

This recipe from delish infuses jalapeño and tequila for a Cinco de Mayo kick. It serves eight. You’ll need:

2 cups tequila blanco
1 jalapeño, quartered
1 medium cucumber, cut into 1/2" slices
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Lime wedges, for glass and garnish
2 ounces infused tequila
1 ounce orange liqueur (such as Cointreau)
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
Sliced jalapeño, for garnish

Muddle the jalapeño in a jar, add the cucumber, and store in a cool, dark place for at least 8 to 12 hours. Strain the tequila mixture, discard the solids, and pour it back into the jar. Refrigerate it until you’re ready to use. (This can be made up to two weeks in advance.)

To prepare the margarita, combine the granulated sugar and salt in a shallow bowl, run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass, and dip it into the mixture to coat.

In a cocktail shaker, combine the infused tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice. Fill the shaker with ice and vigorously shake for about 30 seconds, then strain into the prepared glasses, and garnish with lime wedges and jalapeño slices.

Carrot Margarita

This recipe from Home Wet Bar is a good use for the leftover jalapeño-infused tequila. You’ll need:

4 ounces fresh carrot juice
2 ounces jalapeño tequila
½ ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce fresh juice from a lime
½ ounce fresh juice from an orange

If you have a juicer, make fresh carrot juice, but any fresh-squeezed carrot juice from a health store will work Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until combined.

Strain into a rocks glass with a salted rim over a single ice cube. Serve with lime if desired.

Black Mole Margarita

This recipe on Liquor.com comes from Orlando Franklin McCray, the bar director at Nightmoves in Brooklyn. It uses mole, a complex sauce made from a blend of chilies, spices, nuts, seeds, and sometimes even fruit, often with a touch of chocolate, You’ll need:

1¾ ounces mezcal
1 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
½ ounce black-cocoa-and-orange syrup
3 dashes mole bitters (such as Bittermens)
Soda water, to top
Garnish: lime wheel (dehydrated or fresh)

Combine all ingredients except the soda water into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with soda water and stir gently to combine. Garnish with the lime wheel.

Blue Margarita

This margarita from Wine Enthusiast gets its blue color by substituting blue curaçao for the orange liqueur in your go-to margarita recipe. You’ll need:

Kosher salt to rim the glasses
2 ounces tequila blanco
1 ounce blue Curaçao
1 ounce lime juice

Place the salt in a shallow dish. Moisten the rim of rocks or margarita glasses with lime or an orange wedge. Roll the rim of the glass in the salt to coat it.

In an ice-filled cocktail shaker, combine the remaining ingredients and shake well until chilled, then strain into the prepared glasses with fresh ice.

How Cinco De Mayo Evolved In U.S.

Cinco de Mayo observes the date of the battle of Puebla in 1862 when the outnumbered Mexican army defeated the powerful French, who were occupying the area seeking unpaid debts. A common misconception confuses the holiday with Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept. 16. The country had already gained its independence from Spain years before the battle of Puebla, which was part of a war the Mexican army historians consider lost to the French.

While May 5 is an official holiday in Mexico, it isn’t celebrated there the way it is in the United States. Military parades have occurred over the years in Puebla marking the battle win, but celebrations are low-key or nonexistent throughout much of the country.

Cinco de Mayo in the United States dates back to shortly after the battle of Puebla itself, as Mexican American communities in California would hold regular celebrations every year for decades. It didn’t expand outside the Golden State until the rise of the Chicano Movement in the 1960s, and finally ballooned to the drinking-associated holiday it is today when Corona introduced its 1989 marketing campaign.