The Picador isn’t exactly a household name when it comes to cocktails. In fact, it’s mostly remembered as a possible forerunner to the far more famous Margarita. And honestly, that’s the only reason it hasn’t completely faded into obscurity. Yet, when you look at it, the Picador is essentially the same drink. It’s a perfect example of how fame or obscurity in the cocktail world can be totally random.
Picador, The Cocktail’s History
The lack of fame surrounding the Picador matches the scarcity of details about its origin. What we do know is that it was around before 1937, when the recipe first appeared in print thanks to William J. Tarling and his The Café Royal Cocktail Book.
Tarling doesn’t give us much to go on: just the ingredients, proportions, and a basic prep method. No hints about who invented it, where it came from, or why it’s called the Picador—a name that, like other tequila-based cocktails in the book, references bullfighting. Take the Matador, the Toreador, or the Bullfighter, for example.
Quick side note: in a bullfight, the picador is the guy on horseback who preps the bull for the matador by stabbing the bull’s neck muscles with a lance. This causes the bull to charge with its head down, giving the matador the chance to kill it with a sword.
An Ancestor of the Margarita
What is really interesting, and what gives the Picador a bit of attention, is how much it resembles the Margarita—years before the Margarita recipe ever hit print. Both drinks use tequila, triple sec, and lime juice, and both follow the classic 2-1-1 ratio. (By the way, this is the original Margarita recipe we’re talking about, not the slightly tweaked IBA version that uses less lime juice.)
These similarities have led to the theory that the Picador was basically the Margarita’s test run. The Margarita’s “invention” might not have been about mixing certain ingredients for the first time, but rather giving an existing cocktail a fresh name and backstory. But, of course, this is all speculation—the Margarita’s origins are still a bit murky.
Picador Cocktail: The Recipe
The few bars that do serve the Picador tend to tweak the proportions slightly from those given in The Café Royal Cocktail Book. Below are the original specs.
Ingredients
- 50 ml tequila
- 25 ml lemon or lime juice
- 25 ml triple sec
Method
William J. Tarling’s method calls for a shaker. So, pop all the ingredients in, give it a good shake, then strain into a glass. He doesn’t specify what kind of glass, so feel free to get creative—just make sure it’s chilled. A coupe glass would be a solid choice, as a nod to the Margarita.
Garnish
None.
Image credits of Julie Couder and Coqtail, location Nik’s & Co, all rights reserved.
