Tommy´s Margarita

Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco was founded in 1965 by Tomás and Elmy Bermejo, Julio’s parents. Together with his four brothers, he also joined the family business and invented his now world-famous version of the classic margarita in 1988. He is also considered a real tequila expert himself, and Tommy’s even boasts of having the largest collection of tequilas in the USA behind the bar. A simple story for a drink, yes, but sometimes it’s enough to have a good idea and execute it correctly to achieve world fame.

Although the name suggests that the drink was invented by a certain „Tommy“, it is not so. The inventor of the cocktail is Julio Bermejo. He created the simplified version of a „margarita“ in the 90s while working at his parents‘ restaurant, Tommy’s.

This San Francisco restaurant is famous for its huge selection of agave liqueurs. If you are ever in the city and are interested in tequila or mezcal, the restaurant is a must stop.

When Julio Bermejo discovered agave nectar, he was excited, since this special product in the form of syrup was not very common at that time. He experimented a little and found a margarita recipe that could only be achieved with the sweetness of this agave syrup. No additional sugar or orange liqueur.

The agave syrup was then much more expensive than the combination of syrup and triple sec, but Bermejo was delighted with the result, and so were we.