# What Is the Salt on the Rim of the Margarita Glass For? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270 "2004-02-26T11:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/1 "2004-02-26T11:05:53Z")
I have been making Margaritas for myself and my family for a little while now. I follow a bar manual as I make it. And not being one to break with tradition, I rub the citrus rind on the rim and salt it just like they say. But strange as it may sound, I still don’t know: what **exactly** is rubbing and salting the rim of the glass for? What is it supposed to do for this drink? And what is the recipient of the drink supposed to do with the salted rim? I notice people, be they in restaurants or at home, typically just ignore the salted rim anyways. Are they drinking this drink the right way? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/2 "2004-02-26T12:29:05Z")
It’s for taste. The bite of the salt evens out the sweetness of the margarita. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/3 "2004-02-26T13:44:12Z")
Be sure to use margarita salt, however. I’ve had margies at places that used table salt. It tends to fall off the inside rim and collect at the bottom, salting the whole drink. And margarita salt just plain tastes better. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/4 "2004-02-26T13:55:55Z")
Yep, what Bruce\_daddy said. It’s for taste. If my marg is made without salt, I’ll have to send it back. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/5 "2004-02-26T15:17:37Z")
The purpose of the salt is to change the margarita from merely a Pretty Good Drink to the best evidence we have of the existence of a benevolent God. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/6 "2004-02-26T16:32:30Z")
Its probably because of the Tequilla, and why you take the salt before and the lemon after you drink it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/7 "2004-02-26T16:38:16Z")
Properly done, you take each sip of the drink from a salted part of the rim, working your way around the glass. If you work it right, the last sip uses the last bit of salt. Then you order another round and start all over! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/8 "2004-02-26T16:59:27Z")
But, it must be said, that after having gone to the trouble of salting the rim, in my experience most bartenders then drop a straw into the glass, and as the OP points out, most people then sip the drink through the straw, thus destroying the point of the exercise. Strange. ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/9 "2004-02-26T18:21:27Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > The purpose of the salt is to change the margarita from merely a Pretty Good Drink to the best evidence we have of the existence of a benevolent God. LOL. As for those who use their straws and avoid the salt… there are always amateurs out there. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/10 "2004-02-26T18:40:11Z")
> [@filmyak](#): > > As for those who use their straws and avoid the salt… there are always amateurs out there. Heretics, not amateurs. Let’s keep them straight. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/11 "2004-02-26T18:51:11Z")
> [@filmyak](#): > > LOL. > > As for those who use their straws and avoid the salt… there are always amateurs out there. I like to lick the salt off the rim of the glass and then drink through the straw. What does that make me? ---
**Author:** ![EhhMon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@EhhMon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EhhMon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/12 "2004-02-26T21:20:43Z")
When I was quite young, I was told they put salt on the rim of the glass to help kill germs that may have been left there by the last person to sip from that glass. I know, I know. It sounds like bullshit, but in the interest of completedness. Personally I agree with **Rocketeer**. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/13 "2004-02-26T21:56:53Z")
> [@In Conceivable](#): > > I like to lick the salt off the rim of the glass and then drink through the straw. What does that make me? A Lutheran? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/14 "2004-02-26T23:34:58Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Properly done, you take each sip of the drink from a salted part of the rim, working your way around the glass. If you work it right, the last sip uses the last bit of salt. Then you order another round and start all over! 😃 I suck at this. I’m almost always out of salt way before I finish my marg. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/15 "2004-02-26T23:44:26Z")
> [@Jim B.](#): > > I have been making Margaritas for myself and my family for a little while now. I follow a bar manual as I make it. And not being one to break with tradition, I rub the citrus rind on the rim and salt it just like they say. But strange as it may sound, I still don’t know: what **exactly** is rubbing and salting the rim of the glass for? What is it supposed to do for this drink? And what is the recipient of the drink supposed to do with the salted rim? I notice people, be they in restaurants or at home, typically just ignore the salted rim anyways. Are they drinking this drink the right way? Really it goes back to the traditional Mexican ritual for drinking straight tequila accompanied by salt and a wedge of lime (or lemon). You first put some salt on the back of your hand between the thumb and index finger. You then lick the salt, down the shot, and then bite into the lime wedge. This procedure helps kill the taste of cheap tequila. 😃 In the same way, in a margarita, you lick the salt first as you take a drink, and then drink the tequila combined with the lime. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-salt-on-the-rim-of-the-margarita-glass-for/231270/16 "2004-02-27T00:07:53Z")
> [@In Conceivable](#): > > I like to lick the salt off the rim of the glass and then drink through the straw. What does that make me? Drunk, eventually.