This Sunday, February 22, is National Margarita Day. Why it's not closer to Cinco de Mayo, I have no idea, but it's a good excuse to get 'faced on a football-less Sunday.

One of the world's most popular tequila drinks, the margarita is traditionally made with 2 parts silver tequila, 1 part orange liquor (most often Triple Sec or Cointreau), and 1 part fresh lime juice. (Trust me, you want to use fresh lime juice, not the bottled stuff.) Then it's served over ice in a salt rimmed glass.

Those ratios are often played with, depending on taste and who is mixing. For example, the classic margarita from Tequila Herradura calls for 1 oz of their Silver tequila, 1 oz of Cointreau and however much lime you can handle. For the "frozen" version, add all ingredients to a blender with some ice and blend away. And you can't forget the flavored versions - strawberry, raspberry and mango - favored by sorority girls and office assistants on happy hour.

For some knowledge to drop during your celebration this Sunday, here are a few margarita facts to impress with:

- There's debate over who invented the margarita, but a popular story has it invented in 1948 by socialite Margarita Sames. According to the legend it was during a party at her cliff side hacienda in Acapulco, that Margarita began looking for something cool to cut the dust of a hot afternoon. So she experimented by mixing Tequila Herradura, Cointreau and fresh lime juice. And apparently kept the party going for two weeks.

- The only "officially recognized" margarita by the International Bartender's Association, is the version served on the rocks with a salt rim.

- The margarita was the most popularly ordered drink in 2008, representing 18 percent of all mixed drink sales in the US, followed by the martini, rum and coke, vodka and tonic, and the Cosmopolitan. (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)

- According to a 2008 Brown-Forman survey, on average, Americans consume 185,000 margaritas per hour. (No wonder the economy is in the tank.)

- The South (Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, etc.) accounts for 34.9 percent of margarita sales. (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)

- Atlanta, Miami, St. Louis and Nashville are among the best major metro cities for the margarita (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)

- The first frozen margarita machine was invented in 1971 and it was based on a soft-serve ice cream machine

- The US is the number one tequila market – much larger than Mexico (Cheers On-Premise Handbook 2008)