There’s a reason our Margarita is our bestselling cocktail.
There’s a reason it’s our most award-winning drink.
And there’s a reason we care about it so much.
It’s the drink that started Bar Buoy.
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It Began With a New Year’s Resolution
On 1st January 2020, Tim made a simple resolution: to make the perfect Margarita.
At the time, Bar Buoy didn’t exist. This wasn’t a business idea — just a Friday night challenge in our kitchen. Every week, Tim tweaked the balance of tequila, lime, and sweetness, chasing the perfect combination of sharp, smooth, and refreshing.
Friday nights became Margarita nights, little did we know how important that ritual would become.
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When the World Stopped, the Margaritas Didn’t
Three months later, the world went into lockdown.
Tim’s global events business stopped overnight. Like so many others, we suddenly found ourselves asking: what now?
But one thing didn’t stop — the Margaritas.
With more time on our hands, the experimenting continued. Friday nights turned into Margarita Mondays (and Tuesdays… sometimes Wednesdays too). The recipe kept improving, becoming something joyful and grounding, something to share.
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The Beach, The Tide… and The Thermos Flask
When restrictions eased and we could finally meet friends outside, Tim packed his bar kit and headed to the beach.
He shook fresh Margaritas as the sun set. It was one of those golden evenings that felt hopeful again.
Until the tide came in - and the bar kit started floating away.
The next time, Tim pre-mixed the Margaritas at home and brought them to the beach in a thermos flask. No floating equipment. No fuss. Just perfectly balanced Margaritas, ready to pour.
Everyone loved them.
One friend said, “This is so good. You should bottle it.”
That sentence changed everything.
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From Thermos to Bottle
We got our house licensed and started producing cocktails in small batches. It was homeschooling by day, cocktail-making by night.
That original Margarita recipe — perfected through lockdown and beach evenings — became our first bottled cocktail.
Our small-batch bottles are still produced in-house, with care at every step. The same high-quality, award-winning liquid also goes to our trusted co-packer in Newton Abbot for canning — the recipe is the same, the format is just different.
Every bottle represents the same care, quality, and flavour that started it all.
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Three Stars. One Margarita
In 2021, we entered our Margarita into the Great Taste Awards — and received three stars.
It was proof of all those experiments, late nights, and beach evenings. Proof that Tim really did make the perfect Margarita.
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More Than a Cocktail
Our Margarita isn’t just our bestselling drink — it’s the reason Bar Buoy exists.
It represents resilience, creativity, family effort, and a lot of laughter along the way (including Toby giggling mid-bottling shift!).
Every time we pour one, we’re reminded how something small — a New Year’s resolution in a kitchen — can turn into something much bigger.
So if you’re raising a Margarita this National Margarita Day, know that you’re not just drinking a cocktail — you’re drinking the drink that started it all.
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Shop The Margarita
Ready to taste the Margarita that started it all?
Perfect for sipping at home, sharing with friends, or celebrating National Margarita Day in style.