PREP TIME 5 min
A Mexican beer cocktail Michelada is the name and quenching thirst is the game. This popular Mexican beer drink is the ultimate refreshing sip—a light and zesty combination that is perfect for a hot summer’s day, especially when standing next to the BBQ is heating things up.
1 Person
For the salted rim
For the cocktail
Mix the rim ingredients on a saucer. Rub the lime around the rim of the beer glass and then dip into the spicy salt
Pour all the remaining ingredients into the glass, tilt the glass and pour in the beer
Taste for seasoning and garnish with a lime wedge
A modern Michelada beer cocktail is similar to a Bloody Mary but the vodka is swapped with beer, typically a light Mexican beer, and the tomato juice is replaced with Worcester sauce.
The important steps are the preparation, so start by chilling your beer glass or glasses and beer, well in advance. Rim the glass with a salt-cayenne mixture for that savoury spice with each sip. Then you simply add in the rest of the ingredients and do a taste-test to check for seasoning—you may prefer an extra grind of pepper or more hot sauce.
One can loosely translate Michelada in Spanish to “my cold beer”. The origins of this drink are unclear but the Mexican beer cocktail became popular in Mexico in the 1940s, when thirsty beer enthusiasts would grab a cold light lager, pour it over ice, add a dash of spicy clamato (Mexican tomato juice), and finish with a good squeeze of lemon and hot sauce. That’s the traditional way, but Mexico City locals prefer a light lager served with a shot of lime in an iced pint glass with a salted rim.
What a hot topic! If you don’t stir, you’ll have an ice cold, beer-forward sip that develops into a spicy sip as you drink. If you’re serving it up for friends, leave it unmixed for them to choose. If you’re a seasoned Michelada beer drinker, then mixing it first makes sense to enjoy that spicy hit from the get go.
Here are some options if you want to try out a few twists on our Mexican beer drink:
An ice-cold beer cocktail can sure get the appetite going, so it’s good to have a few options up your sleeve. Tacos are a fantastic pairing with a Michelada beer cocktail, or other Mexican Cocktails as is slow-cooked chipotle spiced shredded pork, especially for a Cinco de Mayo party. Spicy tuna or white fish ceviche with a good measure of fresh lime juice is also a stellar combination. A Michelada cocktail is also one of the best brunch cocktails, which you can serve with a fry-up of hash browns, eggs, bacon or Huevos Rancheros.
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