Michelada

The Michelada is Mexico's quintessential cerveza preparada: a chilled light lager built over ice in a salt- or Tajín-rimmed glass, brightened with lime and seasoned with hot sauce and Worcestershire for a savory, spicy, endlessly refreshing pour. Its origin is the stuff of cantina legend — one tale credits a regular named Michel Ésper, who ordered his beer "like a lemonade" with lime, salt and ice at a San Luis Potosí club in the 1960s; another simply hears the name in the phrase mi chela helada, "my ice-cold beer." However it began, it remains beloved brunch fuel from Mexico City outward, infinitely customizable to the drinker's taste.

RefreshingSavoryClassicLow ABV

Ingredients

  • Salt Rim(rim the chilled glass; use a Tajín rim for the chili-salt variation)
  • 1 ozLime Juice(freshly squeezed)
  • 4 dashHot Sauce
  • 4 dashWorcestershire Sauce
  • 2 dashSoy Sauceoptional
  • Salt(to taste)optional
  • 2 ozTomato Juice(for the Cubana / Clamato style)optional
  • 12 ozBeer(chilled light Mexican lager, poured to fill)

Garnish: Lime Wedge

Preparation

Built · Highball · Cubed

  1. 1.

    rinse

    Rim a chilled highball or pint glass with salt (or a Tajín chili-salt rim).

  2. 2.

    add

    Fill the glass with ice, then add the lime juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and any optional soy sauce, salt, or tomato juice.

  3. 3.

    build

    Stir briefly to combine the seasonings.

  4. 4.

    top

    Slowly pour in the chilled light Mexican lager to fill, topping up with more beer as you drink.

  5. 5.

    garnish

    Garnish with a lime wedge.

Flavor Profile

fizz
44%
dilution
37%
bitter
23%
umami
20%
earthy
19%
body
15%
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