Micheladas

At the engagement party this weekend we set up a make-your-own michelada bar. A michelada is a Mexican beer cocktail that mixes salt, lime, tomato juice, and spices to a Mexican beer over ice. It's really refreshing on a hot day. And it's great for a group because everyone can mix their drink to their liking.





So no one would be stuck mixing drinks all night, my friend Renee made a cute little how-to sign with step-by-step instructions. It was really funny to watch the michelada table throughout the night as people were intently reading the instructions and mixing their drinks. Some people got really into it!



There's not really a recipe to follow, it all depends on what you like. Here's the basic gist:

Micheladas

beer
limes
salt
chili powder or cayenne
tomato juice
hot sauce (I like Cholula)
ice

Salt the rim of a glass by running a lime around the rim and then dipping it into a plate of salt (mix chili into the salt if you want). Fill the glass with ice (if beer on ice seems strange to you, use just a few cubes). Fill the glass with beer (I like to use a Mexican light beer like Pacifico, but any light beer or Mexican dark beer will do) leaving about an inch of room. Then, add as much or as little as you'd like of the other ingredients. I like to start with lime, salt and chili. At the party, some people were adding a lot of lime, which was really good. I didn't think I'd like it with tomato juice, but just a splash added a really interesting savory flavor.

Experiment away. Ole!

ps - If you're in New York, here's a round up of some places serving micheladas.