Cola de mono or Colemono (literally, ''monkey's tail'') is a traditional
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an drink served around Christmas time. It is similar to a
White Russian.
![Cola de mono en Navidad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Cola_de_mono_en_Navidad.jpg)
Although there are many versions of this drink, it contains mainly
aguardiente
(Spanish), or (Portuguese) ( eu, pattar; ca, aiguardent; gl, augardente), is a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It originates in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and in I ...
,
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
,
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
,
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
, and
cloves
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...
. A virgin version can be made simply without the alcohol.
Etymology
![Cartel cola de mono, Santiago 20191219 33](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Cartel_cola_de_mono%2C_Santiago_20191219_33.jpg)
There are several theories surrounding the origin of the name. Since this drink is homemade, it was originally bottled in bottles whose labels were from the company
Anís del Mono
Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia.
The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...
. Eventually the play on words of ''cola de mono'' was created. The more accepted theory, however, is related to President
Pedro Montt, nicknamed ''El Mono'' Montt, or ''Monkey'' Montt. During an evening party, Montt prepared to leave and asked for his revolver, a Colt. He was convinced to stay and continue on with the festivities. After all of the wine was drunk and the guests still thirsty for more, mixed milk, coffee, ''aguardiente'', and sugar. Within time, the drink gained popularity and was dubbed "Colt de Montt", eventually morphing into "Cola de Mono"
and later "Colemono", which is the name used in the "RAE" dictionaries and in common speech.
References
See also
*
*
Chilean alcoholic drinks
Christmas food
{{mixed-drink-stub