A ''michelada'' ( Spanish pronunciation: itʃeˈlaða is a Mexican drink made with

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

juice, assorted sauces (often chili-based), spices, and chili peppers. It is served in a chilled,

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

-rimmed glass. There are numerous variations of this beverage throughout

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, the most common form is prepared with beer, lime, salt, and particular hot sauces or chile slices. There are several other optional ingredients, such as Maggi sauce, soy sauce, Tajín (seasoning), Tajín, Worcestershire sauce, Chamoy (Sauce), chamoy powder, serrano peppers, or clamato.

Origin

There are two popular versions of the origin and etymology of the michelada. One involves a woman named Michel Ésper at Club Deportivo Sinaloa in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. In the 1960s, Ésper began to ask for his beer with lime, salt, ice, and a straw, in a cup called "chabela", as if it were a beer lemonade (limonada). Members of the club started asking for beer as "Michel's lemonade", with the name shortening over time to Michelada. As time went by, other sauces were added to the original recipe. Today, it contains the same ingredients as a chelada, but contains ice and chile powder on the rim. Another etymology states that ''michelada'' is a portmanteau of ''mi chela helada''. The word ''chela'' is a popular term for a cold beer in Mexico; therefore the phrase ''mi chela helada'' means "my ice cold beer".

Commercialization

In the 2010s, major American beer, U.S. beer producers began marketing ''Cerveza preparada, cervezas preparadas'', illustrating the wide variety of recipes in the chelada/michelada category and acknowledging its popularity among the country's Latin americans, Latin American population, along with the increasing popularity of the drink outside of the Latin American population. In 2007, Miller Brewing Company began producing Miller Chill, a "Chelada-style light lager with a hint of salt and lime". Anheuser-Busch makes Budweiser Chelada and Bud Light Chelada, a combination of lager, clamato, lime juice, and salt. In 2012, Tecate began offering a michelada flavored with lime and spices. In 2015, Cervecería Centro Americana, a Guatemalan Brewery, released a Michelada under the trade name Dorada Draft Michelada Chiltepe. The beverage is spiced with chipotle peppers, the most widely used peppers in the region.

References

{{Cocktails Mexican alcoholic drinks Cocktails with beer Spicy cocktails

Origin

Commercialization

See also

References