Sangrita (meaning "little blood"), is a Mexican non-alcoholic drink often served with

tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the Agave tequilana, blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ...

– customarily a shot of tequila blanco. Its origin dates back to the 1920s. It serves to complement the flavor of

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

tequila, which is similarly reminiscent of

peppers Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

. The peppery taste highlights tequila's crisp acidity and cleanses the palate. Before increased worldwide popularity and corporate interest in tequila in the late 1990s, consumption was largely localized to the vicinity of the tequila-producing state of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

. A popular recipe in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, Jalisco's largest city, was said to have originated from the leftover juices (mainly

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

) of an equally popular regional fruit salad covered with fine chili powder, usually piquin. As the fruit salad, known to jalisquillos (Guadalajara's natives) as

pico de gallo ''Pico de gallo'' (, ), also called ''salsa fresca'' ('fresh sauce'), ''salsa bandera'' ('flag sauce'), and ''salsa cruda'' ('raw sauce'), is a type of salsa commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It is traditionally made from chopped tomato, onio ...

, was consumed from a large bowl during breakfast, the remaining juice was saved and poured on a small and narrow clay cup, which itself would be the precursor of the tequila shot glass. In almost all cases the drink took its bright red color from a mix of the fine pepper powder, spices, and

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

, while the base was mainly

or sweetened

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 Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

. The key to a balanced sangrita recipe can be found in the fruit salad's recipes, which would have included any or all of the following:

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

and

jicama ''Pachyrhizus erosus'', commonly known as jícama ( or ; Spanish ''jícama'' ; from Nahuatl ''xīcamatl'', ) Mexican turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Jícam ...

. Traditionally, tequila and sangrita are each poured into a separate shot glass (or ''caballito'') and the two are alternately sipped, not chased. Sangrita is used in a drink known as " The Mexican Flag", where three separate double shot glasses are filled with lime juice, tequila and sangrita. Sangrita is an ingredient in the '' Mexikaner'' mixed shot.

Ingredients

Authentic sangrita from the

Lake Chapala Lake Chapala ( es, Lago de Chapala, ) is Mexico's largest freshwater lake. It lies in the municipalities of Ocotlán, Jalisco, Ocotlán, Chapala, Mexico, Chapala, Jocotepec, Poncitlán, and Jamay (municipality), Jamay, in Jalisco, and in Venu ...

region of

is made with

Seville orange Bitter orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'' and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is probably a cross bet ...

, lime and

juices, with

chili powder Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili p ...

hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of years ...

added for heat. However, most modern sangrita recipes (particularly outside of

) have mistakenly attributed the red appearance of the drink to tomato juice instead of the chile powder. While some would argue that there is no set rule on what sangrita should contain, as the main ingredient, it is commonly considered by older residents of

that

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

and particularly branded recipes such as the "

Clamato Clamato is a commercial drink made of reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and sugar, which is flavored with spices, dried clam broth and MSG. Made by Mott's, the name is a portmanteau of ''clam'' and ''tomato''. It is also referred to collo ...

" mix stem from uninformed efforts to recreate the drink due to its growing popularity. It can feature a blend of

and/or pomegranate juices, or pomegranate-based

grenadine Grenadine is a commonly used nonalcoholic bar syrup characterized by its deep red color. It is a popular cocktail ingredient renowned for its flavor as well as its ability to give a reddish or pink tint to mixed drinks. Grenadine is traditiona ...

with the addition of something spicy (hot sauce or fresh/dried

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

), and sometimes white

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

and

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 ...

. A variation on a basic traditional recipe: * 1 oz. freshly squeezed orange juice * 3/4 to 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice * 1/2 oz. real

-based grenadine * 1/4 tsp. ancho chile powder or 3 dashes of hot sauce * 1–2 slices

jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...

A basic tomato based recipe (non-traditional) * 2 parts freshly squeezed tomato juice * 1 part freshly squeezed orange juice * 1/2 part freshly squeezed lime juice * Fresh minced green chile to taste Mexico City-style Sangrita: * 5 parts tomato juice * 2 parts fresh lime juice * 1 part orange juice * Seasoned with a combination of Jugo Maggi, Salsa Valentina, Worcestershire, and Tabasco(original) sauce to taste.

References

{{Mexico topics Soft drinks Mexican drinks