What beverage can we enjoy to combat the heat and the humidity? Now that there are non-stop flights between New Orleans and Mexico City, we look there for inspiration.
The Michelada is a combination of Spanish words derived from the Mexico City slang term for beer, and the word for frozen. Mi chela helada is translated to “my frozen beer.”
The origins of the drink go back into the early 1940s, and it seems most stories center on its creation with one General Augusto Michel from San Luis Potosi in central Mexico, who enjoyed his beer with spicy pepper sauce and lime. Another version credits Michel Esper, proprietor of the Club Deportivo Potosino, located coincidentally in the same city as the general.
Today, the drink is most often prepared like a Bloody Mary, with a light-style beer replacing the vodka.
Michelada
Place several cubes of ice into a chilled beer glass Rim with salt.
Add a few drops of pepper sauce, such as Crystal.
Add a few drops of Worcestershire Sauce.
Squeeze a lime wedge.
Add equal parts to fill glass, Clamato or tomato juice, and Mexican beer pilsner-style, such as Tecate or Dos Equis.
Garnish with lime and, if you dare, an habañero pepper.
