Cocktail recipe
Michelada
An icy Mexican beer cocktail, electric with lime, savoury spice and chili heat.
Ingredients
- 355 ml (12 oz) chilled Mexican-style pale lager
- 25 ml (⅚ oz) fresh lime juice
- 15 ml (½ oz) tomato-clam cocktail juice or tomato juice
- 10 ml (⅓ oz) Worcestershire sauce
- 5 ml (1 tsp) hot sauce, adjusted to preference
- 1 pinch fine salt (about 0.2 g)
- For half-rim: 2 g (about ½ tsp) chili-lime seasoning
- Garnish: 1 lime wedge
Preparation
Run a lime wedge around half the rim and dip that side into chili-lime seasoning, leaving the other half clean. Add lime juice, tomato juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce and salt to the chilled glass. Add fresh cubes and pour in the cold lager slowly, pausing for the foam to settle. Lift gently from the bottom once, garnish with lime and serve while the bubbles still snap.
Glassware
Tall chilled beer glass with a half chili-salt rim, cubed ice
History
The Michelada developed in Mexico from the broad tradition of *cerveza preparada*, beer served with lime, salt and other seasonings. One popular account credits Michel Ésper at Club Deportivo Potosino in San Luis Potosí during the 1970s; another derives the name from *mi chela helada* (“my cold beer”). Neither etymology is conclusively established. Recipes vary substantially by region: some use only lime and salt, while others include hot sauce, Worcestershire, tomato or clamato-style juice. This house recipe is expressly a savoury, tomato-accented version, not a claim to the original national formula.
Mixology View
The beauty of a Michelada is its flexibility, but balance matters: lime should lead, chilli should wake the palate and tomato should add body without turning the beer into soup. We identify the tomato version as our choice rather than universal tradition.