Michelada — Mexican beer cocktail with lime, salt, hot sauce, and aromatic bitters

Michelada

Mexican beer cocktail with lime, salt, hot sauce, and aromatic bitters

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Ingredients

  • 1 ozFresh Lime Juice
    Fresh squeezed
    Substitute: Key lime for sharper bite
  • 2 dashesAngostura Aromatic Bitters
    For warming spice depth
    Substitute: Peychaud's for a sweeter profile
  • 12 ozMexican Lager
    Crisp Mexican lager, well chilled
    Substitute: Any light lager or pilsner
  • 2 dashesWorcestershire Sauce
    Lea & Perrins preferred
    Substitute: Maggi seasoning
  • 4 dashesHot Sauce
    Cholula or Valentina
    Substitute: Tapatío or Tabasco acceptable
  • 1 tbspCoarse Salt
    For glass rim, mixed with lime zest
    Substitute: Tajín for classic Mexican rim

Instructions

  1. Rub cut lime around rim of pint glass and dip into a plate of coarse salt mixed with lime zest

    Chill glass in freezer beforehand

  2. Fill glass with ice and add 1 oz fresh lime juice
  3. Add 2 dashes Worcestershire, 4 dashes hot sauce, and 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  4. Slowly pour in cold Mexican lager, stirring gently to incorporate without losing carbonation

    Beer and glass should be ice-cold

  5. Garnish with a lime wedge on the rim

Technique Notes

Rim before building, and use a lager cold enough to keep its head. A warm beer here goes flat and the seasoning has nothing to sit on.

Why the Michelada Works

Beer is the carrier; the seasoning is the drink. Lime and salt lift the lager's malt the way they lift food, and Worcestershire and hot sauce supply the umami-and-heat that turn refreshment into appetite. Angostura is the aromatic finish that keeps the drink from reading as just a salty, hot beer.

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