Sangrita

Sangrita arose in the state of Jalisco in the early twentieth century, tied to the tequila country around Lake Chapala. By the common account it grew out of thrift: the spiced, citrusy juice left in the bowl after a chili-dusted fruit salad — a pico de gallo of orange and jícama — was poured off into a small clay cup and drunk with tequila. The first commercial bottling, Sangrita de la Viuda de Sánchez ('the Widow Sánchez'), was launched in 1957 by Edmundo Sánchez Nuño from his family's Chapala recipe, the 'widow' being his mother, who had run the family cantina; José Cuervo acquired the brand in 1970 and carried it abroad. The tomato-forward, Bloody-Mary-like sangrita common outside Mexico is a later commercial drift from the original citrus base.

Cold, thin and bright red, it hits sour first — lime and bitter orange — then a low sweet-tart fruitiness from the pomegranate, then a slow chili burn that builds across sips. There is little or no tomato in the traditional version, so it tastes of citrus and pepper, not vegetable juice. Against a mouthful of clean blanco tequila the contrast is the whole point: the spirit's warmth, then the chaser's cold acid and heat scrubbing the palate so the next sip of tequila lands fresh. It should make you want the next sip of both.

Sangrita is a palate-cleanser engineered by contrast and chemistry. The citric acid of lime and orange and the chili's capsaicin both stimulate salivation, which clears the lingering ethanol heat and agave oils from the tongue between sips of tequila, so the spirit keeps tasting clean rather than building into a burn. Sweetness from the fruit and a little sugar rounds the sour and tempers the chili. Serving it cold, in a separate glass and never mixed, is deliberate: the alternation of warm spirit and cold chaser is the experience. No cooking is involved — the juices are simply blended, seasoned and chilled to let the flavors marry.