A hot drink of panela (unrefined cane) water, cloves, cinnamon and a generous shot of aguardiente, served steaming in clay cups against the cold of Bogotá. The signature warm drink of the Andean capital.
Canelazo santafereño is the signature hot drink of Bogotá and the Cundiboyacense highlands, drunk against the cold of the sabana at 2,640 metres. Made of panela (unrefined cane) water boiled with cinnamon (canela) and cloves, spiked with aguardiente, it is served steaming in clay cups at night markets, fiestas patronales and family gatherings. The drink is named for its dominant spice, canela, and its origin is the colonial hot punch tradition of the Andean capital.
Sweet, fragrant and warming, the panela giving a deep cane sweetness, the cinnamon and cloves perfuming it, the aguardiente lighting a clean warmth in the chest. Drunk very hot, it cuts the highland chill within minutes.
Panela (a solid block of unrefined cane sugar) is dissolved in water with cinnamon sticks and cloves and simmered long enough for the spices to infuse fully. The aguardiente is added at the very end, off the boil, so its alcohol does not all flash off. The drink is served immediately, still steaming, so the aromatics rise with each sip.
Variations
A non-alcoholic version (canelazo dulce) skips the aguardiente. A Nariño version adds lime leaves.
On the Palate
Where Canelazo Santafereño sits in the Colombian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
6 steps · 10 min
- 13 min
Break 250g panela into pieces and dissolve it in 1.5 litres water with 3 cinnamon sticks and 12 whole cloves in a pot.
- 28 min
Bring to a boil, then simmer 15 minutes until the panela is fully dissolved and the spices have infused.
Watch outSimmer the panela with the spices a full fifteen minutes until it's completely dissolved and the cinnamon and clove have infused — this is the aromatic base the whole drink rests on.
- 33 min
Off the heat, stir in 250ml aguardiente (more or less to taste).
Watch outStir in the aguardiente only off the heat — add it while it's boiling and the alcohol flashes off; you want it kept steaming, never boiling, so the aromatics rise with each sip.
- 44 min
Strain into a clean pot and return to a very gentle heat just to keep steaming; do not boil.
- 53 min
Ladle into clay cups and serve immediately, while still very hot.
- 62 min
Offer lime wedges on the side for those who want a sharper edge.
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