Do not feel like gin and tonic? Move to these Latin American summer drinks

These five drinks from Mexico and Central America are easy to mix at home and add variety to your BBQ party.

The sun is burning, sweat and good music are running, Halloumi and chicken thigh sizzling on the grill. For the completion of a legendary barbecue party only the right drinks are missing. No one of your guests will object to beer, gin and tonic and Spezi, but the standard repertoire of drunkards does not really cause such enthusiasm. For a successful surprise, these five summer drinks from Mexico and Central America. Well then: Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa ‘dentro!

Fight the one-way straws!

Before you start mixing, another tip: Assemble a set of reusable straws for your parties. And since you can never know in the summer when a desire for a cocktail , juice or milkshake comes over, it’s always good to have your own straw with you. Whether glass, paper or wood – the tubes look cool and are neither expensive nor heavy. And plastic straws are really even more unnecessary than cluttered Sterni.

1. Michelada / Ojo Rojo

Atención! With the first sip of Michelada, it may well happen that your facial motor skills slip away in shock. For the sour-hot Mexican national drink and perennial favorite among locals and tourists, the German favorite drink, beer, is mixed with a portion of taste-explosive ingredients. This can briefly overtax the tongue spoiled by the Purity Law. At least after the first glass Michelada but has absolute addictive potential and is also considered the ultimate cat medicine. Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of beer
• 3 cl lime juice
• 5 splashes of Worcester sauce
• 5 splashes of Maggi
• 3 splashes Tabasco
• Pepper to taste
• salt
• ice cream
• Optional 2 cl Clamato (tomato juice with shell stock)

How to mix: Moisten the edge of a large glass with a lime and dip in salt. Then add ice cubes, Tabasco, Maggi, Worcester sauce, lime juice and pepper and faithfully replenish with a light beer, for example Corona, or simply with your own favorite beer. Also popular is the variant with Clamato, which is called in many regions Ojo Rojo.

2. Coco Loco

Hardly anything tastes as much of the Caribbean as the water of a fresh coconut. Since pure coconut is far too healthy in the long run, luckily in many countries of the Caribbean there is their crazy sister: the Coco Loco. For the simple variant, which is often sold on the beach or on the street, a coconut is simply opened at the top and, depending on the country’s preference, any spirit is mixed with coconut water. Even more, Coco Loco bangs as a cocktail. Ingredients:

• 1 coconut
• 1 cl of rum
• 1 cl of tequila
• 1 cl of vodka
• 1 cl of gin
• Splash Grenadine
• Splash of lime juice
• Some sugar syrup
• ice cream

How to mix: Open the coconut and add coconut water together with the remaining ingredients to a blender. Then pour the mixture back into the coconut. If you can not find a fresh coconut in the supermarket, also packaged coconut water and a coconut shell to serve.

3. Canchanchara

Canchánchara – the name sounds like a Cuban summer night. Indeed, there is a piece of Cuban history in this sweet drink: it is believed that the Canchánchara was invented during the period of independence struggles against Spain. Mambises, the Cuban guerrilla fighters, it is said, mixed aguardiente (sugarcane brandy) with honey and citrus fruits they had on hand. The then still warm drink, should have helped them against the bitter cold. Today the Canchánchara is drunk on ice and served mainly in the old town of Trinidad. Ingredients:

• 6 cl of Cuban rum
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• ice cream

How to mix: Mix honey and lime juice together in a clay cup or, alternatively, a tumbler. Then add rum and ice and stir.

4th Vampiro

This blood red cocktail was invented in the Mexican state of Jalisco and combines just about all the tastes that one associates with Mexico: sweet fruits, sour lime, spicy chilli and of course tequila. Smart Ass Fact: Tequila is a subspecies of mezcal, an agave schnapps still in the shade of tequila in this country. Mezcal is largely produced by farmers, especially in the state of Oaxaca, and is now also available here from some specialist retailers. Ingredients:

• Tajin or other chilli seasoning powder
• lime
• 3 splashes of Maggi
• 3 splashes of Worcester sauce
• 2 splash Tabasco
• 4 cl of Tequila (Reposado or Blanco) or Mezcal
• Grapefruit Lemonade
• ice cream

How to mix: Moisten the edge of the glass with lime and dip in ground chilli powder. Then add ice, sauces and tequila / mezcal, pour in grapefruit lemonade and stir well.

5. Horchata de arroz

Rice pudding in summer? Absolute! In Mexico and Central America, the creamy white horchata is sold at many food stalls and restaurants, and at the same time it tastes sweet and refreshing on ice. The Horchata is nutrient-rich and alcohol-free and therefore the perfect refreshing drink in hot temperatures. With her cinnamon and vanilla notes, she also makes a great dessert. Ingredients:

• 250 g of rice
• 2 liters of water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 can of condensed milk (360 g)
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (380 g)
• vanilla extract

How to mix: Soak the rice with the cinnamon sticks in water for at least two hours, then add everything to the blender and filter the liquid with a fine strainer. Add the canned milk and the vanilla extract to taste and serve in a large glass on ice.