Sangrita, “little blood” in Spanish, is a fruit and vegetable juice based chaser that often accompanies a Blanco Tequila. The practice widely adopted in Mexico, but unusual elsewhere, dates back to the 1920s.
Sangrita is different from sangria. The latter is a wine-based cocktail made with wine, alcohol and fruit juice. There is not a lot of information about sangrita. More often than not, web searches default to the more common term sangria. The two liquids are completely different, however.
Little is known about the origins of sangrita or its subsequent history. In Mexico it has become ubiquitous among Tequila drinkers. If you are a fan of Blanco and Reposado Tequilas, sangrita is definitily a topic worth exploring.
Urban legend has it that the original practice of using sangrita as a chaser rose from saving the juice of pico de gallo, a type of salsa that originated in Jalisco and is widely used in Mexican cuisine, and using the liquid to accompany sips of Tequila.
Pico de gallo consists of chopped tomato, onion, and Serrano peppers, along with salt, lime juice and cilantro. Variations include using jalapenos or habanero peppers. Since Jalisco is also Tequila’s ancestral home, the two items have had a close association. Both are quintessentially Mexican.
Another variation of that legend is that sangrita originated in the Lake Chapala area of Jalisco. There is a large expatriate community of American retirees there and, according to that story, local bartenders would often serve tart tomato juice along with Tequila in order to make it smoother and less peppery. Lake Chapala is a large freshwater lake southeast of Guadalajara’s. It covers around 420 square miles and is Guadalajara’s principal source of fresh water.
There are hundreds of variations of the basic sangrita recipe. Virtually every restaurant in Mexico has its own variation of sangrita – many keep their specific recipe confidential.
Sangrita typically has a base of tomato juice and/or orange juice. The more orange juice in the mix, the tangier the resulting liquid. Pomegranate juice can be added to make the sangrita sweeter or lime juice to make it tart. Other fruits and vegetables that can be added include the juice of tangerines, cucumber, papaya, mango and jicama.
A variety of fresh or dried peppers, ancho chile powder, different types of hot sauce, onion and salt are added to varying proportions to make the drink spicier. Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce are also frequently added.
The sangrita is served in a caballito, the traditional Mexican shot glass. The sangrita and the Tequila, typically a Blanco or in some cases a Reposado, are alternatively sipped. While sangrita is often referred to as a chaser, it is not intended to be used that way but rather consumed in between sips of Tequila.
Capsaicin, the compound that gives chile peppers their “heat,” as well as the peppery notes in Tequila, is an alkaline compound. Hence, its effects are neutralized somewhat by acidic foods like tomato, orange or lime juice.
While there are hundreds of different variations of the sangrita recipe, the original style was to emphasize the citrus and spicy notes in sangria to compliment the equally citrus and spicy peppery notes in Tequila.
Most sangritas are red as they are tomato juice based. That is particularly true of the commercial versions of sangrita that are widely available in Mexico or in Mexican grocery stores in the US. Purists argue, however, that historically the base of sangritas was orange juice with the addition of a little lime and pomegranate juice, not tomato juice.
It’s not clear when tomato juice became the base for most sangritas. Some local restauranters in Guadalajara claim that tomato juice wasn’t used as a base for sangrita until the 1950s and that its use was to make the Tequila smoother and tone down its pepperiness for the benefit of visiting American tourists.
Below are some sangrita recipes that illustrate the broad styles of sangrita, both historical and contemporary. The basic recipe can easily be modified to make the sangrita sweeter or tarter, as well as spicier or milder.
Traditional Basic Recipe
This recipe is still widely used in Jalisco and appears to be one of the oldest sangrita recipes. Interestingly, it does not have any tomato juice.
1 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 to 1 oz of freshly squeezed Mexican lime juice. (Mexican limes are also known as Key limes or Bartender’s limes). They are typically picked green but turn yellow when ripe. Mexican limes are more acidic and have a stronger aroma and flavor than typical limes.
1/2 oz grenadine or 1 oz of sweetened pomegranate juice
1/4 teaspoon of Ancho chile powder or 3 to 5 dashes of Tabasco or some other hot sauce depending on the degree of spiciness desired
1-2 slices of hot pepper, either jalapeño or habanero
Tomato Juice Based Sangrita
2 oz tomato juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz Mexican lime juice
Minced green chile and cilantro to taste
The amount of orange juice can be increased to make the resulting sangrita tangier.
Tourist Style Sangrita
5 oz tomato juice
2 oz Mexican lime juice
1 oz orange juice
2-5 dashes of Tabasco sauce to taste
This is the most common style of commercial sangritas found today. It is predominantly tomato based. The acidic tomato juice serves to moderate the pepperiness of the Tequila and adds a bit of sweetness as well.
In addition to Tabasco sauce, other Mexican hot sauces to use include:
Salsa Valentina
Made by a family-owned company in Guadalajara, the sauce is made from puya chiles, vinegar, water and spices. The flavor profile is tangy, slightly vinegary and spicy. It comes in two styles: medium heat (yellow label) and hot (black label).
Cholula
This sauce is made in the like named city in Jalisco and is readily available in the US. It’s made from a blend of piquin and arbor chiles, salt, vinegar and spices. It’s tangy and spicy, with a pronounced chile flavor. It comes in various styles: original, green pepper, chipotle, chili lime and chili garlic. It’s considered to be medium spicy.
El Yucateco
Produced in the Yucatán peninsula, the sauce is made from a combination of chiles, habaneros, tomatoes, vinegar and assorted spices. It’s a very hot, spicy sauce with a pronounced habanero flavor, although some of the spiciness is offset by the tomato and vinegar in the sauce. It comes in a variety of styles: green, red, black label, kutbilik (made from a traditional Mayan recipe and is rated the hottest), jalapeño and Caribbean.
Salsa Bufalo
Produced in Mexico City, the sauce is a mixture of guajillo peppers, garlic, sugar and assorted spices. This is a thick sauce with a pronounced pepper flavor accompanied by some sweetness and a bit of smokiness. It comes in classic, chipotle and jalapeño flavors.
Tapatio
Tapatio is the nickname used in Jalisco for natives of Guadalajara. Produced in Vernon, California, Tapatio is a mixture of red peppers, vinegar, garlic and assorted spices. It has medium heat.
While traditional Mexican hot sauces compliment sangrita nicely, any hot sauce can be used to make sangrita spicier.
Sangrita is a uniquely Mexican beverage. If you are a big fan of Tequila, especially if you prefer Blanco and Reposado Tequilas, then drinking sangrita with your Tequila is definitely a custom you ought to adopt.
Salud
