Mexican Alcoholic Drinks and others

Within Mexican mercados themselves local officials nearly everywhere do a good job keeping the premises safe and businesslike. This is not to say, however, that the same atmosphere extends to across the street. In fact, bars and less formal drinking holes often cluster on a mercado's perimeter.


Each of Mexico's dozens of indigenous groups seems to have at least one fermented drink that it thinks of as its own. The following list just scratches the surface.



acachú: in Zacapoaxtla, Puebla, a liquor of the capulín cherry

aguamiel: in central Mexico, a mildly intoxicating drink made from sap of the maguey, of the agave family

aguardiente: aguardiente, brandy

aguardiente de caña: rum

anís: mixture of alcohol, water, and essence of anise

bacamora or bacanora: a kind of Indian-made mescal

batari: in Chihuahua, a tesgüino made by the Tarahumara Indians of ground-up, germinated and fermented corn kernels

brandy: brandy

caxtila: In the Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz, a rum prepared by the Nahua Indians

cerveza: beer

charanda: name for various drinks, some made from fermenting agave sap, others from sugarcane juice

charape: in Michoacán and northern Guerrero, variously prepared, most simply from fermenting pulque with water solution of unrefined brown sugar

chicha: variously prepared, as from fermented pineapple, unrefined brown sugar, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, and ginger

chichihualco: in Guerrero, made from fermented agave sap

chorreado: in Mexico State, Morelos and Guerrero, a mixture of whiskey, milk, chocolate, sugar, and, sometimes, egg

chumiate: in Mexico State, a name for fruit liqueurs

colonche: in central Mexico, made from the fermentation of macerated cactus fruit and sugar

comiteco: especially in Chiapas, a drink made from agave sap

curado: name applied to too many kinds of drinks to specify

damiana; in Sinaloa, a fermented infusion of the herb known as damiana, of the genus Turnera

garapiña: same as chicha

ginebra: gin

habanero: in Tabasco, a local rum; in Yucatán, made from the tropical tree-fruit called nance

huazamoteco: in Durango, alcohol diluted with water, with tequila

kahlúa: a coffee-flavored liqueur

mezcal: mescal, distilled from pulque (see below)

mistela or mustela: in southern Mexico, various recipes made with a variety of fruits such as the nance, mango, and plum; typically the fruit is fermented with water and alcohol until hardened, then sealed and fermented for another year

mosco or mosquio: a liquor based on oranges or orange peel

nevado: in Puebla and Mexico State, fruit liquors

nochotle: among the Mixtecs of central Mexico, a drink made by adding juice from the prickly-pear cactus, nopal cardón, to pulque

podzol: in Tabasco, fermented, ground, sprouted corn kernels, flavored with salt and chili

ponche: punch (ponche de fruta = fruit punch)

posh: in Chiapas, a whisky based on sugarcane juice

pozol or pozole: in southeastern Mexico, drink from fermented corn paste flavored with salt or chili

pulque: pulque -- in central Mexico, a mildly intoxicating drink made by fermenting the sap, or aguamiel, of the maguey agave

resacado: a high-grade whiskey

rompope: typically based on milk, almonds and egg yolk

ron: rum

sangría: sangria

sotol: in Jalisco and Nayarit, a distilled drink using fermented sap of the desert yucca called sotol, of the genus Dasylirion

sugiki: same as batari

taberna: in Isthmus of Tehuantepec area, made by fermentation of juice from a local palm tree

tecuí: in Mexico State, alcohol and fruit juice, especially juice of orange, limon, or pineapple

tejuino: in western Mexico, among Huichol Indians, drink of fermented corn, with added alcohol

tepache: fermented drink made from the of a variety of plants, especially sugarcane and pineapple, with brown sugar; sometimes pulque is added

teporocha: in Mexico State, a mixture of alcohol and soda drink

tequila: especially from Jalisco, made from fermented sap of a maguey-like agave

tesgüino, tesgüín, or tejuino: in northern Mexico, a weakly alcoholic drink made from fermenting corn, or sometimes agave juice, and unrefined brown sugar

torito: dozens of recipes; in Mexico State, it is often tequila or rum mixed with orange juice, vinegar, onion and chili pepper; in Guerrero, mescal cured with vinegar, green chili pepper, onion, tomato, and cheese; in Veracruz, rum with fruits, such as guava, mamey, limon and peanuts, mixed with condensed milk, regular milk, and ice

tuba: drink from fermentation of juice from different kinds of palm, especially the coconut palm, often flavored with pineapple, limon, chili, etc.

tuxca: same as mescal

verdín: In southeastern Mexico, a liquor made from aromatic leaves of the tree called hoja santa, and fennel or anise

vino: wine

whisky or wiski: whiskey

xanath: a vanilla-flavored liqueur

xtabentún: an anise-flavored liqueur

yolispa: in central Mexico, a drink made with whisky, honey and herbs

zotol: in Chihuahua, the same as sotol

http://www.backyardnature.net/m/food/drinkssi.htm