Holiday Spirits: Traditional Mexican Drinks to Enjoy During the Christmas Season
Champurrado, anyone? It’s chocolaty, delicious, and perfect for the holiday season. Image: Kimberly Vardeman
Los Cabos is a wonderful place to spend the holidays. The weather is warm, the beaches are beautiful, and the water temperature is, as Goldilocks might say, just right.
Of course, sunshine, golden-sand beaches, and snorkeling adventures don’t exactly scream Christmas. So in order to maintain the proper degree of yuletide spirit, I recommend a generous sampling of some of México’s traditional holiday beverages.
Here’s a beginner’s guide to the country’s best seasonal sippers:
Rompope, a rum-based eggnog-style drink, is one of México’s most popular seasonal sippers. Image: Thelmadatter
Rompope: This is a delicious rum-based, eggnog-style drink that is widely available throughout the year, but rompope reaches its zenith of popularity during the holiday season. Legend has it that rompope was first made in México by nuns at Puebla’s Convento de Santa Clara in the 17th century. Perhaps because of the legend, and perhaps because of its delightful qualities, Santa Clara remains one of the best-selling brands of rompope, with vanilla and walnut among the most common flavors. Speaking of flavors, rompope itself has become a popular flavor for other Mexican treats, such as raspados (basically, snow cones). Rompope is at its best served slightly chilled. Remember: The alcohol has already been added.
Atole: This has been around forever. Well, at least since the days of the Aztecs, since its name comes from the Nahuatl word atolli. It’s a traditional (and excellent) pairing with tamales, and many area tamale vendors also serve atole when the weather gets a little chillier (relatively speaking). Atole’s creamy consistency comes from one of its primary ingredients: masa, or corn dough. The taste, however, owes more to milk, vanilla, brown sugar, and cinnamon. It’s a holiday staple and may be found in a number of different versions, the most popular of which is champurrado. Champurrado is basically chocolate-flavored atole, and it is almost as fun to say as it is to drink, particularly if you are adept at rolling your r’s. Both champurrado and Mexican hot chocolate pair well with churros, delicious fried pastries with a name that also rolls trippingly off the tongue.
Full-bodied, bock-style Noche Buena is México’s most popular seasonal beer.
Ponche Navideño: For the linguistically challenged, this means Christmas punch. It seems like almost every culture has a fruit punch for the holiday season. In Europe, mulled wines and ciders, and brandy laced punches are popular. In México, the alcohol is typically added later, ensuring a much more family-friendly concoction. In addition to the usual suspects—fruits and sugar—the Mexican version is also distinguished by the presence of tejocotes, an indigenous fruit that comes from the hawthorn tree. With tejocotes, you have a unique beverage whose name is synonymous with the holidays. Without them, well….all you have is a rather punchless punch.
Nochebuena: This is Spanish for Christmas Eve. Noche Buena is México’s best seasonal beer. It’s available annually from October through December, and has been since 1924, when it was first offered by Cervecería Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma in Monterrey. Nowadays, Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma is a subsidiary of Heineken, and it’s not uncommon to see the dark, bock-style beer on U.S. shelves. Despite the pull of international commerce, however, Noche Buena remains a traditional holiday treat in its homeland, where it is appreciated for its full body and spicy hops. Noche Buena is immediately identifiable in local groceries by the seasonal red and green colored poinsettia flowers on the label. Of course, the flowers have a different name in México: Nochebuena.