August 1, 2002

Drink or Swim?

The Michelada, It Drink of Summer

Summertime, and the livin’s easy.

Too easy, it seems, for the nation’s bartenders, who’ve been snoozing in their scotch-and-sodas while the rest of us languish in it-drink limbo. It’s a first for many of us: The cosmo got us through the late ’90s, the green apple martini into the millennium, the mojito into late 2001 (early 2002 for the late-adopters). Without a trendy libation in sight, we’ve had to go it on our own.

And go it we did — south of the border. Turns out los hombres in Mexico have got the summer it drink down to a science — but it’s not a science to make. And better than that, it allows sissies far and wide to pull off what only the coolest in school have been able to do for years: drink beer.

Roughly translated as “my cold beer,” pronounced just like it looks, and free of the pejorative trappings of traditional beer drinking, the michelada can be yours at your next cocktail outing or BBQ. A glass with a salted rim. Half a lime, squeezed over ice. A Mexican beer (our fave is Pacifico, but Corona’s an easier find). Voila — or rather, Ole! It’s refreshing, tasty, and — look, Ma! I’m throwing back an ice-cold brewski! (And you’re not even trying to impress a frat boy. Now that’s progress.)

Bartenders and fancy drinkers, take heed. The age of froufrou is officially over. The michelada has taken the throne.

Any bartender worth his salt knows how to make a michelada. Now you do too. Corona, salt, and limes available at your local supermercado.