Michelada

The Michelada is a popular Latin-American alcoholic beverage of a genre known in Spanish as cerveza preparada (prepared beer) and in English as a variety of cocktail. There are several variations. In some cases it is similar to a Bloody Mary like in Mexico, or similar to a Margarita (like in Costa Rica) but containing beer instead of vodka or Tequila. The drink dates back to the 1940s, when mixing iced beer with hot sauce or salsa became popular in Mexico. In recent years, the drink has begun to become popular in the United States, and now various ready-made mixes are marketed and sold to US consumers.

Simply mixing beer with tomato juice is a popular version of cerveza preparada, but if lacking the salsa inglesa (Worcestershire sauce) or Maggi sauce, this concoction would usually not be referred as a michelada. If the Michelada has any type of hot sauce in it, in Mexico it may be called a "Michelada Cubana". The name is a double reference to both Cuba and the habanero pepper. The Habanero pepper is named after the capital of Cuba, "La Habana", and is one of the most intensely spicy peppers in the world and so this spicy drink takes its name as a strained reference to both.