'Cabrito' Tequila Drink

I'm going a little off the path of beer here, with a short review of this interesting find. While scanning the limited selection of beers in the local supermercado recently, desperately hoping for a miracle, (like stumbling across a Belgian ale or some other unique beer that had mysteriously slipped across the border undetected, and landed here on my grocery isle), an unusual product caught my eye and prompted me to spend some of my rapidly evaporating pesos. Not beer, no, but a canned and carbonated alcoholic beverage non the less.

Cabrito, the tequila embued grapefruit drink. Not just plain old grapefruit juice but "El autentico de Toronja!" according to the label. Reading the can, I discovered that this modestly alcoholic beverage (5.8% abv) is made of carbonated water, tequila blanco, sugar and grapefruit concentrate. Tequila Cabrito or tequila kid (like the goat) in english, is a product made by the Tequila Centinela company in Jalisco, Mexico.

From the Centinela website :

"The Tequilana Weber blue agave grown in this region in the highlands of Jalisco, is the raw material only at maturity is selected to produce the Tequila Centinela, acknowledged to be 100% agave. The procurement process is conducted in modern facilities, designed to use the traditional method. Includes cooking in brick ovens and fermentation with "strains" obtained from the same agave juice. Rich also has a rigorous quality control that is based on the latest technology. After double distilled the rest period for the different Tequila Centinela, is made in oak casks or barrels under white light conditions, temperature and humidity traditional. "


The flavor is suprisingly good. Crisp, citrusy, and tangy. Very similar to a well made margarita but with the difference of the grapefruit flavor and a little on the sweet side but not so much that I couldn't finish the 12oz. can. But like the can suggests, it is best served very cold to retain the crispness and ward off the cloying sweetness that gathers speed as you finish a glass.

Not a bad find for a man in my desperate position here in San Miguel. Although, I do keep the dream alive every time I walk the length of the beer coolers full of light Mexican lagers. Someday a good ale will find it's way into the local grocery store. Maybe Pliney the Elder.



If you live in Mexico and know of a good place to find imported beer, leave a comment here for all us desperately deprived beer lover. Your efforts will be greatly appreciated.