With the perfect blend of sweet, salty, tangy, and spicy flavors, this Chamoy rim paste is an easy way to amp up the flavors in your favorite lager.
IT'S NO SECRET THAT CINCO DE MAYO IS A HOLIDAY WE'VE ESSENTIALLY HIJACKED FROM MEXICO. Actually, Mexicans do celebrate the fifth of May, although it's not for the same reasons we do. In truth, the real significance of the day is marked by the Anniversary of the historic Battle of Puebla, a military victory over the French forces of Napoleon III in the Franco-Mexican War in 1862 . This is not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which occurs on the 16th of September.
"Hey...we're not mad at it. It's pretty awesome, really."
Although there is true historical significance to Cinco de Mayo, let's not get hung up on it, after all this is a beer blog, and a history lesson is usually the surest way to a good nap. If you want more details on the authentic meaning of the holiday, feel free to hop on over to Wikipedia. In the meantime we're going to talk about the American version of the day that we have shamelessly repurposed into another culturally-appropriated drinking holiday. MERICA! We even had to guts to rename it Cinco de Drinko. Hey...we're not mad at it. It's pretty awesome, really. Who doesn't love an excuse to celebrate?!
It All Starts With the Right Beer
If there's one item on a long list of contributions we enjoy from Mexico, it's gotta be the Mexican Lager. Ok, ok, the taco is up there too, but fortunately the two are generally joined at the hip so we don't have to choose. The Mexican Lager is a simple, yet delicious style with a crisp finish and a pretty hoppy overall impression that sits somewhere right in between the American Light Lager and European Lager on the hoppy scale which strikes a genius balance between flavor and drinkability (we talk more about lagers as a category in an older blog post) What this also means is that it lends itself well to food pairing, and not surprisingly beer cocktails. Popular examples include the Michelada and bloody beer (the main difference being that a bloody beer contains Vodka or Tequila).
What Is It?
There's another type of beer augmentation you may not be familiar with that deserves your attention, particularly on a festive drinking holiday like Cinco. It's called a Chamoy Rim Dip. Chamoy, the drink's namesake, is a sweet & tangy condiment from Mexico that is commonly served with chips, veggies, or fruits, but it also make a fantastic beer rimmer. It can be done on the can itself, or in a glass. We opted to just use the can. There are a number of ways to make the rim paste and the recipes range from stupid-simple to five ingredient stovetop reductions. We elected not to do that because after all, beer is supposed to be simple, and on Cinco we just want it straight down our gullets without a whole lot of fuss. You'll also need some Tajin, a versatile Mexican seasoning used on everything from meats to Margarita rims, made with salt, lime, and ground chili peppers. It's delicious and an absolute necessity in your kitchen cabinet.
How to Make it
Ok, now the fun part.
Start with a can of Tierra Madre Lager. Don't have one? Use our beer finder to grab a sixer before you start. Pro tip: Make sure to wash the top of the can since you'll be rubbing your mouth all over the rim.
Line the rim and top of the can with a lime wedge, followed by Chamoy, keeping in mind that you are still going to need to hold the can, but by all means, get as crazy as you see fit.
Use Tajin seasoning to dust the top of the can just like you would a margi rimmer.
Get Creative - Harness your inner mixologist/instagram photographer and garnish it however you want. Top it with spicy chili powder for a little kick, tropical fruit, a lime for garnish, a teqilua shot on the side, and even food, as we did, effectively turning it into a shrimp cocktail. It's tasty, you'll blow away your friends, and it'll lead to some amazing social content. Pro tip: Do NOT open the beer before garnishing or else you'll end up with shrimp juice in your beer.
