A classic Michelada is made of beer, lime juice, hot sauce and more. It’s a spicy traditional cocktail that’s perfect for any fiesta.

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A picture of a Mexican Michelada served in an ice cold glass.

Michelada is best on warm days and served with lots of ice.

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This traditional Mexican drink is a blend of beer, tomato juice, sauces and other ingredients.

There are several versions such as shrimp, with dried meats, and other creative inventions, but here, I’m sharing the original recipe.

If you like Bloody Marys, you gotta try this delicious drink for your next Sunday brunch, Cinco de Mayo celebration, or any day your heart desires.

Table of Contents

1 INGREDIENTS
2 INSTRUCTIONS
3 More Cocktails You Might Like:
- 3.1 Hungry for More?
4 Michelada

INGREDIENTS

Beer – Any beer of your choice works well.
Tomato Juice – Clamato is a very common brand of tomato juice that is used in Mexico. Or substitute for V8.
Jugo Maggi – If you can’t find this, add a splash of soy sauce instead or add a few more splashes of Worcheshire sauce.
Worcestershire Sauce – A good substitute for this sauce is Oyster Sauce. Or omit altogether.
Lime juice – Fresh is best, but pre-squeezed lime juice in a bottle works too.
Salt – (Optional) We only need this for the rim. Substitute with chamoy or Tajin.

Many stores nowadays even offer a Michelada Mix where all you need to do is add beer.

INSTRUCTIONS

A hand holding a lime and rubbing it all over the rim of a glass.

Take a lime and go around the rim of the glass.
This will work as the glue for the salt.
Dip the glass in the salt.

Optional: Chamoy and Tajin are also popular ingredients used to coat the rim.

Is a michelada a Bloody Mary?

No but the two are very similar. A michelada is made with beer. Bloody Marys are made with vodka.

A collage showing how to prepare a michelada.

From here, add all the ingredients into a large glass.
Mix well.

Adjust the ingredients to your liking.

If you like it spicier, add more hot sauce. Want a tangier flavor, add more lime juice.

Beer being poured into a glass with ice and the spicy tomato mixture.

What beer to use?

Any beer of your liking is fine. Dark beer to light beers, anything goes. Some places will even ask you what beer you’d like to use.

Do Micheladas cure hangovers?

There is no scientific data confirming that this drink cures hangovers. Although, many Mexicans will tell you that they do indeed cure hangovers. That, or they’ll send you to eat this menudo recipe.

Why is it called Michelada?

In short, it means “my cold beer.”

The word “mi” means “my.”

The slang word for “beer” in Mexico is “chela.”

If you want to say “cold beer,” you say “una chela helada.”

Put it all together, my cold beer.