Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a Tejuino, we share the recipe

Cinco de Mayo is a day to celebrate Mexican culture and traditions, and what better way to celebrate this year than with a mixology recipe with a beverage native to the state of Jalisco and Puerto Vallarta.

Have you ever tried Tejuino? An ancestral beverage, both refreshing and delicious. The name tejuino comes from the nahuatl word tecuin that means ‘the beating of the heart’. Its origins are found in the north of Mexico, in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, and particularly Nayarit and Jalisco, where the Huichol culture still lives nowadays. 

The history of tejuino dates back to Pre-Hispanic times, in the state of Jalisco there have been found vestiges more than 7,000 years old. Back in those times, tejuino was fermented more than it is today, and when the beverage was too fermented, it could cause euphoria, accelerating the heartbeat, thus the name. Tejuino was drunk at parties, celebrations, and ceremonies. It was considered “a drink of the Gods”. 

How to make tejuino

Ingredients: 

• 17 fl. oz. water 
• 17 oz. corn flour (the same used to make tortillas)
• 17 oz. piloncillo, an unrefined whole cane sugar typical of Mexico, which gives it its particular color and taste
• Juice of three to four limes
• Pinch of salt
• Crushed ice

Mix the flour with the water and the piloncillo. Bring the ingredients to a boil. Stir constantly until it thickens and add the lime juice (2 limes). Stir and let it cool. Cover the beverage, and let it sit for 3 days in a cool, dark place. 

Take the fermented mixture after three days and thin it out with some water. Blend to get a nice, liquid consistency. To serve, add crushed ice and the juice of 2 more limes. Mix well.

In Puerto Vallarta you can find street vendors that offer this refreshing beverage on sunny days. Mixologist Mario Mendoza from Restaurant Nine Ninety 9 pays homage to Mexican and Huichol culture with this recipe that enhances the delicious flavor of tejuino along with other Mexican ingredients, such as tamarind and tequila, native to the state of Jalisco as well. 

Ingredients: 

• Silver Tequila 45ml
• Tamarind pulp 30ml
• Tejuino 50ml
• Frozen limeade 35ml
• Pinch of sea salt
• Hibiscus salt with chili 30g
• Lime juice 1oz
• Ice cubes

Garnish with a small tamarind tamale and one spicy grasshopper.

Serve in a rocks glass.

Preparation: 

1. Add tequila, tejuino, lime juice, salt, and tamarind pulp to your cocktail shaker and shake well.
2. Rim rocks glass with the hibiscus salt and add ice cubes.
3. Slowly incorporate your cocktail mix into the glass.
4. Add the frozen limeade over the ice.
5. Garnish with the tamarind tamale over the frozen limeade and add a spicy grasshopper. 

Enjoy! Happy Cinco de Mayo!