Thanks to a New Program, the Beloved Cantarito Tequila Cocktail Is Coming to a Bar Near You

A mainstay throughout Mexico, the cult-favorite cantarito cocktail is defined by its vibrant flavors and sturdy ceramic cup. Now, it might take off in the U.S. (Photo: Lunazul Tequila)
If you’ve ever visited tequila’s hometown in Jalisco, Mexico, then you’re probably familiar with the ceramic cantarito cocktail.
This colorful, citrus-heavy twist on the paloma mixes orange, lime, and grapefruit juice alongside tequila, salt and a pinch of Tajin for seasoning. Most iconic of all, the cantarito comes served inside a sturdy earthenware pot that keeps the cocktail within delicious cold (“cantarito” translating roughly to “small pitcher” in English).
Now, thanks to Lunazul Tequila’s new Cantarito Program, these drinks might start popping up across the United States.
Lunazul has teamed up with the Casa Hogar community foundation in Oaxaca, Mexico to commission over 250,000 handmade cantarito cups that will be distributed to bars across the country.
Bartenders and consumers are invited to enter their cocktail creations into the “Craft Your Cantarito” sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Lunazul’s Tierra de Agaves Distillery in Tequila, Mexico.
While the American cocktail landscape has long been dominated by the margarita, the Mexican cocktail world much prefers grapefruit-heavy drinks like the paloma and the cantarito (the paloma is, after all, Mexico’s national cocktail).
Another popular variation is the eye-catching cazuela voladora. Served inside an inexplicably huge ceramic bowl, chunks of orange, lemon, grapefruit and ice are churned in with grapefruit soda and tequila, then sipped at from plastic straws by three to four people at a time.
Truly, the ultimate communal drink.
Whether or not you have a ceramic cantarito of your own, we’ve included a tasty, easy-to-replicate recipe below.
At the very least, you can always use a mug:
Cantarito
Ingredients
- 2 oz Tequila Blanco
- 1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
- 1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
- 1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice
- 3 oz Grapefruit Soda
- Squirt, Ting, Fresca, Jarritos Grapefruit, Wink, or Fanta Grapefruit work equally well
- Salt and Tajin, for rim
Directions
- Rub the edge of your glass with a grapefruit wedge, then rim with salt and tajin.
- Fill glass with ice, tequila and citrus juices. Stir with a bar spoon for 10-15 seconds.
- Pour in grapefruit juice, and enjoy!
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