Sangrita

Sangrita (meaning "little blood"), is a Mexican non-alcoholic drink often served with tequila – customarily a shot of tequila blanco. Its origin dates back to the 1920s.

It serves to complement the flavor of agave tequila, which is similarly reminiscent of peppers and citrus. The peppery taste highlights tequila's crisp acidity and cleanses the palate. Before the increased worldwide popularity and corporate interest in tequila in the late 1990s, its consumption was largely localized to the vicinity of the tequila-producing state of Jalisco.

A popular recipe in Guadalajara, Jalisco's largest city, it is speculated to have originated from the leftover juices (mainly orange) of an equally popular regional fruit salad covered with fine chili powder (usually piquin). As the fruit salad, known to jalisquillos (Guadalajara's natives) as pico de gallo, was consumed from a large bowl during breakfast, the remaining juice was saved and poured on a small and narrow clay cup, which itself would be the precursor of the tequila shot glass.

In almost all cases the drink took its bright red color from a mix of the fine pepper powder, spices, and pomegranate, while the base was mainly orange or sweetened lime juice. The key to a balanced sangrita recipe can be found in the fruit salad's recipes, which would have included any or all of the following: tangerine, cucumber, papaya, mango and jicama.

Traditionally, tequila and sangrita are each poured into a separate shot glass (or caballito) and the two are alternately sipped, not chased. Sangrita is used in a drink known as "The Mexican Flag", where three separate double shot glasses are filled with lime juice, tequila and sangrita. Sangrita is an ingredient in the Mexikaner mixed shot.