The best way to drink tequila is out of a casserole dish
The bartender at El Abajeño prepares a cazuela. All photos by Ulises Ruíz Basurto.
Forget margaritas, tequila slammers, or the frankly terrible tequila sunrise. There’s a much more fun and refreshing way to enjoy Mexico’s most loved spirit: out of a clay casserole dish.
Native to the western state of Jalisco, where the majority of tequila is produced, the cazuela is a potent mixed drink that takes up a lot of table space but boasts a wonderfully explosive citrus flavor.
Named after the ornate, locally made stewpot in which it is served, the drink is also sometimes referred to as a cazuela voladora—literally a flying casserole dish—because it either leaves you feeling slightly dizzy or as if you can fly.
The cazuela is made by filling the dish with ice cubes, chunks of orange, lime, grapefruit, and a dash of sea salt to counter the acidity, as well as a generous serving of tequila, and an even bigger dose of Squirt. Having spent six years living in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco and the heart of tequila country, I’m convinced that this is one of the most enjoyable ways to mix the spirit.
El Abajeño restaurant sells 500 to 800 cazuelas per day at weekends.
A close relative of the classic Paloma cocktail and the Cantaritos de Amatitán, a similar local specialty served in large clay cups, the cazuela was invented more than 30 years ago in La Barca, a small town about 50 miles southeast of Guadalajara…
The Tequila Files 