chinguirito

is the old Mexican vernacular name for aguardiente de caña, or rum. Although the name first appears in the early eighteenth century, the spirit is considerably older, dating to sometime between 1524, when cane was introduced to Mexico, and 1600, when it is first mentioned. It was traditionally distilled from the mieles—syrups—that were byproducts of sugar production: molasses and skimmings, but sometimes also from reduced sugar-cane juice. As late as 1800, some distillers were still using Chinese-style wooden pot stills. See molasses; skimmings;, still, pot.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, production was both very large and very widespread, although it was centered in a broad belt running from Veracruz in the east, through Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City, to Michoacán in the west. It is impossible, however, to provide statistics for this production, as almost all of it was illicit: between 1631 and 1796, the Spanish crown issued an increasingly drastic series of decrees explicitly prohibiting the manufacture, distribution, and possession of cane spirits, occasionally even accompanying them with funds for enforcement, which was draconian. Chinguirito was so easy to make, cheap, and abundant that it drastically reduced the colonial market for Spanish wines and brandies, the licensing of which provided a significant portion of the royal revenue.While production continued in the nineteenth century, gradually agave spirits took over much of chinguirito’s role in Mexican drinking, although there are still areas where considerable quantities of cane are distilled, either on its own or as part of the wash from which mixto tequila is made. Some of this production is artisanal and of very high quality.

Traditionally, chinguirito was most popular in Mexico’s cities, where it was consumed both on its own and in mistelas, some of the mixed drinks in which Mexico abounds, many of them incorporating pulque and others variations on punch.

See also charanda; Habanero; Mexico; punch;, rum.

Armendares, Teresa Lozano. El chinguirito vindicado. Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2005.

Palomo, Jose Jesus Hernandez. El aguardiente de caña en México. Seville: Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos, 1974.

By: David Wondrich