Deborah Schneider

Vaso Loco

Wild Thing

Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Makes

    1

    drink.

Appears in

Amor y Tacos

Amor y Tacos

By Deborah Schneider

Published 2010

  • About

The vaso loco (literally, “crazy glass”) is an elaborate version of the michelada (previous page). Filled with seafood, it is as much a snack as a drink. It’s always great fun to see what an inventive cantinero puts together. The basic elements are fresh shellfish (usually cooked, but not always), something tomatoey, beer, citrus, spices, and a shot of tequila floating on top.

Ingredients

  • Lightly cooked shrimp, clams, scallops, singly or in combination, to half-fill glass
  • Clam juice as needed
  • Chilled Clamato juice, sangrita, or tomato juice
  • Ice-cold Mexican beer, as needed
  • ½ ounce blanco tequila
  • Half a lime

Method

Prepare a 12-ounce glass as for michelada. Fill the glass half full of seafood and add enough clam juice to barely cover the seafood. Add 1 inch of Clamato, sangrita, or juice. Fill the glass with beer and serve the rest of the beer on the side. Carefully float the tequila on top of the drink and squeeze the lime over all; do not stir. Garnish with a cucumber or jicama stick. Serve with a spoon, hot sauce, and more limes.

Garnish

Cucumber stick or jicama stick

For Serving

Store-bought or homemade hot sauce, lime wedges

Variations

  • Garnish the drink with more seafood—for example, a chipotle-spiced grilled shrimp on a skewer along with a cherry pepper and a cherry tomato. Or skewer a shrimp and a whole serrano chile on a rosemary sprig.
  • Half fill the glass with small pieces of raw shrimp and scallop. Cover with fresh lime juice, add a finely minced serrano chile, stir, and wait 5 minutes. Continue with the Clamato, beer, and tequila.

© 2010 All rights reserved. Published by Abrams Books.