Cantarito

The cantarito is a Jalisco tequila drink of tequila, orange, grapefruit and lime juices, a pinch of salt and grapefruit soda, served over ice in a small unglazed clay cup also called a cantarito. It is closely related to the paloma and is sold at bars and roadside stands in the tequila-producing towns west of Guadalajara.

Origin

The drink's origin is not documented. VinePair and Punch both describe its exact beginnings as unknown and note that it has long been sold at bars, cafés and roadside stands in Jalisco. In Punch, Los Angeles food writer Bill Esparza calls it essentially a paloma with regional differences and suggests the more elaborate Jalisco presentation may have developed as a way to sell tequila. Wikipedia's paloma article likewise treats the cantarito as a more complex paloma that adds orange and other citrus to the lime.

The clay cup

A cantarito, the diminutive of cántaro or pitcher, is a squat, unglazed earthenware cup. Unglazed clay jugs of this kind were traditionally used to carry and store water. The cup is soaked in cold water before use, which chills it and helps keep the drink cold, according to Difford's Guide, VinePair and Vámonos to Mexico. Difford's notes that the locally made pots are often used as throwaway takeaway cups. Punch reports a bartender's claim that the alkaline clay softens the acidity of the citrus, which has not been tested. Micheladas, pulque and other drinks are also served in clay cups.

Amatitán and Tequila

The drink is most closely associated with Amatitán, a town in the tequila-growing valley a short drive from the town of Tequila. Punch and Azteca Jalisco report that Cantaritos El Güero opened there in 1997, and Punch describes it as the first bar devoted only to the drink. It is an open-air hall with live banda music that serves cantaritos in sizes from a single cup to giant vessels holding several bottles of tequila, with roughly twenty tequilas to choose from, according to Azteca Jalisco. Punch reports that El Güero mixes fresh lime, local green-skinned oranges and grapefruit juice with Squirt and a pinch of salt.

Preparation

Recipes from VinePair and Difford's Guide are close: about 2 ounces of tequila, 1 1/2 ounces of orange juice, 3/4 to 1 ounce of grapefruit juice, 1/2 ounce of lime juice, a pinch of salt and 2 ounces of grapefruit soda, built over ice and stirred. Vámonos to Mexico describes rims coated with salt or Tajín. Bars in the United States sometimes add a chamoy drizzle or substitute Jarritos grapefruit soda for Squirt.

Strength and serving

Although it is built on tequila, much of a cantarito's volume is juice, soda and ice. Vámonos to Mexico notes that a typical eight-ounce drink may contain only about an ounce of tequila, which makes it easy to drink in heat, and advises drinking it fairly promptly because the fresh citrus turns sour as it sits. The same site points visitors in Amatitán to the Casa Herradura distillery and notes the town's claim, based on the remains of an early tequila factory, to be where tequila production began.

In the United States, Punch describes versions at Coni'Seafood in Inglewood, California, with a chamoy and Tajín rim, at Licha's Cantina in Austin with Jarritos grapefruit soda and Jugo Maggi, and at Dove's Luncheonette in Chicago with cane-sugar Mexican Squirt.

Recipe

Where to try it

• Cantaritos El Güero, Amatitán, Jalisco: Open-air cantarito hall opened in 1997, described by Punch as the first bar dedicated to the drink.

Reviews

See also

• Paloma
• Tequila
• Margarita
• Michelada

References

1. "The Cantarito Recipe". VinePair. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Cantaritos". Difford's Guide. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "The Paloma's Supercharged Sibling". Punch. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
4. "Un fin diferente, disfruta de los cantaritos en Amatitán, Jalisco". Azteca Jalisco. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
5. "Cantarito Drink: A Refreshing Way of Tasting Tequila". Vámonos to Mexico. Retrieved 2026-10-10.