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The Fabled Pour
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Country

Costa Rica

I have one sourced drink connected to Costa Rica. The label on each card says how: where it began, what the country is known for, what people drink there, or where the origin is disputed.

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Costa Rica on the world map. Boundaries are generalized Natural Earth data.

Drinks of Costa Rica

Signature drinks and regional ones, with the evidence behind each. A drink marked non-alcoholic has no alcohol in the traditional serve.

  • Illustration of Chiliguaro: tomato red, opaque, no layers, in a small shot glass with a Tajin-coated rim.

    Chiliguaro

    ContestedSignature drink

    A Costa Rican bar shot of guaro, the country's unaged sugarcane spirit, with tomato juice, lime, salt and hot sauce, a drink in the family of the Mexican sangrita. One bar serves it in a shot glass with Tajin on the rim, and the basic version comes with a lime wedge on the side. Bars serve it with bocas, the local bar snacks.

    Punch reports that the most-cited story points to the Bahamas Bar in San Jose, whose former owner Mauricio Azofeifa says it began on December 27, 2011 during the El Tope horse parade when a customer asked for guaro with spicy chile. He trademarked the name in 2013, and other bars also claim it. The only legal guaro since the 1850s is Cacique, from the national liquor factory.

    Made with: guaro (Cacique), tomato juice, lime, hot sauce, salt.

    Confidence: mediumEvidence: punchdrink.com (opens in a new tab)

Map data: Natural Earth, public domain.