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These days, especially during a heat wave like the one sweeping through Southern California, I swear by the suero.
If you go to a hospital in Mexico and get a suero, you can expect to be hooked up to an IV of hydrating fluids. If you order a suero at a restaurant or bar, you’ll get something very different: a delicious, refreshing nonalcoholic cocktail consisting of lime juice and sparkling water (and sometimes a pinch of salt) in a glass filled with ice, with a rim that is “escarchado,” which literally translates to “frosted” but refers to a salt-rimmed glass.
The suero is a popular hangover cure in Mexico, but for me, it’s a hangover prevention, and it’s become my cocktail of choice.
“It’s a water margarita!” I explained to my friends who looked at mine, curious, when we gathered from our various flights at the airport bar in San José del Cabo on a recent trip during the hottest time of year to the south tip of Baja California.
“Or a water michelada!” I said, referring to the beer “cocktail,” that is the same as a suero, except with beer instead of soda water.
In Oaxaca, sometimes a suero is made of beer instead of water, and some people refer to what I call a michelada as a chelada, but that’s another story, and one you can read about here.
There’s a lot to love about the suero (sometimes called a rusa), not the least of which is that it’s cheap and easy to make. Plus, you get this refreshing drink that looks like a cocktail. But it’s water! It’s healthy! Unlike even the simplest “healthy” mocktails, such as this Yuzu Spritzer or Mock Green Goddess, the suero contains no sugar.
One might even argue that you’ll feel better after drinking a suero than if you didn’t drink a suero. What other cocktail or mocktail could you say that about?
I spent much of the last eight years living in Mexico, where the sobremesa, the long stretch of time after dinner is finished when friends sit around a table, talking, enjoying life, each other and, very often, alcoholic beverages, can last for unfathomable stretches of time — four hours, six hours, even longer! — after the last bite of the meal has been taken. This gringa couldn’t keep up. So after a michelada or a glass of wine or two, I switched to a suero, and I never regretted it.
It comes to the table refreshing and festive. It doesn’t scream “party pooper” the way a plain glass of water might. And I get to wake up the next morning feeling healthy, happy and hydrated.
In this day of the electrolyte obsession, a suero is an easy sell.
The first day in Baja California, when my friends saw my suero, their responses were, like, “Wow!” “What?” “Yes!” By the end of our Baja trip, they were ordering their own sueros, like locals. Even those who ordered an alcoholic beverage ordered a suero to back it up.
Now that you know everything you need to know about a suero, the only thing left to do is enjoy one. Go forth and hydrate.
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Suero
A suero is a water cocktail, consisting of lime juice, ice, mineral water, all served in a tall glass with a salted rim. The same word is used for an IV of fluids in Mexico, and the two serve the same purpose: to keep you healthy and hydrated. Use whatever mineral water you like. Agua de Piedra is my favorite.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 5 minutes. Serves 1.
Salty Angeleno Michelada
A “chela” refers to a beer in Mexico, and a “chelada” or a “michelada” (depending on who or where you are) refers to a beer “cocktail” consisting of beer and lime juice in a salt-rimmed (“escarchado”) glass. The more dressed-up version contains Worcestershire sauce and Maggi seasoning, and often Clamato or tomato juice. Variations are endless, and getting more creative all the time. This version includes a signature spicy salt, a collab between L.A. Times Food and spice company Burlap & Barrel, and spicy ice cubes, which you can use to make any michelada, chelada or suero.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 20 minutes, plus freezing time for the ice cubes. Serves 4 to 6.
Colonia Publica-Style IPA-Lada Michelada
Whittier’s Colonia Publica, now shuttered, brought us this refreshing version of a michelada, made with grapefruit and lemon juice (instead of lime juice) and crunchy cucumber slices.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 4 minutes. Serves 1.
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