14 Refreshing Latin American Drinks Worth Trying At Least Once

As the temperature rises, you might find yourself adding more ice to your favorite beverage or dreaming about your next margarita. You might turn to old stalwarts like iced tea and Aperol spritzes in the summer, but why not take the opportunity to try something new? Latin American cuisine is full of options, many of which haven't made it stateside quite as visibly as mojitos and piña coladas. It's hardly surprising. Latin America extends from just south of the U.S. border all the way down to the tip of South America, and although countries like Chile and Argentina are home to some frigid temperatures, much of the country is known for its heat. 

From equatorial countries like Brazil and Colombia to the island nations of Cuba and Jamaica, Latin Americans have plenty of experience with sweltering heat, be it tropical humidity or desert dryness. We've rounded up some of the most refreshing beverages served in this part of the world, many of which have yet to make a splash in North America. Once you try them, you'll wonder why they aren't mainstream in the U.S. yet right alongside margaritas and mojitos.

In Spanish, batido means beaten, which is a handy description of how the eponymous beverage is prepared. They are simply made by blending fruit, sugar, milk, and water. Think of them like lighter-bodied versions of milkshakes or smoothies. In Mexico, they are called preparados or licuados, but the concept is the same.

Making a batido is as simple as throwing all the ingredients in a blender or liquifying them with an immersion blender, but when they were invented, a little more elbow grease was required. The drink has been around since the 18th century, when a mortar and pestle were used to mash the fruit into a smooth consistency. 

In Central and South America, street vendors sell batidos of all flavors, from basic single-fruit concoctions like strawberry or papaya, to more complex options that blend in puffed wheat. One of the most delicious and easy to replicate is a Dominican favorite called morir soñando (to die dreaming), which is made with orange juice, milk, and sugar. Those ingredients might not sound like obvious bedfellows, but one taste of it and you'll understand why its name evokes such extreme states of being. "Heavenly" could be another word for it.

Like the morir soñando, Colombia's limonada de coco has the unusual (to many U.S. tastes, at least) combination of citrus and milk, but instead of oranges and dairy, this drink is made with limes and coconut. Thanks to its largely tropical climate, Colombia grows both limes and coconuts in abundance. It's logical that they would be combined in a recipe, but it isn't just convenience that makes this a popular drink. Simply put, it's delicious. The coconut milk offers creamy decadence while the lime provides a zesty tang and refreshing quality that keeps it from being overly heavy.

If you're visiting Bogotá or Medellín, you're bound to see it on menus from street vendors and restaurants, but you don't have to visit Colombia to taste this deliciously refreshing drink for yourself. All you have to do is blend lime juice, sugar, and coconut milk with ice. Don't skimp on the fat. Some recipes even call for coconut cream rather than milk.

The caipirinha is Brazil's national drink, which is really saying something. As the seventh largest country in the world by population and fifth largest country in the world by land mass, Brazil has a rich array of cuisines and recipes that vary greatly across its 26 states. You can see why they chose this drink as their mascot, though. Made with little more than limes, ice, and cachaça, the country's sugar cane-derived spirit,  it is about as straightforward as a cocktail can get, but don't let its simplicity fool you. The fieriness of the cachaça combined with the refreshing tang of limes poured over ice is about as cooling and satisfying a drink as you can get on a sweltering afternoon. 

The drink is at least 100 years old, but its precise origins are disputed. One story places its invention in Piracicaba, a city in the eastern state of São Paulo, where cachaça is produced. A more colorful version of the story argues that it was once used for medicinal purposes to ward off the Spanish flu. At that time, it also included garlic, which has mercifully been removed from the formula.

Terremoto means earthquake in Spanish, and you'd never guess that such a sweet drink could have been inspired by such a traumatic event. The Chilean beverage is made with pipeño (a light-bodied Chilean wine), pineapple ice cream, and grenadine, and it packs a punch. Sweet and creamy, it has a flavor and consistency unto itself, but you'll probably know just by looking at the ingredients whether you'll love it or struggle to finish a whole glass.

It was invented after the 1985 Algarrobo earthquake, which killed dozens of people in and around Santiago and injured thousands more. Two restaurants in the capital city claim to have created it, but it was a German reporter who seems to have come up with the name. After imbibing this sweet, alcohol-soaked beverage, he remarked, "Now that's an earthquake." In other words, drink one of these and you're bound to feel unsteady on your feet. It's a newer version of a drink that was already popular in Chile called the Ponche a la Romana, which combined pineapple ice cream and sparkling wine, but these days, the grenadine is essential, adding sweetness and color to this ubiquitous fiesta cocktail.

Take one look at Peru's chicha morada and you might think that it's grape juice, but take a sip and your taste buds will leave you with question marks. Sweet with hints of spice, it's difficult to put your finger on exactly what contributes to its distinctive flavor, probably because the key ingredient is hardly a supermarket staple in the U.S. That ingredient is purple corn, which is boiled to create the deep reddish purple liquid that is the drink's trademark. This maiz morado juice is infused with pineapple rinds, cinnamon, and cloves, with the optional addition of beets, strawberries, and limes.

The drink may date as far back as 3,000 B.C. during the Incan Empire, putting it in contention for the oldest drink in this list. The original recipe would only have contained purple corn and pineapple until the Spanish brought spices. Chicha morada is now sold throughout Peru, and you can even buy powdered mixes to make at home. Sadly, purple corn is tricky to find in the U.S., which likely rules out being able to make a fresh batch in your own kitchen.

If you're familiar with the type of drink known as the shandy — a combination of beer and a soft drink such as lemonade or soda — you'll understand the gist of Colombia's refajo, but it's not made with just any soda. It is invariably Colombiana La Nuestra, a carbonated soft drink with a fruity flavor that also bears some resemblance to Coca-Cola due to its use of the kola nut. The type of beer is less important, though Cerveza Aguila, a type of lager, is a popular option. Lager is already crisp and refreshing on a hot day, but the addition of Colombiana takes it to another level.

There are variations on the two-ingredient recipe, too. One of the most common additions is aguardiente, a spirit that makes this more of a sippable cocktail than a boozy but smooth and easy beverage. You can also dial up the summery flavor by adding slices of citrus fruit to make it akin to a beer and soda sangria.

Horchata has made it stateside in the past couple of decades, so much so that it became the title to a Vampire Weekend song in 2010. Contrary to the lyrics in the song, however, which describe drinking the beverage in December, horchata is probably better suited to the summer months. This creamy rice-based drink has many variations, but all of them are creamy and sweet. You can use almonds, milk (though most recipe are vegan), coconut milk, or condensed milk, but no matter how you make it, this is a drink that's served cold.

Horchata can be traced all the way back to Ancient Egypt, though it wasn't made with rice. When the Moors brought the drink to Spain in the 8th century, sweet tiger nuts were added. The Spanish brought their variation to Mexico in the 16th century, where it was transformed from a tiger nut drink into a rice-based one. Many recipes for horchata now contain flavorings like vanilla and cinnamon, further adding to its dessert-like quality. Our Mexican horchata recipe follows this classic combination, calling for nothing but rice, cinnamon, maple syrup, and vanilla.

Some recipes are inherently polarizing, and the michelada is most certainly one of them. Any savory cocktail is bound to raise eyebrows, but this one takes things a step further. At its most basic, a michelada is made of Mexican lager (like Modelo or Corona), lime, salt, hot sauce, and often, a hint of umami. That list bit is often the dealbreaker for people. You might be able to handle hot sauce, but clam juice and soy sauce? No thank you. That's where the alchemy of this particular beverage comes in. Some combinations produce results that are greater than the sum of their parts, and for fans of the michelada, it is most certainly one of them. There are plenty of other ingredients you add to make it more palatable, too, including ones that will give it a Mediterranean spin.

Unlike other beverages, there doesn't seem to be a hotly disputed origin, not because the origin is clear but because it is so fuzzy. You can assume that michelada is a portmanteau of "mi chela helada," meaning, "my cold beer," but then again, some argue that it's just a melted-down version of its inventor's name, Michel Ésper, with chela helada, who either invented it after a sweaty tennis match or after a night of intense partying. Regardless of its true history, the michelada has taken on a life of its own, and for some, it's the ultimate summer beertail.

In Puerto Rico, Christmas is rarely accompanied by cold weather. Even during the coldest month of the year, January, the average low is a balmy 70ºF. In that glorious temperature, no one wants to kick back in front of a fire with hot chocolate, they want to relax in the sun with a cold glass of coquito. Often compared to eggnog, coquito is made with coconut milk, rum, and condensed milk to produce a creamy, boozy concoction that is velvety and indulgent for the holidays but still refreshing. Cinnamon and nutmeg are common additions, as are evaporated milk and coconut cream, which you'll find in our coquito recipe. Usually served over ice, coquitos also come in flavor variations like strawberry and chocolate.

The name means "little coconut," a nod to its key ingredient, but the origins of the recipe are hazy. The Spanish who colonized the island were partial to possets, a boozy mixture of milk curdled with alcohol, so it's possible that the locals just adapted the recipe to their native ingredients. It could also be the case that the drink had already been invented by the Taíno people, who inhabited the island before the Europeans arrived. Either way, its popularity grew in the 1970sto the point where it is now a holiday staple. That said, there is no rule against drinking coquitos year-round.

It's safe to say that the mojito has achieved near world domination as far as cocktails are concerned. Even the most limited cocktail menu will likely contain it, alongside the old fashioned and the margarita. Like Brazil's caipirinha, there's no arguing with the simplicity of the mojito. Rum, lime, mint, sugar, and soda make for one of the most refreshing drinks you can get your hands on, so it's hardly surprising that it remains mostly undisturbed by wild variations.

As you would expect for such a popular drink, the invention of the mojito is claimed by multiple people. In Havana, the restaurant La Bodeguita del Medio insists that it holds the original recipe, but some historians look much farther back. In 1586, Francis Drake rocked up to the island with plans to plunder its gold, but he had a more pressing matter to deal with: his men were suffering from dysentery and scurvy. Locals offered them a medicinal blend of mint, aguardiente de caña (a precursor to rum), and limes, and the sailors seemed to improve. We now know that scurvy is the result of a vitamin C deficiency, so the limes were probably the only necessary ingredient. Originally called the Draque, the beverage was renamed the mojito when the aguardiente was replaced with rum in the mid-19th century.

If you haven't tasted tamarind, you'll need to try it yourself to fully understand its singularity. You can compare it to the sweet, caramel notes of dates, the tart citrus flavor of kumquats and sour oranges, and the sweet perfume of apricots, but that still doesn't quite capture it. Agua fresca de tamarindo, also called simply tamarindo, is the perfect showcase for this unique legume because it has so few ingredients – just water, sugar, and tamarind.

Once you identify it, you'll start tasting the star ingredient in many Mexican recipes, sweet and savory. Although native to Africa, the tamarind was adopted widely throughout tropical regions via extensive trade, which is why it is a staple in Mexican, South Indian, Thai, and Filipino cuisines. The tamarind tree produces large, peanut-shaped pods containing a soft, gooey interior. You can buy the pods themselves to open and separate the puree from the seeds, or purchase a more ready-made option such as a paste or powder. Don't worry about leftovers. There are countless ways to use tamarind in your cooking.

In Mexico, hibiscus is called jamaica. When steeped with sugar, the flower produces a sweet, tangy red liquid that can be chilled and served over ice as agua de jamaica. Interestingly, this drink is not just a fixture in Mexico but in the U.S. as well, particularly during Juneteenth celebrations. This ruby red beverage has a long and winding history beginning over four centuries ago in West Africa. 

There, it was made with hibiscus flowers and kola nuts and was often used for medicinal purposes. West Africans brought hibiscus seeds with them when they were enslaved and sent to the Caribbean. The flowers grew there readily, and the drink became a staple of the region known as sorrel, with the addition of local ingredients like sugar. 

When the flower arrived in Mexico, it was called jamaica, due to its associations with the Caribbean nation. In the U.S., hibiscus flowers do not grow as easily, and the red drinks that adorn Juneteenth celebrations often get their color and flavor from a number of other ingredients, such as berries and cherries. If you do happen to find dried hibiscus flowers, however, their tart berry flavor is bound to quench your thirst on a hot day. If you're struggling to find hibiscus flowers, you can often buy them at Mexican supermarkets and even online.

Yet another cocktail that shines in its simplicity, the pisco sour is a classic that is Peruvian to the core but beloved around the world. It's made with pisco (an unaged Peruvian brandy), lime juice, and simple syrup, shaken with egg white, and dotted with bitters. The pisco provides floral notes and the lime juice offers its signature tartness, but thanks to the addition of the egg white, this is much more velvety than a caipirinha or a mojito, which provide a crisp, clean finish.

Although pisco has been produced in Peru since the 16th century, it wasn't until the 1900s that the sour cocktail was created. Most accounts attribute the drink to Victor Morris, a Salt Lake City native who owned a bar in Lima in the 1910s. According to legend, Morris only used the Peruvian brandy because he ran out of whiskey, but it's also possible that he simply thought that pisco would taste pretty excellent alongside lime juice and egg white. Given its simplicity and similarity to the whiskey sour, you could argue that the pisco sour was just waiting to be discovered. Once it was, it became a hit, and you can now find it on menus thousands of miles away from its home country.

If you can't get enough fresh fruit when the summer hits, the clericó will hit the spot. Think of it as Uruguay's answer to Spain's sangria. Made with dry white wine, lemon or lime soda, triple sec, and fresh fruit like green apples, grapes, and oranges, it is tangy and refreshing, perfect for sweaty afternoons when the temperature is soaring.

Its roots lie in colonialism. When the British occupied the Rio de la Plata region, they brought along their recipe for claret cups, a drink made of claret, sugar, and soda water that typically contained flavorings such as apple juice, lemon, and spices. The locals adopted a variation of the name but greatly improved the ingredients, swapping the heavy claret for crisp white wine and centering the drink around chopped fruit. Even fans of sangria will likely be won over by this refreshing, citrusy beverage. You can make it even more summery with sparkling wine and cucumber.