One Sip Of This Mexican Cocktail And You'll Forget About Your Favorite Milkshake

The phrase "Mexican cocktail," brings to mind frozen margaritas; tangy, bitter palomas; and beer-infused micheladas. However, Mexican mixology goes far beyond the common favorites. The Mexican cocktail that could easily double as a decadent dessert is known as torito cacahuate. 

Hailing from the Mexican state of Veracruz, the torito cacahuate or "little bull peanut" is a blended cocktail made with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, rum, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and ice. The powerful dairy richness of the evaporated milk and the sweet caramelized dairy of the sweetened condensed milk give this boozy milkshake the most decadent texture, while the rich flavor is every peanut butter-lover's dream. Plus, this cocktail is a veritable dump-it recipe that you can simply throw in a blender and blitz to creamy, boozy perfection.

The drink originated around the turn of the 20th century, conjured up as a simple blend of cane liquor and local fruit by cane sugar plantation workers. Apparently, the original recipe was much stronger than the creamy, rich milkshake cocktail enjoyed today. And the workers would enjoy the drink to unwind after a long day, dubbing it "torito" or little bull because of the bullish effects of the alcohol. Over the years, dairy products and ice were added to the torito, and it quickly became a favorite aperitif at family gatherings in Veracruz as well as specialty bars dedicated to crafting various flavors of toritos.

While this rich, rum-spiked peanut butter milkshake is one of Veracruz's most beloved cocktails, it isn't the only variety that's popular in the gulf coast state. Fruit-flavored toritos are equally as common, coming in flavors like coconut, nanche, guanabana, mango, and strawberries. Coffee and cajeta, a goat's milk dulce de leche are other popular flavors for toritos. Veracruz is known for its coffee, so if you're a coffee lover, you could seek out Veracruzan coffee beans to brew a fresh cup of coffee to substitute peanut butter for a torito cafe. Put an Americanized PB&J cocktail spin on the torito by adding jam simple syrup.

Rum is an excellent spirit to spike a boozy milkshake, but many original torito recipes called for aguardiente, a sugarcane-based spirit meaning "fire water" in English. Aguardiente is the national drink of Colombia, but it's produced in many Latin American countries, including Mexico. Aguardiente has a more aromatic flavor than rum with herbal notes of licorice. Of course, you can leave alcohol out of the equation entirely if you're abstaining or wanting to make a delicious sweet treat that the whole family can enjoy. 

Since torito cacahuate is often served as an aperitif, you can accompany it with any number of savory Mexican botanas, or snacks. And peanuts are as popular as snacks as they are a torito flavor, from chili-dusted cacuhates enchilados and soy sauce, wheat shell-coated cacahuates japoneses to brittle bars known as palenquetas.