Have you ever really given boxed wine a try? While some might turn their noses up at the mere mention of the words “boxed” and “wine” it remains a popular and cost-effective way to enjoy a few drops of red or white wine. And while it does expire its shelf life once opened is still far longer than a traditional bottle that has been opened. And better yet it might just be the best wine ingredient for a sparkling simple yet delicious cocktail.
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 Behind the Bar | 2023-10-10 20:00:16 |  8,811 Views |
It only takes TWO to TANGO! Amazing 2-INGREDIENT COCKTAILS so easy and yet so tasty!
Using cheap and/or otherwise overlooked alcoholic ingredients in cocktails is nothing new — just look at the emphasis on cheap tequila in Ina Garten’s margaritas. And just as the celebrity chef insists on using cheap booze to make a more authentic and satisfying margarita there’s a drink that’s made with and for cheap wine. Called kalimotxo (sometimes phonetically spelled calimocho) this Spanish cocktail was designed with cheap — and sometimes downright bad or tainted — wine in mind. Better yet the drink is typically made with just two ingredients: red wine and cola.
The world of alcoholic beverages is one of happy accidents and marriages of convenience. Look no further than the (probably) mistaken original creation of beer to see that sometimes even the most iconic drinks are merely the evolved process of a first accident. In the case of kalimotxo a similar sense of serendipity arises although this time it comes much more from desperate adaptation than pure chance.
Believed to originate from the Basque region of Spain specifically the ancient port city of Algorta the story sets the creation of the kalimotxo during a festival. As the story goes the festival organizers had purchased a large quantity of wine to drink during the festivities but much of the wine had unexpectedly gone bad. Although it was still safe to drink they could not simply sell a wine that had gone bad so they sought a mixer to effectively mask the tasteless qualities of the now-spoiled wine. They tried cola and found that a 50/50 mix of the wine and cola not only masked the wine but was actually quite tasty! So the drink was served the festival organizers solved their wine problem and a new cocktail was born. It is generally accepted that the drink already existed in the 1920s but only became widespread in the 1970s and got its name after the opening of the first Coca-Cola factory in Spain in 1953.
