Boozin’ Blog

Often mischaracterized as Mexican Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo has spread well beyond Mexico’s borders and is enthusiastically celebrated here in the US. In the same spirit as St. Patrick’s Day when everyone seems to turn Irish, Cinco de Mayo celbrants in the US seek to embrace the culture of their neighbor to the south and what better way than to drink copious amounts of their beer? Here are four popular ways to do just that:

Mexican Light Lager – Cram a lime wedge into the neck of Coronna, Sol, Tecate or any of the other Mexican light lagers and you’re set for the fiesta.

Mexican Amber Lager – Almost as popular as Mexico’s light lagers are their amber lagers. Countries as warm as Mexico don’t tend to produce a lot of ales so the amber lager, a descent of the Vienna lager brought over from Austria in the 1800’s, is about as dark as things get for popular beer brands.

Micheladas – Want an authentic Mexican beer experience but just opening a bottle of Corona seems too easy? Well, how about the classic Mexican beer mixed drink, the Michelada. This is a drink that takes the practice of adding lime juice and salt to a beer to the next level. Check out the recipe for the classic Michelada here.

Mexican Ale – OK, I know what I said earlier but Mexico does produce a few ales if lagers just don’t do it for you. It takes some effort but Mexican ales can be found. Cervas Minerva brews a stout and one of the “Big Two” in Mexico, Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma – Grupo Modela is the other - produces a few English ales under the Castra brand.

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This isn’t about a couple of girlfriends or wives that I’ve left in my wake. No, it’s an unraveling of a mystery that has likely occurred to more than one fan of Mexican beer. Why Dos Equis (two Xs)? I myself have wondered this many times between mouthfuls of chips and salsa washed down by the sweet amber brew at my local Mexican watering hole.

What do Xs typically symbolize? Well, I must admit that when I see more than one X I think pornography. Can’t help it and I won’t apologize for it. It just pops into my head – x-rated and all of that. But there’s nothing pornographic about this popular Mexican beer, is there? I’d call the citrus that bartenders insist on shoving into the neck of the bottle every time I order one obscene but not pornographic. But that’s not likely the connection.

So what else could it be?

Does it have something to do with chromosomes? You know that whole XX/XY gender determination thing?
How about algebra? Is this finally the way that I will use high school math in the real world just like my teachers promised?
What about Roman numerals? Bingo!

According to the Dos Equis website, the two Xs originally showed up on the label of a beer called Siglo XX which translates into Twentieth Century. Back then they were partying like it was 1899 and this beer was brewed to celebrate the coming of the new century. It was a hit. After the calendar turned over they kept the beer and just changed the name to Dos Equis.

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