Regional variation in DYI Andalusian alcopops, and the origins and etymology of kalimotxo or calimocho or whatever

A rebujito is a dry sherry (manzanilla, fino) or occasionally a white wine to which fizz (lemonades, …) has been added, typically in a ratio of 1:2, in order to give you a head-start on the alcohol. This is the lite version of whichever British drink it is that has you knock back a third of a bottle of cider and then fill up the bottle with vodka–I think it’s a headbanger, but my memory of the night in question is happily vague. It is said that various cities (Córdoba, Puerto de Santa María, Jerez, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Rota…) and their fairs have their own typical recipes reflecting local production and brands; Seville, having no wine industry, uses manzanilla from Sanlúcar.

Other regional synonyms for rebujito, according to Francisco Antonio Álvarez Cano: trontxo, caliguay, pitilingorri , narangotxo, vinkas, Josemari… Other concoctions worth trying: calimocho/kalimotxo/etc (red wine and cola), kalitrón (calimocho with a drop of vodka or rum)…

FAAC says calimotxo, as it is known in modern public drinking orgies, used to be imbibed by the upper classes of La Rioja, where it was called Rioja libre or cubata pobre or some such, and that its current name comes from two Basques, Messrs Kalimero and Motxo, who discovered that the wine they had bought for the fiesta in Puerto Viejo de Algorta in Getxo in Bilbao on August 12 1972 was undrinkable, sought a rapid remedy, and left linguistic evidence of their enterprise. There is a more complicated etymology here.

Trevor @ 3 July 2007 1:33 PM

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