This 2-Ingredient Spanish Cocktail Is the Perfect Summer Drink

It was an unusually hot spring day as I sat on my patio, admiring the flowers that were blooming in my garden. My husband asked me what I was drinking. “It’s Coke and red wine,” I told him. “That sounds gross,” he immediately responded, making gagging noises.

To most American ears, it does, indeed, sound a bit odd—red wine and cola? Who thought of combining these two vastly different things? Well, the innovative folks in the Basque region of Spain came up with kalimotxo, pronounced “cah-lee-mo-cho,” and it’s totally delicious.

What Is Kalimotxo?

The Basque have been combining red wine and cola for at least 50 years—some sources say more like a century—in the northern region of Spain. The story goes that during a festival, some enterprising mixologists mixed cola into some red wine that had started to go bad, and they liked it so much that they kept drinking it.

The first time I saw kalimotxo on a menu, I was transferring trains in Basque country heading back to Madrid. I didn’t try it at the time, but I later became fond of it. To me, kalimotxo isn’t that different from tinto verano, which is what Spanish bars serve you instead of sangria, since real sangria is served in homes in Spain, not bars. Tinto verano is basically red wine and lemon-lime soda or lemonade.

Soda and wine isn’t that far-fetched of a combination if you think of wine spritzers, which are made from wine and club soda—it’s just got sugar and flavorings added on top. To me, the combination reminds me a little bit of a Lambrusco—fruity, fizzy, and flavorful. 

The cola flavor pairs well with red wine and it tamps down on the tannins. So, if you don’t like red wine, but do like cola, you’d probably enjoy a kalimotxo. 

What Type of Red Wine To Use

Kalimotxo will taste a little bit different depending on the red wine you mix it with. Traditionally, it’s made with a young Rioja red wine, which is made from mostly Tempranillo grapes, along with other Spanish grapes like Garnacha. Since Rioja red wines are typically red blends, any decent red blend works, but you can also go single varietal. I’ve tried it with Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, too.

What I like about Kalimotxo is that it is a naturally low alcohol-by-volume (ABV) cocktail. If your red wine has, say, a 12 percent ABV, then adding the cola kicks it down to 6 percent, making it more in line with a beer or cider. 

How To Make a Kalimotxo

To make one serving, you’ll need:

• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) chilled red wine, such as a Rioja red blend
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) chilled cola
• 1 lemon, lime, or orange wedge, optional

Pour the wine and cola into a highball or rocks glass and stir gently to combine. Add ice, garnish with citrus, if desired, and serve.

Since this is a chilled cocktail, it helps if you put your wine in the refrigerator for an hour or two before serving. And if you want to kick it up a notch, add a squeeze of citrus—lemon, lime, and orange wedges all work. 

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