Refajo is a Colombian drink that mixes pale lager with a lime-lemon soda called Colombiana, perfect for cooling down in summer
Refajo is bittersweet and refreshing, a Colombian cocktail made with Colombian soda, pale beer and, sometimes, aguardiente as well. The ingredients are usually combined in a chilled jug without stirring. The cocktail is served over ice and is often garnished with lime slices and orange wedges.
Some people like to add aguardiente so the flavour becomes stronger and the alcoholic strength rises. When that happens, the drink is known as poisoned refajo. Here are both recipes so you can experiment at home.
The cocktail is served over ice and is usually garnished with lime slices and orange wedges.
It is a popular drink, but not one produced on a large industrial scale. In general, the consumer prepares it. It is usually served in a glass tumbler and only rarely in stemware. Its taste is refreshing, with a flavour that sits between tart and sweet. It is an excellent option for cooling down on hot summer afternoons.
Its origins go back to the seventeenth century, when news reached Colombia of a drink that was causing a stir in America, called shandygaff, prepared with lemon soda and dark beer. When Alberto Espino (Beto), the bartender at Colombia’s best-known bar, decided to make his own shandygaff, he changed the formula a little by using white beer and a Colombian soda.
Its origins go back to the seventeenth century, when Colombia heard of shandygaff, a drink made with lemon soda and dark beer.
In Spain there is also a mixture of beer with lemon known as shandy or mixta, which contains less alcohol. There is another variety made with soda that is called clara; that is the name used in Valencia.
In Galicia and Asturias, if you order a clara, you are served beer with soda. In Mallorca, the drink is equivalent to a shandy or "xopet". In the north, in the Basque Country, people ask for a pica, while in Guipúzcoa it is called a lejía. In Navarre it is known as caña con limón or radler. In the Basque Country, the mix of beer, 70%, with lemon soft drink, 30%, is called "lejía". However, in certain areas of Biscay, the name pica is also used.
In Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha it is ordered as clara de limón or clara con limón, and in Catalonia it is ordered as champú.
In Uruguay the custom is to mix 70% beer with 30% Sprite-style soda. This drink is usually called cerveza cortada, although some people give the same name to another, less popular mixture of beer with Coca-Cola.
Refajo recipe
Refajo is a versatile drink, ideal for enjoying anywhere and on any occasion. You do not need to be a bartender to prepare it: the method is simple and takes no more than 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 litre of Colombiana soft drink
- 6 ounces of aguardiente
- 3 bottles, 12 oz. each, of pale lager, preferably Aguila or Club Colombia
- Lime slices, to garnish
- Orange wedges, to garnish
Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients in a chilled jug; do not stir. Serve over ice and garnish with extra lemon slices and orange wedges if desired.
Poisoned Refajo recipe
Follow these step-by-step instructions.
Preparation:
- Add ice to a previously frozen glass until it reaches the top.
- Then add the pale beer and the aguardiente.
- After that, add the soda.
- Finally, stir everything together.
If you are one of those people who had never heard of refajo, this is your opportunity to try new drinks and taste a delicious refreshing cocktail. Its preparation takes only four simple steps and relies on two base ingredients.
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