How to Make Canelazos: Como Hacen Canelazos

Alright, the instructions are in English, but the video is in Spanish.

On our nighttime city tour with Simon Bolivar Spanish school, we stopped in a local place on a famous street in Quito for Canelazos. Canelazos are the drink of choice in Quito… it’s a warm drink made from naranjilla (a citrus fruit which has something kind of like an orange flavor), cinnamon, cloves, and alcohol.

At over 9,000 feet, Quito, Ecuador, has fairly chilly evenings. This strong cinnamon- and citrus-flavored cocktail is what Quiteños turn to to keep warm.

It will warm you up, and is also quite potent.

The alcohol used is called Punta in Spanish, but quick googling told me that it’s called aguardiente in English.

Aguardiente is a sugarcane-derived liquor, and is ridiculously cheap (think $25 for 4-5 gallons).

From what Google tells me, aguardiente can be found at most liquor stores in the US.

What you might not find is Naranjilla, so you might need to substitute oranges.

I think Canelazos are best made in a slow cooker or over a very low temperature stove.

INGREDIENTS

* 4 cups water
* 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
* 8 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
* 1 medium orange, thinly sliced
* 2 cups aguardiente
* 1 medium lime, thinly sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and orange slices in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved (which should take about 2 minutes).
2. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until liquid has a noticeable cinnamon flavor, about 30 minutes.
3. Keep Canelazo warm over very low heat (mixture should no longer be simmering).
4. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and serve in shot glasses, tumblers, mugs, or small glasses.

How many people will this serve?

Depends how cold it is and how much you want to drink.

And now for the video En Espanol.

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