This Michelada Is a Trip to Charleston in a Glass

Inspired by the michelada at Leon’s Fine Poultry & Oyster Shop in Charleston, this South Carolinian take on a michelada, the popular Mexican beer cocktail, leans on Charleston-based Red Clay Hot Sauce for tingling heat with a bracing backbone of sherry vinegar. While you should feel free to swap in your favorite vinegar-based hot sauce, Red Clay brings a delicious balance of heat, acidity, and fresh pepper flavor. 

This Charleston-ified take on a classic michelada features the same traditional ingredients: lime juice, hot sauce, and a light lager. While there are plenty of riffs on this simple cocktail—some include savory Clamato or even ginger juice—this more pared-back version really highlights the inherent complexity of the Red Clay hot sauce. Made with pequin chiles, sweet cayenne chiles, and sherry vinegar, Red Clay Carolina Hot Sauce has a bit of sweetness, which also comes through when paired with lime and lager. 

Choosing a beer for a michelada is also totally key to its success. In the Red Clay Michelada, we gravitated toward American-style lager like Miller High Life, the Champagne of Beers, of course. This light lager allows for the flavors and aromas of the lime and hot saucer to shine and also adds a more savory backbone that rounds everything out. 

To bring everything together, the Red Clay Michelada gets a generous rim of Tajín Clásico, the Mexican seasoning blend made from dried chile, powdered lime, salt, and a bit of sugar. While Tajín was first popularized in street snacks—it's the perfect topping to sliced ripe fruit — it has quickly become an important part of a bartender’s arsenal as well. It has the perfect balance of salty, spicy, and sour, which plays off the michelada inside the glass. Whether you are drinking a Red Clay Michelada out of a plastic cup or even out of a swanky highball glass, be sure to have extra ingredients on hand — these drinks go fast, and you’ll definitely be left wanting another one.