Ingredients
Base
- 1 litrewater
- 6cinnamon sticks
- 6cloves
- 1strip lime peel
- 200 gpanela or dark brown sugar
- 250 mlnaranjilla pulp
To finish
- 200 mlaguardiente de caña
To serve
- cinnamon sticks
- lime wedges
Directions
- Simmer the water with the cinnamon sticks, cloves and lime peel for 20 minutes with the lid on, so the spice infuses without the liquid boiling away.
- Add the panela and stir until it has dissolved completely into the infusion.
- Stir in the naranjilla pulp and heat it through for 5 minutes without letting it boil. Naranjilla is sharply sour and floral, somewhere between a lime and rhubarb, and it is what stops the drink being merely sweet and hot.
- Strain out the whole spices and return the liquid to the pot.
- Take the pot off the heat completely before the aguardiente goes anywhere near it. Boiled spirit loses most of its alcohol and picks up a harsh edge, and the whole idea is a drink that warms from the inside.
- Stir in the aguardiente, taste, and adjust with more panela or a squeeze of lime.
- Serve very hot in small glasses or mugs, with a cinnamon stick standing in each one.
- Drink it outdoors on a cold Quito night, or at a highland fiesta, which is where it belongs and where the pot is usually kept going all evening.
Technique
- Spirit off the heat, always. This is the only real technique in the drink.
- Naranjilla, also called lulo, is the defining flavour and worth hunting for frozen if you cannot get it fresh.
- Made in a large pot and ladled out, it holds a party together in a way individual drinks do not.
Substitutions
- Passion fruit, or a mixture of lime and pineapple juice, in place of naranjilla.
- Pisco, cachaça or a white rum instead of aguardiente.
Variations
- Canelazo de mora, made with blackberry instead of naranjilla.
- Agua de canela, exactly the same drink without the spirit, which everyone at the same fiesta also drinks.
- With a spoonful of honey in place of some of the panela.
History
Hot cane spirit with cinnamon and naranjilla, drunk against Quito’s cold nights and poured at highland fiestas.
Frequently asked questions
What is Canelazo?
Canelazo is a cocktail from Ecuador: hot cinnamon-naranjilla toddy spiked with aguardiente, highland nights. Hot cane spirit with cinnamon and naranjilla, drunk against Quito’s cold nights and poured at highland fiestas.
How long does Canelazo take to make?
Canelazo takes 10 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 glasses. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Canelazo?
Yes, within limits. Passion fruit, or a mixture of lime and pineapple juice, in place of naranjilla. Pisco, cachaça or a white rum instead of aguardiente.
What is the most important thing to get right in Canelazo?
Strain out the whole spices and return the liquid to the pot.
