Alcohol-free by design
Spiced horchata
Rice, cinnamon, milk and sugar, blended and strained into something cold and creamy. Alcohol-free, and the winter welcome drink nobody expects.
- Pour
- 150 ml
- Strength
- Alcohol-free
- Best for
- Winter holidays, Dinner parties, Brunch
- Season
- Winter, Autumn
- Fizz
- None
- Ahead
- Fully made ahead
The welcome pour
One glass, 150 ml
Short tumbler over ice. Garnish: a dusting of cinnamon, or a short cinnamon stick.
The spec, according to Pati Jinich: the Mexican cook's homemade horchata soaks two cups of white rice and a cinnamon stick in three cups of boiling water for two to eight hours, then blends it with four cups of whole milk and a cup of sugar, strains it and serves it over ice. It keeps a day. We scale her proportions to the glass.
| Ingredient | Per glass | When |
|---|---|---|
| White rice | 30 g | in the jug |
| Boiling water | 55 ml (2 fl oz) | in the jug |
| Whole milk | 75 ml (2.5 fl oz) | in the jug |
| Sugar | 15 g | in the jug |
| Cinnamon sticks (per glass) | 0.125 | in the jug |
The jug
How much for your party
One welcome drink per guest plus a 15% spare. Sparkling wine and soda are counted here but stay in the fridge until the door.
| Ingredient | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| White rice | 420 g 15 oz | in the jug |
| Boiling water | 800 ml 27 fl oz | in the jug |
| Whole milk | 1 L 4.5 cups | in the jug |
| Sugar | 210 g 7.5 oz | in the jug |
| Cinnamon sticks (per glass) | 2 | in the jug |
| The jug holds 1.8 L (8 cups), which is 2 1.5-litre jugs filled to 85%. | ||
Make it
In the jug, then at the door
Ahead. The whole drink is made ahead, up to a day before: soak the rice and cinnamon in boiling water for two to eight hours, add milk and sugar, blend in batches, strain through a fine sieve or cloth, chill.
At the door. Shake or stir the jug (it settles), pour 150 ml over ice, dust with cinnamon.
Keeps. 24 hours in the fridge, no longer; it is a milk drink.
- Put the rice and a broken cinnamon stick in a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave it for at least two hours and up to eight; overnight is too long.
- Add the milk and sugar and blend, in batches if your blender is small, until the rice is fully broken down.
- Strain through a fine sieve lined with a clean cloth. Squeeze the last of it through; the grit stays behind.
- Chill for at least two hours. Stir before pouring, because rice starch settles.
- At the door: ice, 150 ml, a dusting of cinnamon.
The boozy twin
Rum horchata
The other-way twin: Dos Maderas, the rum house, stirs one part dark rum into two parts horchata over ice with a cinnamon stick. We keep the pour at 150 ml, 35 ml of rum to 115 ml of horchata.
Ice, rum, horchata, stir, cinnamon. Or make a second jug with the rum already in it, labelled.
Reference: dosmaderas.com
| Ingredient | Per glass | When |
|---|---|---|
| Dark rum | 35 ml (1 fl oz) | at the door |
| Horchata (from the recipe above) | 115 ml (4 fl oz) | in the jug |
Why it works at the door
Spiced horchata, in three paragraphs
Horchata is what a Mexican street stall hands you on a hot day, and it is on this site because the alcohol-free drinks at a winter party are usually an afterthought: a jug of orange juice next to the mulled wine. A cold, cinnamon-scented glass of horchata is the opposite of an afterthought. It looks like a milkshake and drinks like a dessert.
It is also fully made ahead, which no other drink here can claim. Rice, cinnamon, water, milk, sugar: soak, blend, strain, chill. At the door you pour. For a host managing a hot drink on the hob at the same time, that matters.
We follow Pati Jinich's proportions, which use whole milk and white rice and no almonds; the Spanish horchata made from tiger nuts is a different drink. A dark rum turns it into a nightcap, and Dos Maderas publishes exactly that.
Questions hosts ask
Is horchata dairy?
This one is: Pati Jinich's recipe uses whole milk. For a dairy-free jug, make it with water only and a little more sugar, or with oat milk, which blends well with rice.
How far ahead can I make it?
Up to 24 hours, kept cold. The rice needs at least two hours' soaking, so start by lunchtime for an evening party.
Can I add alcohol?
Dark rum is the classic addition, one part rum to two or three parts horchata over ice. Coffee liqueur also works. Keep the two jugs labelled so the drivers know which is which.
Next to it on the tray