Kalimotxo
Basque 50/50
Basque working-class classic: equal parts young red wine and cola, over ice. The result reads as a spicy, fruit-forward drink that masks the wine's cheapness — which is exactly how it was invented in 1972 at the Getxo festival, when the wine turned out to be undrinkable.
Ingredients
Method
Fill a highball with ice. Pour red wine and cola in equal parts. Stir once. Drink immediately.
Created at the St. Nicholas Festival (Fiestas de San Nicolás) in Algorta, Getxo, on August 12, 1972, by the Antzarrak club (drink organizers), who mixed spoiled red wine with Coca-Cola in equal parts to salvage inventory. Named after a club member nicknamed "Kalimero" (shortened "Kali") and the Basque word "motxo" (ugly). Per Jonathan Miles, *New York Times* (December 2, 2007), cited in The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails (Rosie Schaap); corroborated at Getxo official tourism site and Antzarrak's 2001 publication *El invento del Kalimotxo y anécdotas de las fiestas*. Notes: This is a folk origin, not a named bartender creation. The drink predates its naming (wine-cola combinations existed since the 1920s), but Kalimotxo as a named phenomenon dates to 1972. Not an IBA official cocktail.