You probably know we Mexicans love spicy sweets. But did you know we also love candy with alcohol? Called borrachitos — “little drunks” — these candies date back to the arrival of the Spanish and are a staple in Mexican traditional celebrations. They have the consistency of gummies, except they’re covered with sugar and infused with alcohol and fruit flavors.
While there is no official record as to the birthplace of borrachitos, the most accepted theory is that the nuns of the Santa Rosa convent in Puebla — the same convent that created chile en nogada and mole poblano — created these sweets as a thank you gesture to the church’s benefactors. Due to their success, people started selling them. Made with cornstarch or gelatine, milk and sugar, borrachitos come in flavors such as strawberry, pineapple and coconut.
Traditionally, the nuns infused the sweets with brandy, rum or eggnog. As their popularity grew, different regions added their own flair to the delicacy. One of the most distinctive variants hails from Jalisco, which infused borrachitos with — you guessed it — tequila.
Jalisco borrachitos have no fruit base, making tequila the main flavor. Another original version later appeared in Oaxaca, where the sweets were infused with mezcal, now one of Mexico’s trendiest spirits . While the borrachitos in Puebla, Mexico City, Oaxaca, and other states are colored using red, green or Mexican pink dye, borrachitos in Jalisco don’t use dye at all.
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