The whole 'chelada'

It's time for some frank chelada talk.

Rep. Cary Allred has consistently said he was not intoxicated the night of April 27 when he was stopped for driving 102 miles an hour and was seen hugging and possibly kissing a teenaged girl in the House chamber.

What he has said from the start is that he had one chelada, a cocktail he describes as similar to a Bloody Mary made with beer. In a written statement to a House investigator, Allred said the drink was a mixture of tomato juice, clam juice, salt, lime and beer.

That recipe has prompted some facial expressions and conversations around the legislature.

So here's the story.

The name "Chelada" is a shortened form of the Spanish word michelada which loosely translates to "my cold beer," according to a January 2008 news release from Anheuser-Busch announcing that their canned Chelada was going nation-wide. 

Reviews, pro and con, of the drink after the jump.

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Latinos, specifically those of Mexican descent, have been mixing beer with Clamato for decades. Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada honor that tradition by combining Anheuser-Busch’s classic American-style lagers with the spicy, invigorating taste of Clamato Tomato Cocktail, made by Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages.

"This is a recipe that combines cultures and flavors," said Ana Vitrano, product manager, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. "Budweiser, Bud Light and Clamato are all highly respected brands that, when combined, produce the authentic-tasting recipe many Latinos love. It’s la combinación perfecta!"

Not everyone is enthusiastic. Just this week, Dome spotted a taste test of the beverage in the pop culture section of The Onion, the satirical newspaper. (Be warned: link contains some salty language).

"It’s like I drank a shrimp bucket at Red Lobster," one taster reported.

Coincidentally, the Taste Test feature last reported on canned pork brains in milk. The feature reported that pork brains and eggs, is a childhood favorite of U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a Greensboro Republican.