Macuá

WPMIXInfobox
name = Macuá
caption = Frozen Macuá made with Flor de Caña extra dry brand.


type = cocktail
rum = yes
served = On the rocks
drinkware = highball
garnish = lemon slice
ingredients = *2 parts white rum (preferably Flor de Caña)
* 2 parts guava juice
* 1 part lemon juice
* sugar to taste
prep = Blend the ingredients with 1 cup of ice and serve well chilled. Garnish with an orange slice

The Macuá is a cocktail made with white rum and fruit juices, usually lemon and guava juice. The Macuá is noted as the national drink of Nicaraguacite web| last = Lacey| first = Marc| title = Hold the Mojito and Margarita, Nicaragua Has el Macuá| publisher = The New York Times |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/05/world/americas/05managua.html?ex=1317700800&en=f5fbd2e352f374d4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss| accessdate = 2007-05-08 ] . The drink is named after a tropical bird native to the country.

History

The Macuá was invented by Dr Edmundo Miranda Saenz, a pediatrician from Granada, a small and historic city on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. Miranda enlisted the help of his immediate family, including his wife, daughter and son-in-law, to perfect the recipe.

The Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Nicaragua recognized a need for a national drink. Hotel and restaurant owners across Nicaragua came together and enlisted the help of CEM-JWT Communications, a Nicaraguan advertising agency, to turn the idea into a reality.

The drink rose to fame in October 2006, when it was entered in a competition to choose a national drink of Nicaragua. The competition, sponsored by Flor de Caña, a Nicaraguan rum manufacturer, involved more than twenty different drinks based on the company's products. The judges, including the French ambasador and a cocktail connoisseur from a Swedish development agency, chose the Macuá over other combinations of local ingredients including pineapple, tamarind and even coffee beans. More adventurous entrants made use of some of Nicaragua's most obscure flora such as the mamoncillo, the extract of which is used as a local cure for stomachache.

Criticism

This drink was created for a contest looking to creating a symbol that inspires national identity, such as Lake Cocibolca and the archaeological sites in Isla Zapatera, Ometepe and Solentiname, which make the lake a unique destination in the world. [cite news | title = Comcurso Trago Nacional; Objetivo General| publisher = Solentiname Tours| url=http://www.tragonacional.com.ni/Paginas/Objetivo.htm| accessdate = 2007-05-08 ]

The Contest, called "The Nacional Drink Contest", ("El Trago Nacional"), was sponsored by Flor de Caña, Hotel Intercontinental, Solentiname Tours, Morgan's Rock, Canatur, INTUR, and Radio Tigre. The presence of the INTUR (National Tourism Institute) validated the contest as an "official" selection, even if organized by private investors, not the government.

The contest was divided in two parts; first the selection of the recipe, and second the selection of the name.

However, El Nuevo Diario criticized the theme of the contest for selecting only a few regions of the country for defining the national identity (Lake Cocibolca and Granada), and that the selected winning recipe for the contest required to contain a minimum of 50% Flor de Caña rum, the sponsoring liquor company. [cite news | last = Peñalba| first = Rodrigo| title = El trago nacional de "ellos"| publisher = El Nuevo Diario| date = 2006-07-21| url = http://blogs.elnuevodiario.com.ni/articulos/95/el-trago-nacional-de-ellos| accessdate = 2007-05-08 ]

ee also

References

External links

* [http://www.internationalliving.com/nicaragua/alerts/10-09-06-macua.html]
* [http://www.tragonacional.com.ni/# Macuá] Trago Nacional es icon