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On an afternoon so hot that even the breeze had stopped in its tracks, I was already questioning Medell\u00edn\u2019s moniker as Colombia\u2019s City of Eternal Spring, just two weeks after relocating there from New York. I squeezed into the singular patch of shade beneath a eucalyptus tree with a friend, languishing on the grass at his farmhouse in the mountains outside of the city. He reached for my hand: \u201c<\/span>\u00bfRefaj\u00e9monos?\u201d<\/span><\/i> I grasped at recesses of my decade-plus of Spanish studies and found nothing. Was this some sort of inappropriate propositioning I\u2019d as of yet been spared from? Mercifully, no. I\u2019d just bumped into one of Colombia\u2019s most beloved beverages for the very first time: <\/span>Refajo<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n A beginner bartender\u2019s dream, the Refajo is so simple to assemble that it almost feels too basic to be called a cocktail at all. An ice-cold mixture of light beer and soda, the Refajo is a summertime staple that is far from unique to Colombia. But over the past few decades, the shandy has become so ubiquitous in the drinking culture across the South American country that it has shifted from an object to a verb, \u00e0 la Google.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cRefajo has been popular in Colombia for at least the past 30 or 40 years,\u201d says Luis R. Vidal, an anthropologist at the Colegio Mayor de Antioquia in Medell\u00edn who studies the intersection of food, drinks and culture. It is a clever hangover cure, an ingenious way to extend the beer supply, and a cooling accompaniment for a hot day, all at once. \u201cBut more than anything, Refajo is a social drink at its core, one that we associate with large gatherings, celebrations, and spending time together,\u201d says Vidal.<\/span><\/p>\n
The classic recipe is nothing more than equal parts light beer and<\/span> Colombiana<\/span><\/a>, an almost cloyingly sweet soda that smacks of citrus and bubblegum and is frequently compared to cream soda, for the North American palate, or Inca Kola, for those who know their way around the South American beverage scene. However, the Refajo isn\u2019t without its regional variations; on Colombia\u2019s Caribbean coast, for example, it is frequently made with a local favorite,<\/span> Kola Rom\u00e1n<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The simplicity of the Refajo gives it legs, and with them the at-home bartender runs. Riffs can involve adding a splash of orange juice, slices of fruit for garnish, a dash of aguardiente for a true kick, or adjusting the beer-to-soda ratio to balance for sweetness. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Despite its homemade origins, the Refajo isn\u2019t just relegated to backyard barbecues. In many Colombian restaurants, the Refajo is sold by the pitcher, accompanying dishes designed to stick to your ribs: cazuelas bubbling with beans, savory stews, and fried strips of pork belly so long they dangle dangerously off their plates. It has also graduated into a can. Sold as<\/span> Cola y Pola<\/span><\/a>, using pola, a slang word for beer, the Refajo was a first foray into the small but steadily growing RTD cocktail universe in Colombia. It\u2019s wildly popular, so much so that it is harder to find a convenience store that <\/span>doesn\u2019t<\/span><\/i> carry the drink.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Amidst a blossoming bar scene in Colombia and a growing focus on more bartending technique, the Refajo\u2019s simplicity sets it apart. \u201cThere has been a really exciting push from Colombian bartenders towards returning to our traditional spirits, like <\/span>viche<\/span><\/a> from centuries of Afro-Colombian tradition along the Pacific Coast,\u201d says Maycoll Tob\u00f3n, bar director at<\/span> Bar Carmen<\/span><\/a> in Medell\u00edn. \u201cBut I think there\u2019s more that can be done with these classic drinks like Refajo too, which are also an important part of our drinking culture that is worth preserving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Tob\u00f3n created several takes on the classic Refajo using exclusively Colombian ingredients <\/span>to accompany the tasting menu at Carmen, which earned a spot on the World\u2019s 50 Best Bars list for the first time last year. No saccharine sodas here; instead, think local and artisanal beers paired with lesser-known tropical passiflora<\/span> fruits like passion fruit<\/a>, gulupa and granadilla.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Elevating the Refajo to an art form won\u2019t be a fit for every at-home bartender. Still, as cocktail culture in Colombia moves at a mile a minute, Tobon sees the value in keeping even the most simple classics on the menu. \u201cThere is so much value in the way that the Refajo gathers people,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is a part of Colombian culture that unifies people across all social strata, and that is something worth holding on to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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