You can find it served in most bars and people drink it all the time when there’s any reason to party. It was originally called Rioja Libre or Cuba Libre del pobre (poor man’s Cuba Libre) but during a Basque festivity in 1972 it was renamed by a group of friends who were serving bad wine and decided to doctor it with cola to make it drinkable.

The inventors of the mixture named it after two friends of the cuadrilla known as “Kalimero” (after the Calimero chicken character) and “Motxo”, hence the name “Kalimotxo”. The name caught on and became popular throughout Spain, however, it is commonly respelled calimocho in accordance with Spanish orthography.

In Catalan, the word is usually spelled calimotxo, although kalimotxo is also common.

Over the years the drink has spread to other nations especially in eastern Europe. In Romania it is known as motorină (diesel fuel). In the former Yugoslav nations it’s known as bambus (bamboo). In the Czech Republic it’s called houba (mushroom). In Hungary it is called vadász (hunter) or vörösboros kóla (red-wine cola) or just VBK.  In Chile the drink is known as jote (Chilean Spanish for the black vulture).

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How To Make The Kalimotxo

The Kalimotxo is basically 50-50 cola and red wine, served over lots of ice. Here’s the way the locals do it: Get a 2-liter bottle of Coke, pour out half (save for later), then pour in a bottle of inexpensive red wine. Serve over cups of ice. Easy!