2012_08_09-CockyRooster01.jpgMix icy cold beer with spicy Sriracha, fresh lime juice and a couple dashes of Maggi sauce and what do you have? A refreshing, terrifically savory beer cocktail with a lingering heat that has become my new favorite summer drink. Meet the Cocky Rooster.

The recipe comes from An Choi, a banh mi restaurant in New York City that serves the drink alongside their Vietnamese sandwiches. It's an Asian riff on the Mexican michelada, which mixes beer with hot sauce, salt, lime and Worcestershire sauce, and as a lover of Asian condiments, I daresay it improves on the original. Umami-rich Maggi sauce might be a little harder to find than Worcestershire sauce — look for it in Asian or Latin markets — but its depth of flavor can't be matched. And Sriracha? I'll always choose it over plain old hot sauce.

G.Q. featured the cocktail in their August issue, but hasn't made the recipe available online, so this is my adaptation. The original calls for a couple jalapeno slices to garnish the drink, but I have yet to do this and haven't missed their presence. Use them if you like a little more heat. And while the original recipe calls for a specific brand of Vietnamese beer, any pale lager will work. I've been using Pacifico.

Cocky Rooster

Adapted from An Choi and G.Q.

Makes one cocktail

1 lime wedge
Kosher or sea salt
1 ounce lime juice
2-3 generous squeezes of Sriracha
3 dashes Maggi sauce
2 jalapeno slices (optional, for garnish)
12 ounces lager-style beer

Rub the lime wedge around the rim of a pint glass, then dip the glass into a small plate of salt to coat the rim. Add the lime juice, Sriracha and Maggi to the glass and stir. Slowly pour in the beer. Add ice cubes and jalapeno, if desired, and garnish with the lime wedge.

Related: Indian Summer Refreshment: The Sidewalker

(Image: Anjali Prasertong)

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