If you're Guatemalan, nobody needs to tell you what Quezalteca is. If you're not, this is probably the most interesting bottle in the shop that you've never tried.
What it is
Aguardiente made from sugarcane, from Quetzaltenango. It isn't rum, even though it starts from the same plant, because it never goes into a barrel. It's clear, it's direct, and it's drunk cold in a small glass, the way aguardiente is drunk across Central America.
The four flavours
Especial is the original, nothing added. Mora is blackberry and it's the one that sells fastest. Tamarindo is sour and sweet at once, which is the combination that works best over ice. Pina is the most tropical of the four.
How to drink it
Out of the freezer, in a shot glass, with nothing in it. That's how it's actually drunk. It also goes with grapefruit soda, with pineapple juice, or with soda water and lime if you want to stretch it. The bottle is a litre, which is twenty-two drinks.
And Venado
Venado is Guatemalan too. The Sello de Oro is the one that moves and it's a sweeter, softer rum than a standard white. With cola and lime it's the house drink across half of Central America.
Why we carry it
Because almost nobody between here and the perimeter does. If you've spent years asking for it and being told no, now you know where it is.
Beverage World Package Store
6731 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Doraville, GA 30360. (770) 441-0001. Open 10am to 9pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 11pm Thursday to Saturday, and 11am to 9pm Sunday. Delivery from $4.99.
On our shelf right now
Prices and stock read from our own inventory when this page was built.