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A guide to getting your Basque on during Jaialdi
Anyone who grew up in Boise is privy to one indisputable fact: Basques know how to party. Whether they're dancing jotas, drinking kalimotxos or eating croquetas, Basque people live it up with an unrivaled zeal. That's why for Jaialdi 2010 - a massive quinquennial Basque festival that runs from Tuesday, July 27, through Sunday, Aug. l,.and is expected to draw 35,000-40,000 people to Boisewe're bringing you the unofficial guide to Basque culture, a Basque for Dummies, if you will. We've got a rundown on how to drink, eat, dance, speak and play sports like the Basques. So, study up; the pop quiz is on the streets. And it'll come five drinks deep, when you least expect it.
EDATEKO (DRINKING)
Red wine and Coca Cola- the drink of the gods meets thé drink of the masses. Though at first blush, this combo sounds like a botched high school stab at mixing whatever is in your parents' fridge, it is, in fact, one of the most well-known Basque cocktails, the kalimotxo (callie-MO-cho).
Served over ice with a 50/50 Çoke-tocheap-red-wine ratio, the kalimotxo is a popular drink among Basque youth, who often mix up a batch while gathered on the streets for the pre-party tradition, botellón (bow-TTE-ohn). And though you're not going to feel as fresh as a daisy after a night of drinking gut-rot red wine with a sugary carbonated fizz, these refreshing little headaches will be thrust into your hot hands at Jaialdi faster than you can say "eskerrik asko" (es-KARI-gaas-go, thank you).
"Kalimotxo is definitely the most popular [drink we sell]," said Matthew Mayer, a server at the Basque Block eatery Bar Gernika. "We also sell a Basque cider, it's a dry cider. A lot of people when they order it, they expect something sweeter, like an Ace Pear Cider."
That dry cider, or sagardo, is a good booze option for those with less of a sweet tooth. The non-sparkling, low-alcohol beverage (4-6 percent) is generally consumed soon after it has been produced at sagardotegi, or Basque cider houses. If it's not poured directly from a barrel, sagardo is served with the bottle held high in the air above the glass to aerate it.
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