Anyway, tonight I was plowing through the second chapter, "Actual Drinks," and, amid many weird cocktails built around fortified wines from the Iberian peninsula, there was an intriguing entry distilled from Amis' time down South America way. The drink, "La Tequila con Sangrita," is sort of like a Mexican Bloody Mary, but with the booze served separate from the tomato stuff.

With some tweaks -- Amis' version serves three and is built, inexplicably, using Tobasco sauce and Cayenne pepper -- the two-fisted drink was something Anne and I agreed, emphatically, we can get behind. What's more, I think it would be ideal for the Mexico-Argentina World Cup match next Sunday, 11:30 am/2:30 pm depending what part of the U.S. you're in. Here's my adaptation of Amis' recipe:

• 1.5oz tequila, neat, unchilled, in its own glass. A good blanco works fine, provided it's 100 percent blue agave. I don't suppose a more expensive reposado or anejo tequila would muss things up, but the pricey stuff is certainly not necessary. Just avoid Cuervo and other mixto tequilas.
• 1.5 oz tomato juice. I used a fresh roma tomato and pressed it through a mesh strainer; juicing one with clean hands would be fine too, provided you're OK with pulp and seeds, and I don't imagine canned juice would be so terrible. Tomatoes can well!
• Generous 1/2 oz fresh lime juice. Or, if you can't be bothered to measure, half a large lime or a full smaller one
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more, say four dashes) Tapatio, Cholula, or other Mexican hot sauce. Or Tabasco if you're hard up - if it's good enough for Amis, you'll probably be fine.
• Two pinches salt.

Amis on how to serve:

The tomato concoction and the tequila do not meet until they arrive to start a joint operation in your stomach. Each partaker gets a small glass of neat, unchilled tequila and a twin glass of the stirred, also unchilled red stuff, and sips in alteration...

You will find it a splendid pick-me-up, and throw-me-down, and jump-on-me.

Sounds about right. Sangrita means "little blood," which is what I hope our southern neighbors inflict on those Falkland-grubbing Argentine bastardos. (I guess. I've actually not been following the Cup. But... Salud!)