In Chile, the days leading up to September 18 and 19, or the independence holiday Fiestas Patrias, see the picadas (regional Chilean cantinas) and pipas (sweet wine bars) full to the rafters with locals downing cool, toothsome glasses of the country’s unofficial national drink, the Terremoto. No holiday feels quite the same without the wine cocktail—a mix of pipeño, pineapple ice cream and grenadine—whose name translates literally to “earthquake.” The exact origins of the drink are a mystery, but it emerged from the rubble of the 1985 Algarrobo earthquake, and two Santiago restaurants have been credited as inventors.
At one of the restaurants, La Piojera, the writing is literally on the walls: In a colorful mural depicting just the type of revelry that draws visitors year-round for Terremotos, a lively crowd surrounds musicians playing a cueca, intoxicated by banter and sips of country wine. La Piojera has touted a simple explanation for the cocktail and its name, saying that they created a drink following the ’85 quake that swiftly inebriated customers, causing them to shake as if they were in an earthquake. Somehow, the name stuck. A more detailed account comes from the other restaurant, El Hoyo, a worn, laid-back tavern. There, the story goes that its third-generation owner, Guillermo Valenzuela, created the drink after the natural disaster. A German reporter covering the Algarrobo earthquake remarked, “Now that’s an earthquake,” as he stumbled out of the bar.
Santiago-based food writer Loreto Gatica speculates that El Hoyo was the real inventor, while La Piojera is “where the drink has become famous.” While El Hoyo is small—it’s literally named “the hole” (in the wall)—La Piojera is sizable, hosting visitors from all walks of life. Inside the bar, around since 1916, a poster reads: “Whoever didn’t come to La Piojera didn’t come to Chile.”
Miguel González Larraguibel, bartender at Hotel Magnolia, also in Santiago, offers another explanation. According to him, the Terremoto is a variant of the Ponche a la Romana, which is a combination of pineapple ice cream and sparkling wine. Before 1985, the two-part drink was already popular. The Terremoto may be a variation on the format, calling specifically for pipeño blanco, a Chilean white wine that is often lightly fizzy.
Over the years, variations on the Terremoto have emerged on bar menus—especially during the national holiday—and in homes, where families make their own renditions. There are endless versions that often include a finish of amaretto, blue Curaçao or pisco, to name just a few, in place of grenadine.
The more established riffs have become part of the canon. At El Hoyo, for example, in addition to the Terremotos sold by the pitcher, half-pitcher and by the glass, you can order a Réplica (Spanish for “aftershock”), in a smaller glass, for those who can’t find their footing after one too many Terremotos.
At La Piojera, where the soaked bar top is christened nightly with pipeño spilled from the delightfully haphazard manner in which Terremotos are assembled during the rush, bartenders finish the drink with Fernet El Gaitero and grenadine. They also serve a Maremoto, or Tsunami, made with mint liqueur instead of the syrup.
But others keep it simple. At Hotel Magnolia, where González makes some of the best cocktails in town, he serves two versions, the classic and a fernet-spiked option; the latter is his favorite way to make the drink. Housed inside a renovated 1929 mansion, the bar retains its original charm. Behind its stained-glass windows are marble floors that merge into a sleek, modern bar. It’s the perfect setting for González’s pared-back Terremoto.
Leading up to an earthquake is a gradual accumulation of stress and strain. Likewise, the Terremoto’s rise to becoming a household name in Chile happened little by little. Today, though, it’s an essential part of every national holiday. Liquor stores and markets bolster their stock of the main ingredients during these dates; they know that many will be making Terremotos at home, as well as ordering them at bars, picadas and pipas. “The Terremoto is for Chileans as essential as empanadas on September 18,” says Gatica. “It’s part of the traditional menu.”