Cheers!: In December, Drinking Horchata

I couldn't help but title this post after the song by Vampire Weekend. Is it in your head now? Good. Because it's in mine. I only wish I had found this recipe back in December...though it is quite nice in April, too. I came across this series of videos on youtube recently and was absolutely enthralled! I was completely unaware of how many different drinks there are in this world. But was totally intrigued to start experimenting...First you must watch this one:

Looks tasty, si? (cue Spanish accent in my head). And surprisingly easy- I had most of the ingredients in my cupboard. And here is my version. Unfortunately, we had no ice, but it tastes just as good without. The only change I made was to add a bit of milk (non-evaporated or condensed, just good ol' regular 1% milk) to mellow down the sweet factor.

Here's the recipe from the video: 

Mexican Horchata

Taken from: TasteMade
serves 4

Ingredients
-1 cup uncooked white rice
-½ cup sliced almonds
-4 cups hot water
-1 large toasted cinnamon stick
-1 tsp vanilla
-¾ can sweetened condensed milk (10 oz)
-1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
-zest of ½ lime

Method
-Rinse the rice and drain
-Toast one large cinnamon stick
-Add rice, cinnamon stick and sliced almonds to 4 cups of water in blender- set aside for 2-4 hours or overnight in the fridge
-Then, blend for about 1 min or until smooth
-Strain through cheesecloth, directly into your serving pitcher
-Add 1 can evaporated milk
-Add ¾ can of sweetened condensed milk
-Add 2 tsp of vanilla extract
-Add zest of ½ lime
-Stir well making sure all the condensed milk is dissolved
-Pour over a glass full of ice
-Optional: dust the top with ground cinnamon to taste

Note: All my photos were edited with the Norma action from A Beautiful Mess' Mini Collection