PUEBLA, PU—Popular history suggests that Mexico’s rompope, a rum-spiked eggnog, originated in a convent of Clarisa nuns in the city of Puebla centuries ago. Yes, Mexico credits its boozy egg punch to the kitchen craft of religious women in habits. Local legend embellishes, saying that a sister named Eduviges invented the recipe and convinced the bishop to share it with her sisters. “One cup a day doesn’t hurt anyone.” she told the bishop. The nuns have been making rompope ever since…
At least it would appear so based on the liquor stores in Mexico. The most famous brand of Rompope is named Santa Clara, after the convent from which the recipe allegedly emerged. And, in the city of Puebla, on the street where the Clarisa convent was, La Calle de los Dulces, shops offer several other nun-themed bottles next to typical sweets. The strange thing is–none of these are made by nuns. The religious legend of rompope has been commercialized and the image of the nun turned into a marketing stunt. Where the nuns make rompope to feed themselves, businesses have capitalized on their image to sell a similar product.
I arrived in Puebla with one goal–to taste rompope made by nuns, preferably the Clarisas. The task seemed doable. Of all Mexico’s cities, Puebla appears to be the most steepled and steeped in Catholicism. In the old city center, there are at least a dozen beautiful Spanish catholic churches. Veiled nuns in a variety of habits signifying their different affiliations walk around the plaza. They set up altars, pray in public, and attend civic and religious meetings. More than just churches, there are several convent buildings in the area too. So I set out to find my rompope.
The convents, it turns out, are almost all ex-convents. The actual communities have molted out of their colonial era buildings and moved to quieter areas. Their former shells are mostly museums or closed-off church properties in varying degrees of (dis)repair. I ask security at each convent where I can find real nuns making real eggnog. I get a couple of leads, but none pan out. So, I head to the one place where rompope abounds, La Calle de los Dulces.
La Calle de los Dulces is a pretty street with plenty to buy. Sweet potatoes stewed in brown sugar, a dazzling array of cookies, wines and liquors and eggnogs. Really, it is the commercialization of what nuns sell to feed themselves. The street was built up in the 50s and 60s around the original Clarisa convent. Yes, the convent which would have originally sold rompope alongside other breads and sweets. Yes, the convent out of which Mexico’s rompope supposedly sprouted. Now, for-profit shops have names that recall the Clarissa sisters who once sold there, selling some of the same goods that they sold.
It is not that religion doesn’t sell in Mexico. Catholicism is big business in the country. Nearby churches in every Mexican city, shops sell images of the Virgen de Guadalupe, dolls of baby Jesus, and other sacred accouterments like rosaries. Sometimes, these shops are run by the church, or by nuns, other times, they are private. La Calle de los Dulces, then, is nothing unique. It is just in my way of finding nun-crafted eggnog.
Asking shop owners, they all source their rompope from one of two providers, neither of which is run by a convent. Sure, I could reach out to the factory and see if they would like to talk, but I don’t want their rompope. I want to try the nuns’ stuff.
The downtown convents are nearly all ex-convents, except for one. The Convent of the Clarisas Capuchinas, who hold their residence next to the famous Iglesia del Santo Niño Cieguito, still sell their traditional goods in downtown Puebla. The church that they maintain is one of the most sacred sites in the city. The small building contains a statue of Christ as an infant without eyes. It is a place of pilgrimage for all who are blind and all who have children with ailments. The statue is surrounded by gifts of flowers, candles, and children’s toys. A blind man begs outside.
Next door, I find a display of cookies, honey, and rompope. Sister Luisa de Jesus gives me 2 minutes of her time as she operates the little shop. She explains the setup, “In order to sustain ourselves, we make products like small cookies, tortillas de Santa Clara, tamales, and punches.” Humbly, she continues, “Our principal mission is to pray for the whole world, dedicate ourselves to prayer, and to live in eternity.” The shop is a matter of worldly survival.
The eggnog, she explains, is made from egg yolk, milk, carnation milk, sugar, cinnamon, and cane alcohol. “We have a schedule.” The sister continues, “We wake up very early to pray and perform the duty of the Liturgy, and after all this, when we have free time, we take up this work to sustain ourselves. The recipes proceed from generation to generation. Our Mothers teach us each recipe.”
Finally, I ask her why so many brands sell bottles of eggnog with nuns on them. She smiles diplomatically and says she doesn’t know. She adds calmly, “We do not give our products to any business to sell. We have only what we sell here.”
Many Mexicans make rompope at home for seasonal festivities. But, there is such wide availability of the stuff.
Santa Clara, the largest, most international brand of Mexican rompope is produced by Casa Cuervo, S.A. de C.V. If that name looks familiar, it’s because it is. They make Jose Cuervo. The same company that sells several tequilas that barely qualify as tequila also owns the brand whose bottle pairs the image of a nun with the label “13% abv.”
Yes, the nuns put the alcohol in the eggnog in the first place, but do you really have to put them on your bottle? Many beverages can claim heritage and advertise themselves using that history. Cuervo’s only claim to the Clarisa story is that it was already making spirits in Mexico when it acquired the brand or launched the product. Only the nuns can lay claim to the recipe.
The same can be said for the smaller, local Puebla brands. Sell your rompope. Just don’t bring the nuns into it. As for me, now that I know where to find them, I will buy my eggnog from las Hermanas Clarisas Capuchinas.
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