Backstreet Still · Sugarcane Spirit
Chaparro
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Chaparro is technically illegal to distill commercially in El Salvador, yet informal production around Santa Ana and the western highlands has continued largely unchecked for generations.
A clear, potent moonshine distilled from fermented sugarcane, traditionally made in small backyard stills and sold quietly by the bottle or shot on Santa Ana's rural outskirts, drunk straight at informal gatherings.
Why it's made this way: Santa Ana's surrounding sugarcane fields have long fed an informal home-distilling tradition, and chaparro remains specifically associated with the western Salvadoran countryside around the city.
More from El Salvador
Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
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