How to use a botijo

First of all, you should acquire a water-cooling botijo. By this I mean an authentic Spanish botijo made of porous clay, and not one of the fancier artsy glazed botijos, which are made for decorative purposes, and not for water drinking.

Priming

According to some people, you should prime a new botijo to prevent the water from acquiring a clay taste. Conveniently, the way to prime the botijo is with booze. Fill your botijo with a mixture of water and your favorite booze, and let it stand for a couple of weeks... after that you can throw the water/alcohol mixture away, or you can drink it.

Filling

Fill the botijo with tap water using the big whole, which is there exclusively for this purpose. Cover the big whole with a cork. If you don't have a cork, cover the whole with a piece of cheesecloth and hold it in place with a rubber band. Now place the botijo outdoors, in a shady place.

Drinking

Grab the botijo handle with one hand, and hold the lower part of the botijo with the other hand. Lift the botijo with the small water spout facing you. Tilt the botijo until water pours out of the water spout.

Keep the water spout a few centimeters from your mouth - never, NEVER touch the spout with your lips! Remember that the botijo is shared by other people, and nobody wants to drink from a botijo whose spout has been in somebody's mouth.

Experienced botijo drinkers swallow the water while their mouth is still open and water from the botijo keeps pouring in. This way they can take several gulps of water without having to tilt the botijo back and forth to stop the water from pouring while they swallow.

It will take some practice before you know how to position the botijo so the water pours into your mouth right away, without getting your shirt all wet. Remember - practice, practice, practice.

Take a look at the 19-th century painting on the right. Looks like the woman is touching the water spout with their lips. Even if she isn't, the spout is too close, and people might think that she is. It is important to keep the spout a good distance - maybe no less than 5cm. from your mouth.

Not touching the spout with your lips is rule #1 of botijo-drinking etiquette!