There are different kinds of travellers; some who love to get their fair dose of culture, some who love to try out local foods and some who just like to chill by the sea and watch the sun set. But, there is also another kind – the kind who’d just like to travel and booze.
Drinking is fun, and meeting new people in a different land while you’re on a journey is more so. If you’re on the hunt for the local alcohols around the world and party your vacation days and nights away, then you’ve come to the right place. Read on as you drink the world, one sip at a time!
France
You know, you can’t say you partied in France without tasting the various wines on offer here. Rightly so, trying a bottle of champagne or Cognac is a must, but go a little more local and try their famous Pastis. With more than 130 million litres sold each year, this one is super popular, so much so that today, Pastis has become a cliché of the southern lifestyle. The alcohol content in Pastis typically ranges from 40-50%.
Germany
Home to the famous Oktoberfest, Germany is known to be one of the largest consumers of beer and brews in the whole of Europe. The month-long celebration includes a huge variety of beer on offer from Steins, yummy local food, and endless dancing to the sounds of Tuba. But let’s step aside from the beers for a bit and try the incredible Schnapps here. Schnapps is a German term used to refer to strong alcoholic drinks made out of fruits and cereals. Fruits like apples, pears, plums, berries, cherries and apricots are traditionally used to distil the spirits. Whether you visit Germany during the Oktoberfest or not, you’ll always find your fill of beers and Schnapps here, all around the year.
Netherlands
Created in Holland to mask the bad after taste resulting from malt wine, Jenever is produced in two types; old and young. The classification of (oude) old and (jonge) young is not a matter of age but of different distillation processes. The less preferred old Jenever refers to the old school distillation technique used before World War 1. Post-war, the shortage of grains gave rise to a more neutral spirit, thus bringing about a new style of Jenever, the young one with added herbs. When in the Netherlands, you certainly can’t miss out on tasting this one.
Spain
There are drinks, and there are delicious drinks. The one that you get in Spain is the latter one. For those who don’t know, there’s a lot more to Spain’s alcohol than the cerveza and sangria. From the DIY Kalimotxo (Calimocho) to Tinto de Verano, it’s said that drinking like a local here is nothing but an art not everyone can excel. The Calimocho is just red wine mixed with coke and everyone’s go-to drink in Madrid, North of Spain and even parts of Andalucia, on the other hand, the Tinto De Verano is a refreshing summer drink made out of red wine, over ice with lemon soda. Also, now that we are talking of the drinks in Spain, here’s a myth we are just gonna bust for you: Sangrias with chopped fruits don’t exist in Spain and is purely an American way of making it! Shocked?
Portugal
Portuguese port and wines are world-famous. But there are lesser-known drinks that only the locals know of and they’re all are a timeless secret since years. What we’ve got to know from thousands of different tourists and locals about their go-to drink in this country is that the Licor Beirão has pretty much raised the bar high for all other drinks in the league. It dates back to the 19th century, and can be had neat, or on the rocks and even as caipirão cocktail?
Czech Republic
For people who’ve done their fair share of research on alcohol in Czech might know that anyone and everyone here, be it a local or a tourist opts to drink Kozel and Pilsner Urquell, but a true blue beer person would know what a real charm Svijany is.
One of the oldest brews (from the year 1534 to be precise), this particular features in this list owing to its production of unpasteurised lagers, which makes it highly different to the rest of the beers sold in the market. Svijany also produces wheat beer and pale ale with higher alcoholic content in it, which only a few people know about. Now you know which drink to pick when you’re in Czech, right?
Hungary
Think Hungary, think pálinka. The fruit brandy made of various fruits like sour cherries, apples and plums, is rightly known as the national drink of the country. Yep, that’s actually a thing. And before you think it’s just another drink then stop right there. This special drink is almost always drunk out of tulip-shaped glasses at room temperature followed by a meal. In recent times, there have also come up variations of pálinka, in flavours like nuts, chocolates, and softer tastes like blueberry and honey.
It is believed that if you can detect the particular fruit your palinka was made out of, instead of the burning alcoholic after taste, then it was a good palinka! So, all set?
Croatia
Spirits are a huge deal in Croatia, and basically every household distils some kind of fruit brandy at their home. When you’re here, try the Rakija, prior to your meal(s). As these are very strong, you might have to sip them slowly and a glass or two would be more than enough to get you grooving to the tunes of happy high. The ones that you must try are sljivovica (plum brandy), travarica (herbal brandy), kruskovac (pear brandy), orahovac (walnut brandy) or lozovaca (grape brandy).
