Travel the Globe & Drink like a Wanderlust
As
much as we love to explore new cities while traveling, so is the love for food
and drink. Introducing our taste buds with different tastes and aromas excites
us like anything. Every destination has
a specialty drink that one should try. It’s interesting how every city, region
or small town has a connection to a drink which one should definitely seek out.
Every drink you try will leave you amazed on the combinations, ingredients that
they come up with. This just shows how vibrant is the world, different
cultures, people can put together different cuisine in front of you.
Let’s
have a look at the top drink's country wise:
1. When in California, try the Californian Sparkling Wine
1. When in California, try the Californian Sparkling Wine
Sparkling wine or Champagne is the world’s famous vintage drink. Champagne comes from the grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier are primarily used for making almost all Champagne. However, there is a less sweet version of champagne that is very popular in California and is also called the Brut Champagne or sparkling wine or Californian bubbly. Andre Brut or Andre Champagne as commonly known is a classic that can never go wrong with any meal. This one is famous for a brutish flavor and dry bubbles. It has a fruity flavor of either green apple or sweet lemon and tastes well when mixed with a cocktail too. For a lazy evening at home, California sparkling wine would make a good partner with cooked Quinoa Tesco. Experience the feeling of thousand little bubbles bursting in your mouth.
2. Nothing like a Single Malt Scotch from the Highlands of Scotland
When in Scotland drink Whisky.
Scotland has more than 100 distilleries spread across five whiskey regions.
They get their unique flavor when matured in oak barrels for three years. You
can visit these distilleries, learn how it’s made and taste the different
flavors. The popular Scotch whiskeys are Glen Alba, Highland Park, Tomatin, Old
Pulteney, etc. However, the taste of single malt whiskeys from the Highlands of
Scotland is unparalleled. Take for example a legendary single malt from a
Highland town Aberlour, Macallan 18 that is matured for 18
years minimum has a unique flavor of sherry and bourbon. There is one flavor
for everyone. Taste a few to find which suits your palate.
4. The Greek Ouzo
Ouzo drink is a favorite among Greeks. It is a strong drink taken with cold water in a thin tall glass. Due to its high alcohol and sugar content, it is advisable to take this strong drink slowly and with some Ouzo Mezedes. Mezes are small plates of appetizers in greek like salads, sardines, octopus or calamari. It's customary to have ouzo with a choice of Mezedes. Varvayiannis or Ouzo 12 are the two popular and high-quality brands of ouzo. On your next trip to Greece, the highlight should be enjoying a glass of Ouzu sitting by the seaside.
3. Sangria from Spain
Sangria is Spain’s favorite and is made using red wine and a
punch. You can add a variant of fruits to make a punch like berries, apples,
lemons, pineapple, oranges, etc. Adding this punch to the wine along with
brandy or orange juice gives a sweet flavor to this beverage. The right wine
for a Sangria mix is the dry red wines that are simple, has fruity flavor and
aroma. Older red wines won’t taste appropriate for Sangria.
Ouzo drink is a favorite among Greeks. It is a strong drink taken with cold water in a thin tall glass. Due to its high alcohol and sugar content, it is advisable to take this strong drink slowly and with some Ouzo Mezedes. Mezes are small plates of appetizers in greek like salads, sardines, octopus or calamari. It's customary to have ouzo with a choice of Mezedes. Varvayiannis or Ouzo 12 are the two popular and high-quality brands of ouzo. On your next trip to Greece, the highlight should be enjoying a glass of Ouzu sitting by the seaside.
5. Arak from the beautiful beaches of Bali
Arak is an Arabic word meaning spirit and here it refers to the locally produced alcohol in Indonesia and Malaysia. The locals use distilled coconut palm sap, sugarcane or a mixture of black sticky rice and coconut milk to make this. The alcohol percentage ranges between 30-50 percent and looks similar to rum. You should be careful while trying arak since sometimes it contains Methanol that can cause coma, blindness or death. Try it from a local shop, rather than trying homemade.
Arak is an Arabic word meaning spirit and here it refers to the locally produced alcohol in Indonesia and Malaysia. The locals use distilled coconut palm sap, sugarcane or a mixture of black sticky rice and coconut milk to make this. The alcohol percentage ranges between 30-50 percent and looks similar to rum. You should be careful while trying arak since sometimes it contains Methanol that can cause coma, blindness or death. Try it from a local shop, rather than trying homemade.
6. The British Gin
Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/alcohol-background-citrus-cocktail-616834/This drink is a favorite among many because of the experimentation scope it provides. The core ingredient of Gin is Juniper berries, the distillation of which involves the use of other botanicals like citrus peel, coriander, almond, cinnamon, or licorice with neutral grain alcohol. The classic cocktails like Martinez, Gimlet, Gin Rickey, Vesper, Red Snapper, Singapore Sling, etc are made using gin. Try this drink to enjoy a beautiful burst of flavors of these botanicals in your mouth. Wales has some of the finest distilleries producing Gins.
7. Brennivín on the rocks
Iceland’s version of Gin is Brennivin or Black death produced in Scandinavia. This Icelandic drink is made of fermented mashed potato with caraway seeds. It is made from fermented potato mash and is flavored with caraway seeds along with cumin and angelica.
Iceland’s version of Gin is Brennivin or Black death produced in Scandinavia. This Icelandic drink is made of fermented mashed potato with caraway seeds. It is made from fermented potato mash and is flavored with caraway seeds along with cumin and angelica.
So, next time when you travel to
one of these places, you know what you should not miss. Also, a sweet gesture
for your loved ones would be to take these drinks as souvenirs along with chocolate gifts. Let us know how
many of the above drinks have you tried.
Author’s Bio:
Jessica is a blogger who loves to
write in different verticals. She co-authored Supercharge Organic Traffic: A
popular course focusing on Organic Traffic for E-commerce. Her hobbies are
traveling and reading.