A national drink is a distinct beverage that is strongly associated with a particular country, and can be part of their national identity and self-image. These drinks can be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Alcoholic national drinks might be spirits consumed straight (like vodka in Russia), but more often, they are mixed drinks (such as caipirinhas in Brazil and Singapore Slings in Singapore), beer, or wine. Non-alcoholic national drinks include Coca-Cola in the United States, boba tea in Taiwan, and Thai iced tea in Thailand.
Several factors can qualify a beverage as a national drink:
Choosing a single national drink can be challenging for some countries due to their diverse cultures and populations, such as Mexico or India. Conversely, some beverages, like pisco sour, are claimed by more than one country—both Peru and Chile, in this case.
Below is a list of national drinks categorized within geo-political regions modified from the United Nations' five "regional groups". This list generally excludes moonshines or illicitly produced alcoholic beverages. [2]
The "beer belt" in Europe includes Belgium, Germany, the UK, and Ireland, whereas the "wine belt" includes the Mediterranean countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece. Several drinks are common and particular to Slavic countries. Vodka is a clear alcoholic beverage made most often by distilling the liquid from fermented cereal grains and potatoes. Countries where vodka is identified as a national beverage have been referred to as the "vodka belt". Kvass is a traditional fermented non-alcoholic beverage commonly made from rye bread and is drunk in many Slavic countries, as well as Latvia and Lithuania. Kompot is another drink that is traditionally popular throughout this region and made by boiling together different fruit including strawberries, apricots, peaches, apples, and raisins in large volume of water and served hot or cold, depending on tradition and season. Fruit brandies are popular in the Balkans, while Brännvin and Akvavit are popular in Scandinavia.
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
Soju is a clear and colorless distilled alcoholic beverage, traditionally made from rice, but later from other grains and has a flavor similar to vodka. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content varies from about 12.5% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV), although since 2007 low alcohol soju below 20% has become more popular.
A mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed.
There is a long history of alcoholic drinks in China. They include rice and grape wine, beer, whisky and various liquors including baijiu, the most-consumed distilled spirit in the world.
Aguardente (Portuguese) or aguardiente (Spanish) is a type of distilled alcoholic spirit that contains between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It is a somewhat generic term that can refer to liquors made from various foods. It originates from and is typically consumed on the Iberian Peninsula and in Iberian America.
Liquor or distilled beverages are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include spirit, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage.
Advocaat or advocatenborrel is a traditional Dutch alcoholic beverage made from eggs, sugar, and brandy. The rich and creamy drink has a smooth, custard-like consistency. The typical alcohol content is generally between 14% and 20% ABV. Its contents may be a blend of egg yolks, aromatic spirits, sugar or honey, brandy, vanilla, and sometimes cream. Notable makers of advocaat include Warninks, Bols, Darna Ovo Liker, DeKuyper, and Verpoorten.
Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It is sometimes spelled arak, or simply referred to as 'rack or 'rak. It is not to be confused with the anise-flavored distilled spirit called arak or araq. In many parts of India arrack is colloquially known as "desi daru".
Korean cuisine has a wide variety of traditional alcoholic drinks, known as sul (술). Many of these drinks end with the Sino-Korean word -ju, and some end with the native Korean word -sul. The Sino-Korean -ju is not used as an independent noun.
Flavored liquors are liquors that have added flavoring and, in some cases, a small amount of added sugar. They are distinct from liqueurs in that liqueurs have a high sugar content and may also contain glycerine.
A beer cocktail is a cocktail that is made by mixing beer with other ingredients or another style of beer. In this type of cocktail, the primary ingredient is usually beer.
Ready to drink packaged beverages are those sold in a prepared form, ready for consumption. Examples include iced tea and alcopops.
Drinks containing alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—with alcohol contents between 3% and 50%.
The Rum Swizzle is probably the most well known swizzled cocktail. It's the national drink of Bermuda and uses Bermuda Rum.
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has generic name (help)Surprisingly little is known for sure about the origin of Taiwan's national drink
It can almost be considered a national drink in Taiwan where it originated and took by storm in the 1980's
Milo Dinosaur's name appears to have originated in Singapore-based Indian-Muslim eateries during the mid-1990s. Labelling a turbo-charged version of ice Milo as Milo Dinosaur may have been a way to riff on Singapore's cinema culture, which during the 1990s was saturated with the exploits of giant reptiles in Jurassic Park and its sequels.
Turkey's national drink isn't just a beverage—it's an experience. A clear anise liquor that turns milky white with water and ice (sometimes referred to as "lion's milk")
Meet raki – otherwise known as Lion's Milk – the Turkish national drink made of twice-distilled grapes and aniseed.
That is what Turkey's often divisive prime minister did late on Friday when he pronounced that the national drink was not beer, nor the aniseed spirit raki – choice tipple of Turkey's founding father – but the non-alcoholic yoghurt drink ayran.
Ayran, which is also known as the non-alcoholic national drink of Turkey, is made of yogurt, water and salt.