Drinking in the World

Drinking in the World

My favourite, and not-so-favourite cocktails from around the globe.

Pisco Sour
Peru/Chile

Peru and Chile have long battled over who owns the Pisco Sour, but regardless of its origins, anyone who gets the chance to enjoy it is a winner. The cocktail is made from the clear distilled grape brandy pisco, blended with fresh lemon or lime, egg whites, syrup or sugar, and a dash of bitters.   It’s refreshing yet a little sour, much like a margarita, and served in a short whiskey glass, any time of day.  The Pisco Sour is the national drink of Peru, who claim that Chile stole the recipe from them during a war in the 1800’s.   That being said, the best Pisco Sour I had was in Santiago, from a homemade Chilean recipe.  Perhaps it’s time both countries sit down and discuss the issue over a cocktail.  ​

Raki
Albania/Turkey

In many parts of the world, locals forego major liquor brands for their own homemade moonshine. Such is the case with raki in Albania.   Raki is also found in Turkey, and known as arak in North Africa and the Middle East.  Every year in Albania,  there are cases of people going blind, or even losing their lives after consuming a particular nasty batch of raki, which is distilled from grapes and flavoured with aniseed.  Not that you’ll be able to taste much, as this traditional aperitif disintegrates everything it touches in your mouth and throat.   In Albania, homemade raki served in a glass decanter made my mouth burn and my nose run, but fortunately, left my eyesight in tact.

Saperavi Wine
Georgia

Georgians don’t know which came first: Wine, or the people to drink it.   Archaeologists have discovered traces of wine in jars that date back 8000 years, implying that tiny Georgia, bordered by Turkey, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, is the birthplace of wine the world over. The country has 200 endemic species of grape, producing many types of wine that are found nowhere else.   Toastmasting is a proud tradition, as is the cultivation and production of wine in underground casks that date back generations.    Saperavi is its most famous red wine, along with the white Rkatsitelli.   Both are sweet, almost dessert-like wines, high in sugar and alcohol.    At a traditional dinner, I watch four men pour out their lauded toasts, draining at least a dozen bottles without tipping over.  France and Italy may make the finest wine, but little known Georgia lives and breathes it. ​

Mampoer
South Africa ​

Legend has it that the powerfully strong mampoer is an able substitute should you run out of battery acid.   Known as a type of peach brandy, mampoer can be made from any fruit, including apricots, plums, figs, prickly pear, pineapples and marula.   Its origins go back to the Dutch settlers of South Africa, who allowed soft, sweet fruit to rot in barrels for three weeks, before boiling it up a couple times to distil the alcohol from the mash.   Mampoer, which is still made by many farmers in South Africa, has an alcohol volume between 60 to 80%.    No word on whether they use it to power their tractors.

Tequila
Mexico

A drink can only be called tequila if it is produced in the region of Jalisco, in and around the town of Tequila itself.     Mexico’s national drink has its roots with the Aztecs, who produced a fermented drink called pulque from the agave plant.   When Spanish conquistadors ran dry of their imported liquor, they adopted the native drink to produce mescal, the name still given to a variety of liquor produced from the agave.   Tequila is a type of mescal produced only in one region, refined, and perfected, much like cognac is to brandy.   Jose Cuervo began production in 1795, and its La Rojena distillery is still in operation today, the oldest in Latin America.   Here you can see how tequila is made,  learn about its correct consumption (sipped, never shot), and drink from the family’s private cellar, where the smooth, rich sample has the fragrance of tequila, but goes down like liquid velvet.

​Fermented Horse Milk
Mongolia

The chief of the nomadic tribe calls me into his traditional circular ger tent.   It’s pretty spacious considering it can be dismantled and packed onto horses in just a couple hours.  On the walls, made of fabric, are pictures of famous Mongolian wrestlers, embroidery, and cracked mirrors.  We sit at a table, and from a porcelain jug, he pours into a small wooden cup  some of his most treasured elixir.   I smile, maintaining eye contact, and bring the cup to my mouth.  A sour odour reaches my nose, the eye-watering stench of ammonia.   The liquid touches my lips, burns, the tartness stretching my tongue and forcing a muffled gag reflex.  I shoot it back, closing my eyes, somehow keeping it down.  I regain focus, breathe out a noxious gas, and silently congratulate myself.   The chief is so impressed, he immediately pours me another cup. ​

Soju
South Korea

There’s nothing quite like seeing South Korean businessmen on a soju binge.   This vodka-like drink, produced from rice or other starches like potato or wheat, is poured into a shot glass, and after a toast, consumed in one gulp.   Etiquette dictates that you must not fill your own glass, that it must be held with one or two hands depending on status, and poured and received in a particular manner too.  With all the rules, dating back to the 1300’s, it’s odd to see basic courtesy go out the window as the soju takes hold, and men descend into a state of alcoholic madness.   I saw suits and ties passed out in the bushes on Seoul, or carried unconscious over the shoulder by colleagues, all on a weeknight!   Korea’a Alcohol and Liquor Industry reckons each Korean adult drinks more than 90 bottles of soju a year, where it is viewed as a positive energy source for the country. ​