Drinking Culture

Hey guys,

For the past two years I've been living and working in Central and Eastern Europe. I'm back in the US temporarily and as now is as good a time as any, I'm working on making my travel website better-er and more super. The other day I wrote a post on what and how people drink in Central Europe. Palinka? Slivovica? And it turned out to be really fun to write. What can I say? I like alcohol, even when I'm only writing about it. So now I have a question for everyone on the Bootsnall forums (cuz you're all the BEST.) Among your travels, what are the strangest drinking customs or alcohols that you've experienced? I've only been to Europe, so my experience is fairly limited, but I'm super interested to know what the rest of the world does with their fermented beverages. Do they drink in the morning? Do they say it's medicinal? Do women drink as well as the men? Is it taboo for children to drink? What do they drink, and how is it prepared? All these burning questions I have. I love stories about drinking!

And if you want to read my post, it'd make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I started to describe some of the Japanese alcoholic drinks, but I decided to google first. I'm glad I did, because someone beat me to the punch. No pun intended.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2037.html

Men drink in public more than women, but women do too, especially younger women (20's and 30's) and in big cities. It's common to go out drinking with the people you work with, especially in December when companies have bonenkai (forget the year, or year-end) parties.

I spent a few weeks in the Algarve of southern Portugal, waiting for my cat to get his papers sorted. There was only one place in walking distance to get a coffee in the morning. About half of the patrons got beer, and a few got shots of some clear liquid from an unlabeled bottle that resided below the bar. This was all at six or so in the morning--before they got onto their motorcyles in the pre-dawn darkness and sped off to work.

What is with the early-morning drinking! I was working at a hostel in a village in Slovakia and when I'd go to the shop to buy breakfast supplies for the hostel all the local workmen would be in there buying a beer and a shot (they apparently come in single-serving packages in this part of the world.) At first I thought they were buying them for lunchtime, until the cashier lady popped the beer tops off for them.

If I drink in the morning, the rest of the day is going to be full of non-achievement...at best. At worst, I end up in a corner covered in orange paint and yelling about vodka buckets. By noon. When the Slovakian villagers get drunk in the morning all they do is mow crooked lines in the lawn and try to teach me Slovak.

I just remembered another thing. When I was in Budapest, more than a few times I saw bus drivers get off the bus for shots of palinka at bars with sidewalk-service windows. It made me feel less bad about never figuring out how to pay for public transit there.

Speaking of bus drivers, after my stroke my doctor, in Ontario Canada, had to fill out some forms for the Ministry of Transportation, one question was how much do you drink? Answered truthfully, around a dozen a week.

Received a letter in return claiming I must be an alcoholic so would be denied a bus license. DUH!!

New doc said come back in a week without drinking & we will take a blood test. No alcohol in blood = not alcoholic = no more hassle from mindless simple serpents.

If a dozen drinks a week makes you an alcoholic, I am super screwed. A dozen drinks a night is not out of my league, especially when I am in eastern Europe.

Whisky etiquette in Scotland:

Whoever the bottle of whisky belongs to, pours.

A dram is usually one or two ounces, though it can be more, especially if the pourer and the pour-ee are close friends.

It's acceptable to add a little bit of water to a dram, as this helps release the flavor. However, it is a serious faux pas to mix Coke or anything of that ilk with good whisky.

And finally, Scotch whisky is meant to be SAVORED, not drunk like a shot.

My friend has been teaching english in Wuhan and he learned from a local how they make medicinal alcohol. He puts nuts and some other things in a jug to give flavor to a raw alcohol. Not sure what he mixes, but it was good.

I really miss Europe though, for the ability to drink all day long and not feel bad about it.

Cachaça in Brazil is a type super sweet clear rum. A major difference I wasn't used to was that although served in a shot glass, its a serious no-go to shoot it like you would in North America or Europe. It is strictly for sipping. I caused a lot of laughs and exclamations about over-enthusiastic Americans (well, those were the polite ones anyway) when I got my first shot glass of it. A lot of bars will have big jars of it sitting out full of different fruit soaking. Not only does the liquor take on a faint but pleasant hint of the flavor, the piece of fruit gets a seriously powerful kick! Caipirinha is the main drink made using cachaça its mixed with sugar, club soda, lime juice, and sometimes kiwi or strawberry. Delicious!

When drinking socially in Brazil, its customary to get large 24 or 40 oz beer bottles that are passed around the table, filling small beer cups of everyone at the table. Each person buys a bottle in turn, ensuring a good time for everyone! Brahma beer is the standard there, much like Budweiser in the US, but with more like a heavier Corona. Delicious!

P.S - I have found that unless you are in a Brazilian neighborhood (not a lot of those) or a particularly authentic Brazilian restaurant, Caipirinha is IMPOSSIBLE to find done right in the USA. This is even despite the popularity of all rum bars, who will proudly display 2 or 3 brands of cachaça but the bartender will have no clue on caipirinha. Cachaça, luckily, is sold at liquor stores with a larger selection, my favorite that is available in the US is Leblon.

I was shocked when I first went to Vienna and saw a bunch of builders knock back a beer for lunch then proceed to climb back up a building and work! I would fall off

The drinking culture in Lisbon really stood out to me as being rather great. Wine, cocktails and beer are all pretty much fair game. It's the attitude of the locals that really contrasts with a lot of other places. People go out for drinks, both young and old, and street drinking is completely fine. Despite this, there's never any aggression or bad vibes - everyone is just having a genuinely great time. It's really enjoyable.

Aside from the typical wine-drinking in Italy, one of their famous strong alcoholic beverages is grappa, a type of brandy made from grape pomace. It's nice to see that even after Italians have made wine, they use the leftovers to make yet another type of alcohol. I personally find it too strong, and that's coming from a Russian accustomed to vodka!

In Spain (and many other European countries), the drinking culture is quite different from that of the US. The drinking age is lower (either 16 or 18) and the bartenders are not that strict either. I was used to the american mentality of --the purpose of alcohol is to get drunk. And I believe that our laws and some influential figure's agendas are counterproductive are major contributing factors of this distorted mentality. However, during my stay in Spain, my view of alcohol totally changed because I saw how much more logical and healthy the drinking culture in Spain (and France, I went there too) is. It's also very relaxing and a great way to socialize. Just drink a beer during lunch time (especially in the summer when it is so hot). Sangria is really good. Have wine or beer with tapas. Nothing else goes with tapas as well. So, if it's your first time going to Spain or another south European country, don't make a fool of yourself by getting extremely drunk at a tapas place or bar...