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How The World Drinks Spirits

Here are 20 ideas on how to connect with your global neighbours through liquor! Explore a score of national spirits from around world in the infographic below.

And be sure to take plenty of water with it! (Where culturally appropriate).

Vodka, for example, is widely consumed in the west, but as often as not it comes with a mixer and is drunk to get the night started (or to bring it to a sensational and clumsy end). Not so in Russia, one of the spirit’s home nations, where it is more frequently taken neat with zakuski – little plates of mixed food. Maybe that’s the safest option if you’re ‘researching’ in the early afternoon.

A lesser-known tipple would be the grape-based pisco, the national drink of Peru and Chile. So delicious is this little number, that no less a cultural tourist than Rudyard Kipling speculated that it must be made from the shavings of cherub wings. Amen!

If you’re wary that it may be getting all too decadent, a more responsible option might be the fruit brandy that Bosnians and those of the wider region know as rakija. Bosnians swear by the supposed medicinal properties of the drink, which is said to be beneficial against toothache, the flu, or pretty much whatever ails you. But who are we kidding – it is also very commonly used to get the night started (or bring it to a sensational and clumsy end).

Source: www.togetherweek.com