History UsefulNotes / NationalDrinks

*** In the area around UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, Yuengling Traditional amber lager is king. If you ask for "a lager" you'll get Yuengling Traditional (possibly after being queried "bottle or draft?"). The current formulation dates from 1987, but it's based on a pre-Prohibition recipe that's a reasonable facsimile of what the brewery was making in the late 19th century.[[note]]While Yuengling as a brewery dates from 1829, it was definitely not making amber lager when it opened; that beer style was not even invented until the 1830s, when it first showed up in Vienna. However, amber lagers were the most popular German/Central European beer style by the end of the 19th century, so it's unimaginable that Yuengling wasn't making it before Prohibition.[[/note]] Yuengling does produce a pale lager (marketed as Yuengling Premium), but Philly bars often don't stock it.

** As regards hot drinks, most Germans prefer coffee (German coffee madness goes back at least to the early 18th century, when [[Music/JohannSebastianBach J. S. Bach]] wrote [[Music/SchweigtStillePlaudertNicht a humorous cantata on the subject]] and UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat became a huge fan), except in [[UsefulNotes/TeaAndTeaCulture tea-addicted East Frisia]] (where they drink it in an extremely weird fashion, adding rock sugar and cream and then ''not'' stirring, to get a layered effect), although many of those Germans who do drink tea like to think of themselves as better ''connoisseurs'' of tea than, e.g., Britons. Germans stereotypically consider American coffee weak (as shown in a running gag in the Percy Adlon film ''Out of Rosenheim'' aka ''Bagdad Café''), though not as weak as the "legendary" ''Bliemchenkaffee''[[note]] "Little-flower coffee"; the name refers to the urban legend that Saxon coffee is so thin that you can see the little flowers at the bottom of the Meissen china cup even when it is full. According to another urban legend you prepare it using one coffee-bean per cup plus one for the pot.[[/note]] of Saxony. In North Frisia (which is situated to the north-east of East Frisia) they sometimes like to drink ''Pharisäer'', coffee with sugar and a shot of rum covered with a layer of cream, which allegedly serves to hide the smell of the rum. The more recent fad for latte macchiato among German yuppies caused amusement in the drink's native Italy; there latte macchiato is considered something you give to children too young to drink proper coffee. Hot chocolate is also very popular, especially in winter.

** Germany is also well known for various types of spirits, usually clear. The simplest of these is ''Korn'': distilled from grain, and a bit like vodkao , but it's less thoroughly filtered so you can taste the grain it came from. ''Apfelkorn'' is much the same but from grain and apples. ''Kümmel'' is a liqueur, generally distilled from grain and flavored with caraway, cumin, and fennel, so one might think of it as a distant relative of gin. ''Kirsch'' is a clear brandy, distilled from cherries and famously necessary for a true ''[[HollywoodCuisine Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte]]'';[[note]]Black Forest gâteau/cake; and yes, it's required. By law. This is Germany, remember?[[/note]] darker brandy (''Weinbrand'') is more of an upscale drink. Sweet liqueurs of more unusual colours are traditionally associated with (tippling) older women. ''Jägermeister'' has of course been successfully exported.

* An 18th-century Englishman down on his luck will have gin. Beer-swilling Middle Englishmen look upon him with disdain - gin was an extremely cheap and plentiful liquor, effectively the malt liquor/rock cocaine of its time and place. (Also lasts into the 19th and early 20th centuries, if Alfred Doolittle in ''Theatre/MyFairLady'' is any indication.)

* An 18th-century Englishman down on his luck will have gin. Beer-swilling Middle Englishmen look upon him with disdain - gin was an extremely cheap and plentiful liquor, effectively the malt liquor/rock cocaine of its time and place.

** One of the earliest New Orleans drinks is the Ramos gin fizz, made of gin, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar, egg white, soda water, and cream. Yes, cream. The gin, juice, sugar, eggs, and cream are shaken together and poured into a Collins glass so the egg white forms a foam thick enough to stand a straw in, the soda water is poured in until the foam rises to half an inch or more above the top of the glass, and the whole affair is then topped with orange flower water to mask the "wet dog" smell of egg white. 19th-century New Orlineans drank this at breakfast.

** Speaking of lager, beer is a pretty much the standard alcoholic drink nationwide. Due to the aforementioned German influence, most commercial beers in Mexico are lagers, usually of the pale variety (although amber and dark lagers are common too, like Negra Modelo or the beloved Nochebuena, a Bock which is only available during late Fall and Winter, as a staple Christmas beer). The most famous of these worldwide is Corona, but there are many other brandsthat share its popularity inside Mexico.

** Accurate portrayals will always show normal Russians (i.e. not hopeless drunks and hobos) drinking vodka socially and with food. The traditional way to drink vodka is in small shots, with friends, while nibbling on snacks (preferably a nice variety). The neutral flavor of the vodka first accentuates the taste of the food, then cleans the palate. The vodka isn't for sipping, but you're not supposed to take so many shots you get uncontrollably drunk. (The Chinese drink their ''baijiu'' the same way.)

** Similar to pisco is singani, a brandy made in the high valleys of UsefulNotes/{{Bolivia}}. One of the few points of agreement between Chileans and Peruvians is that singani is ''not'' pisco. Fortunately for all involved, Bolivians largely agree and are mostly content to watch their neighbors fight with amusement. (Note: Creator/StevenSoderbergh became a fan of the stuff while filming ''Film/{{Che}}'' and has spent over a decade trying to get it to catch on in North America; Bolivians wish him luck, but so far not much success.)

** Similar to pisco is singani, a brandy made in the high valleys of UsefulNotes/{{Bolivia}}. One of the few points of agreement between Chileans and Peruvians is that singani is ''not'' pisco. Fortunately for all involved, Bolivians largely agree and are mostly content to watch their neighbors fight with amusement.

** Tiny Washington Island, Wisconsin, a rural tourist area off the tip of the Door Peninsula jutting into Lake Michigan, is one of the world's largest consumers of Angostura bitters (if not the largest).[[note]]For those not in the know, Angostura bitters are the canonical bartender's bitters, produced by the House of Angostura, a distillery originally from the city of Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar) in eastern UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} but whose producers packed up and moved to British-controlled Trinidad in 1876. It contains a very, well, bitter mix of herbs and spices; the exact recipe is unclear, but it's generally accepted that it includes gentian root (because they've all but admitted it) and cinnamon (because anyone who pays attention to these things can taste it in there).[[/note]] Why? The people there take ''shots'' of the stuff. Please note: "Ango" is widely considered to be so bitter as to be non-potable if drunk in greater concentrations than a few ''dashes'' (i.e. a few milliliters) in a full-size drink. The reason here is that during Prohibition, the enterprising local barkeep realized that bitters were considered "medicinal" and were thus legal to buy, own, and sell even though they had about as much alcohol by volume as a strong whiskey. He promptly began to sell shots of the stuff, and it became a tradition that never went away even after Prohibition did.

** Tiny Washington Island, Wisconsin, a rural tourist area off the tip of the Door Peninsula jutting into Lake Michigan, is one of the world's largest consumers of Angostura bitters (if not the largest). Why? The people there take ''shots'' of the stuff. Please note: "Ango" is widely considered to be so bitter as to be non-potable if drunk in greater concentrations than a few ''dashes'' (i.e. a few milliliters) in a full-size drink. The reason here is that during Prohibition, the enterprising local barkeep realized that bitters were considered "medicinal" and were thus legal to buy, own, and sell even though they had about as much alcohol by volume as a strong whiskey. He promptly began to sell shots of the stuff, and it became a tradition that never went away even after Prohibition did.

** UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} is mostly a beer city (its traditional mass-market lager is Old Style, and it's home to a respectable craft brew scene), but it is also noted for its one distinctive liquor: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeppson%27s_Mal%C3%B6rt Jeppson's Malört]]. "Malört" (as it's commonly called) is at least nominally a brand of bäsk, a kind of Swedish-style akvavit (spirit with botanicals) that is specifically flavored with wormwood and supposed to go well with heavy, fatty Swedish food. However, malört is by practically universal acclamation the most foul-tasting liquor available in North America, if not the world, that goes with nothing except sadness and is really just a practical joke Chicago is playing on the rest of the country. Attempts to drink it with heavy, fatty food (Swedish or otherwise) like traditional Swedish bäsk still do the stuff no favors; the flavor is just that awful. Nevertheless, the "Chicago handshake"--a shot of Malört with an Old Style to chase--is widely advertised at Windy City bars.

*** In Texas, regional brewery Shiner's most famous product is a bock--which it has produced (except for Prohibition) since 1913. (Lone Star is more popular, but it's a standard pale lager.)

** Finally, cider is a well-known drink of Asturias.

*** One class of ''digestivi'' with international following are the ''amari'', bitter liqueurs. While most commonly drunk neat or over ice like ''digestivi'' both inside and outside Italy, a few, like Fernet, are also used in cocktails (most famously Fernet and Cola, more or less the national cocktail of Argentina). Using ''amari'' in cocktails is a hallmark of the 21st-century craft cocktail renaissance (for instance, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Plane_(cocktail) Paper Plane]],[[note]]Yes, it's named after the Music/{{MIA}} track[[/note]] a modern classic, calls for both Aperol and the obscure Amaro Nonino).

*** ''Aperitivi'' get a lot of press because of their important role in classic cocktails. Vermouth (an aromatized fortified wine with sweet red and dry white varieties) is a bartending staple; they are workhorses of the cocktail world. The most famous vermouth cocktails are probably the Manhattan (whiskey+sweet vermouth+bitters) and the Martini (gin or vodka+dry vermouth). The powerfully bitter Campari is also common, most famously used in Negronis (which also feature sweet vermouth), but may also be drunk with soda. Aperol, basically a less-bitter Campari, is used in summer drinks like spritzes. The drinks featuring vermouth were typically invented outside Italy (late 19th-century Italy exported vermouth as a drink unto itself, and foreign barkeeps--especially Americans--decided it tasted good with Anglo spirits like whiskey and gin); the ones featuring other ''aperitivi'' were most often invented in Italy itself (the Negroni and the Aperol spritz are both pure Italian), though some have variants invented abroad (the Boulevardier, basically a Negroni with whiskey substituted for gin, was invented in Paris by an American bartender).

** Curiously, asking for French Cognac is usually the sign of being rich; sophistication is more often suggested by choosing a Georgian or Armenian brandy. These are usually called ''konyak'' in the region, following some 19th-century confusion.[[note]]To simplify greatly, merchants in the Russian Empire didn't fully digest that "Cognac" was the name of a French region and assumed they could just use the name to mean "good brandy". Good brandy from the Caucasus was therefore marketed with the name "konyak", which the French couldn't really protest about at the time because their system of geographical indications had not yet been fully codified.[[/note]] The reputation for sophistication may have something to do with the fact that the Caucasus ''konyak'', while at least arguably every bit as good as the French stuff (''de gustibus non est disputandum'') is definitely always ''cheaper'' for comparable levels of quality thanks to both lower transport and labor costs and the absence of the "it's French cognac so it must be better" global snob premium. (Even in the far-off U.S., you can generally get a bottle of 5-year-old Ararat Armenian brandy[[note]]The cheapest stuff exported outside the old Eastern Bloc[[/note]] for less than a bottle of VS[[note]]2-year-old[[/note]] cognac from a decent distillery.)

* A [[TheTeetotaler teetotaler]] will drink a Long Island iced tea -- typically after being [[UnsuspectinglySoused convinced by his friends that it's a nonalcoholic drink]]. HilarityEnsues.

** In real life, most bartenders ''hate'' Long Island iced teas and judge people who order them; the general stereotype is that people who order them are cheapasses who want to get fucked up for as little money as possible, tip poorly (or not at all), can't hold their liquor, and will do something to get themselves cut off or thrown out well before the night is over. In short, it's viewed as a trashy drink for trashier people. (General exception: Bars in college towns are generally more forgiving for LIIT customers, since while college students are generally trying to get as fucked up as possible for as little money possible, this is accepted to be because they're broke, not cheap.)

* As for hot drinks, [[UsefulNotes/TeaAndTeaCulture tea rules the day]] almost to the same extent as in [[ASpotOfTea Britain]]. Russian (and other post-Soviet) tea is unique in the manner of its preparation; a certain amount of highly concentrated tea known as ''zavarka'' will be prepared ahead of time and left on low heat to keep warm, and when someone wants a cup they'll mix ''zavarka'' with hot water according to their desired strength and then sweeten to taste.[[note]]The Turks and Iranians have somewhat similar methods, but they don't really come close.[[/note]] In fiction, especially Western fiction, this tea is often drunk in elaborate ritual around the iconic ''samovar'', with tons of pastries, and jams, and preserves. The latter is more or less TruthInTelevision, especially in communal setting, but the samovar has mostly died out, the remaining being broken out only for the most important gatherings, as did the oft-depicted way of drinking it from the saucer with a piece of sugar or fruit preserve held in the mouth — anyway, it was only characteristic of the old merchant classes of the UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia; if a modern Russian tries to tell you that's the way to do it, they're trolling. In modern days it usually comes from the stovetop or electric teapot, or, in the eastern parts of the country, from the dedicated hot water dispenser, a custom imported from Japan and China, and, arguably, the second coming of the samovar.

* Milk tea is pretty prevalent in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, especially ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong-style_milk_tea#Production "silk stocking" milk tea]]'' in Hong Kong, often paired with egg tart as a meal. For teenagers it would often be soda or bubble tea, especially in Taiwan.
** Lemon tea is also quite prevalent in Hong Kong. Older HKers prefer yuenyeung, which is basically coffee mixed with milk tea. Both drinks can be found in ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_chaan_teng cha chaan teng]]'', and commercial versions of lemon tea do exist (the most well known being 'Vita Lemon Tea', or VLT for short).

* Does a New Englander not want coffee? If so, it's probably something from Polar Beverages; any number of their seltzers will usually suffice, but if they want something sweeter, an Orange, Pink Grapefruit, or Cranberry Dry or one of their other sodas will serve that purpose just as well.

** UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} is mostly a beer city (its traditional mass-market lager is Old Style, and it's home to a respectable craft brew scene), but it is also noted for its one distinctive liquor: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeppson%27s_Mal%C3%B6rt Jeppson's Malört]]. "Malört" (as it's commonly called) is at least nominally a brand of bäsk, a kind of Swedish-style akvavit (spirit with botanicals) that is specifically flavored with wormwood and supposed to go well with heavy, fatty Swedish food. However, malört is by practically universal acclamation the most foul-tasting liquor available in North America, if not the world, that goes with nothing except sadness and is really just a practical joke Chicago is playing on the rest of the country. Attempts to eat it with heavy, fatty food (Swedish or otherwise) still do the stuff no favors; the flavor is just that awful. Nevertheless, the "Chicago handshake"--a shot of Malört with an Old Style to chase--is widely advertised at Windy City bars.

** UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} is mostly a beer city (its traditional mass-market lager is Old Style, and it's home to a respectable craft brew scene), but it is also noted for its one distinctive liquor: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeppson%27s_Mal%C3%B6rt Jeppson's Malört]]. "Malört" (as it's commonly called) is at least nominally a brand of bäsk, a kind of Swedish-style akvavit (spirit with botanicals) that is specifically flavored with wormwood and supposed to go well with heavy, fatty Swedish food. However, malört is by practically universal acclamation the most foul-tasting liquor available in North America, if not the world, that goes with nothing except sadness and is really just a practical joke Chicago is playing on the rest of the country. Nevertheless, the "Chicago handshake"--a shot of Malört with an Old Style to chase--is widely advertised at Windy City bars.

* A ''sophisticated'' Brit (read: Film/JamesBond) will order a vodka martini -- [[TuxedoAndMartini shaken, not stirred]], and the drier [[note]]Meaning as little vermouth as possible[[/note]] the better. As far as normal (gin) martinis go, Winston Churchill found it necessary only to gaze at the vermouth bottle from across the room while drinking straight gin and Noël Coward stated his gin should be "waved in the direction of Italy". A ''truly'' sophisticated Brit will order the martini stirred, ''not'' shaken, and, if asked, will explain that shaking bruises the gin.[[note]]The ins and outs of shaken vs. stirred are the subject of interminable debate, but the issues boil down to this: (1) In general, martinis should be stirred. The charm of the martini is that it is perfectly clear, but incredibly flavorful (and alcoholic). Shaking ruins the clarity by aerating the drink and damages the flavor (and booziness) by diluting it; stirring barely aerates the drink, and the dilution is also much less. The extra bubbles also muck with the clean mouthfeel connoisseurs expect from a spirit-forward cocktail with no citrus or other cloudy ingredients. (2) James Bond did not give a damn about this, but for two good reasons: (a) Bond drank vodka martinis, and drank them during the early Cold War. At that point, vodka was most commonly made from potatoes, and potato vodka commonly develops an unsightly oily film that stirring does not disrupt; only shaking would break up the oil. (b) Bond wanted his drink as cold as possible. Conventional wisdom is that shaking gets a colder (if somewhat weaker) drink; while an ''Esquire'' study claims to show that stirring gives a colder drink, its methods are questionable (and most bartenders would vehemently disagree with its result) and (more to the point) there was no way Bond would've known about it in the 1950s and 60s. (3) That being said, the traditional line about "bruising the gin" is codswollop; shaking doesn't damage the flavour of gin very much if at all, as evidenced by the large number of gin cocktails that are shaken, including such classics as the Gimlet, the Aviation, the Clover Club, and the Singapore Sling. The issue is--again--that in a clear, spirit-forward drink like the Martini, shaking aerates the drink, creating unwanted cloudiness and giving the drink an unsettling mouthfeel.[[/note]] If it's summer, the sophisticate may prefer Gin & Tonic or a jug of Pimm's to go 'round.

** Curiously, asking for French Cognac is usually the sign of being rich; sophistication is more often suggested by choosing a Georgian or Armenian brandy. These are usually called ''konyak'' in the region, following some 19th-century confusion. The reputation for sophistication may have something to do with the fact that the Caucasus ''konyak'', while at least arguably every bit as good as the French stuff (''de gustibus non est disputandum'') is definitely always ''cheaper'' for comparable levels of quality thanks to both lower transport and labor costs and the absence of the "it's French cognac so it must be better" global snob premium. (Even in the far-off U.S., you can generally get a bottle of 5-year-old Ararat Armenian brandy[[note]]The cheapest stuff exported outside the old Eastern Bloc[[/note]] for less than a bottle of VS[[note]]2-year-old[[/note]] cognac from a decent distillery.)

* In the UK, thanks in large part to the massively profitable global broadcasting deals negotiated by the English Premier League (the top division of English Football), and to the global merchandising potential of various clubs making it both financially viable and fashionable for the super-rich to own a football club, the entire league has money to burn. As a result, Premiership footballers earn an average of £50,000 per ''week'', and often wildly in excess of that, with the very richest being paid over ''£300,000'' per week - and that's ''before'' performance or appearance related bonuses, much less sponsorship agreements, endorsements, and other non-playing related sources of income. Thanks to so-called 'parachute payments' for relegated clubs (paid over the following couple of years, and intended to help them adjust to the disparity in annual earnings between the Premier League and the second division), similar salaries are found in the richer clubs of the second division as well. As a result, players have money to burn, and since they're often very suddenly catapulted from often working class backgrounds to national (even global) fame and immense fortune in their late teens/early 20s, they do. Spectacularly. Accordingly, their "Check out my money" drink of choice seems to be Cristal champagne, at £200 a bottle. Mixed with Diet Coke. Ugh.

** As for the non-alcoholic stuff, Israelis MustHaveCaffeine, so nearly every Israeli has a jones for the java. Instant coffee is widespread (commonly referred to as ''nescafe'' or just ''nes''), but coffeehouse culture is huge in Israel. The combination of Middle Eastern coffeehouse culture with the introduction of Viennese coffeehouse culture from Central European refugees in the '30s might have something to do with that. Consequently, in big cities you will find cafes all over, and people will linger for hours, drinking black coffee with cardamom, playing ''shesh-besh'' (backgammon) or chess. Tea is also widely available, and more popular with Russian immigrants. Herbal teas are also popular. As for cold stuff, ''limonana'' (a mint-lemon drink) is popular, as is its variant ''rimonana'' (pomegranate-mint).