A beverage can be considered a national drink for a variety of reasons:
It is a common drink, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be prepared in a distinctive way, such as
mango lassi that uses dahi, a traditional
yogurt or
fermented milk product originating from the
Indian subcontinent.[1]
It contains a particular 'exotic' ingredient that is produced locally.
It has been promoted as a national drink by the country itself.
In some cases, it may be impossible to settle on a national drink for a particular country. In the realm of food at least, it may be impossible to choose a single national dish, even unofficially, for countries such as
Mexico,
China, or
India because of their diverse ethnic populations and cultures. At the other end of the spectrum, and now referring to drinks, sometimes different countries see the same beverage as their national drink (e.g.,
pisco sour in
Peru and
Chile).
The national drinks below are categorized within geo-political regions modified from the United Nations' five "regional groups". This list usually does not include
moonshines or alcoholic beverages produced illicitly.[2]
America
North
Canada: A
Caesar is a
cocktail that originated in
Calgary, and is widely drunk in all parts of Canada. Similar to a
Bloody Mary, it contains vodka, a blend of tomato juice, clam broth, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, and is served with ice in a salt-rimmed glass, typically garnished with a stalk of celery and wedge of lime. What distinguishes the two is that only the Caesar contains clam broth. Calgary officially celebrated an anniversary of its creation and launched a national petition for it to be recognized as the official cocktail of Canada.[3]
United States:Coffee[4] was defiantly adopted as an alternative to British tea in the period leading up to the American Revolution.
Coca-Cola[5] is America's iconic soft drink, with the name of the drink referring to two of its original ingredients:
coca leaves and
kola nuts (a source of
caffeine).
Bourbon (whiskey),[6] named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, is a corn whiskey aged in charred oak barrels. It was proclaimed the U.S. National Spirit by an act of Congress in 1964.
Mexico:Tequila is a liquor distilled from the
blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of
Tequila, of the central western
Mexican state of
Jalisco. In 2018, the Mexican government approved a proposal to celebrate every third Saturday of March as National Tequila Day.[7]Aguas frescas are also quite popular, two notable ones being
Jamaica and
horchata. A
margarita is another notable drink containing tequila.
Brazil:Caipirinha is a well-known cocktail made of cachaça, lime, and sugar,[11][12][13] while guaraná is a fruit native to Brazil, common in several drinks, specially soft drinks.
Curaçao:Curaçao liqueur is traditionally made with the dried peels of the Laraha, which is a bitter orange native to Curaçao.[14] The liqueur is distilled along with sweet fragrant oils, derived from the dried Laraha peels. Following distillation blue or orange colors are added for an exotic appearance.[15]
Haiti:Barbancourt is a
rum produced and bottled in
Haiti by Société du Rhum Barbancourt, one Haiti's oldest companies. It is made by distillation of sugar cane juice rather than the sugar cane by-product
molasses. Fermentation of fresh sugar cane juice is considered to provide a more flavorful product.[16]
Paraguay:Mate is an infusion that is prepared by soaking dried
yerba mate leaves in hot water and served with a metal straw and a hollow
calabash. This is served and shared in the round, making it an integral part of society. Its origin is shared with Argentina and Uruguay.
Carrulim is an alcoholic beverage made from caña blanca paraguaya,
rue, sugar and lemon juice.
Peru:Pisco sour's[13][12][11] name comes from pisco, which is its base liquor, and the cocktail term sour, in reference to sour citrus juice and sweetener components. The drink originated in the city of
Pisco.
Inca Kola, a lemon verbena based soda, is also popular.
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.
Belarus:Byarozavik is a traditional Belarusian drink made from birch sap, achieving widespread popularity in the Soviet Union before undergoing a modern resurgence.
Belgium: Belgium is situated in the “Beer belt” and is known for its beers and breweries. There are over 1,400 kinds of beer and this alcoholic drink is important in Belgian social life. See
Belgian beer culture and
Beer in Belgium.
Bulgaria: Bulgaria considers
Rakia to be its national beverage, as well as the place of origin of this distilled beverage that can be made from fruits like plums and apricots.[17]
Poland:
Vodka is regarded a national beverage as some sources consider it to have originated in Poland, dating back to 15th century.[30] Other distinctive alcoholic drinks feature
bison grass vodka,
krupnik, variety of traditional tinctures (
nalewka) like
piołunówka, along with traditional
Polish meads.
Romania:Țuică, sometimes referred to as "white lightning" due to its clarity and potency, is a plum
fruit brandy, that is distilled in a
brassstill, using traditional fire sources such as wood and charcoal. Țuică is traditionally drunk prior to meals and at celebrations.[33]
Russia:Kvass is a traditional
fermented non-alcoholic beverage commonly made from
rye bread, and while kvass is seen as the national non-alcoholic drink, it is
vodka that most Russians identify as their national alcoholic beverage.[34]
ScotlandScotch is a
whisky that is by law required to be both produced in Scotland and aged in oak barrels for at least three years.[38]Irn-Bru (pronounced "Iron Brew") is a sweet, fruity flavoured, soda with a rusty orange color that has been referred to as the country's "other national drink."[39]
Botswana:Chibuku Shake Shake is a traditional beer that originated in Botswana, and now other African countries manufacture it. Keone Mooka Mageu is a traditional fermented porridge, but it is drunk.
Ginger beer is a favorite non-alcoholic homemade drink which is served at special occasions, like weddings and parties.
Somalia: No official drink, however Shah hawaash (
Cardamom tea), coffee, and
camel milk are popular
South Africa: No official drink but
Beer,
Springbokkie and
Boeber are common.
Umqombothi a traditional Nguni sorghum beer is a popular drink to celebrate special ceremonies, and more recently
rooibos or “bush” tea is referred to as the unofficial national drink.
Sudan: No official drink, however
Roselle tea,
Araqi, Gongolez (baobab drink), Hulu-Murr (spiced
sorghum beverage)[47] and Aradaib (tamarind) are popular
China:Tea has been a vital part of the Chinese culture for thousands of years, and the country is considered to have the earliest records of tea consumption, with possible records dating back to the 10th century BC.[50][51] Depending on different traditional methods in processing the tea leaves, Chinese tea can be classified into at least six distinct categories:
white tea,
yellow tea,
green tea,
oolong tea,
black tea and
post-fermented tea (dark tea).
The Chinese national liquor,
Baijiu (
Chinese: 白酒;
pinyin: báijiǔ;
lit. 'white (clear) liquor') is a
distilled alcoholic beverage made from various types of grains, including
rice,
glutinous rice,
wheat,
barley, and
millet.[52][53]Baijiu was first made 5,000 years ago. Baijiu can be broken down into five main aroma categories: strong, light, sauce (soy, specifically), rice, and mixed.
Macau:Coffee (typically served with condensed milk) and tea[55]
Japan:Green Tea.[56] Tea consumption became popular among the gentry during the 12th century, after the publication of Eisai's Kissa Yōjōki. Uji, with its strategic location near the capital at Kyoto, became Japan's first major tea-producing region during this period. Beginning in the 13th and 14th centuries, Japanese tea culture developed the distinctive features for which it is known today, and the
Japanese tea ceremony emerged as a key component of that culture.
Mongolia: Airag (
Mongolian: айраг[ˈai̯rəɡ])[57] or, in some areas, tsegee is a
fermented dairy product traditionally made from
mare's milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the
Central Asiansteppes, of Huno-Bulgar,
Turkic and Mongol origin:
Kazakhs,
Bashkirs,
Kalmyks,
Kyrgyz,
Mongols, and
Yakuts.[58][59] A 1982 source reported 230,000 horses were kept in the
Soviet Union specifically for producing milk to make into kumis.[60] Rinchingiin Indra, writing about Mongolian dairying, says "it takes considerable skill to milk a mare" and describes the technique: the milker kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire process.[61] In
Mongolia, the milking season for horses traditionally runs between mid-June and early October. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 litres of milk, of which about half is left to the foals.[62]
North Korea: On June 18, 2019,
Kim Jong-un designated Pyongyang Soju, an alcoholic beverage that embodies the "innocent and tender hearts" of the North Korean people as the national beverage of North Korea, according to a state propaganda service.[63]Soju is a clear, colorless distilled beverage of
Korean origin.[64]
Indonesia:
Es teler, a sweet iced concoction created by Murniati Widjaja, who won a competition to come up with a national drink for Indonesia in 1982.[76][77]
Laos:Lao-Lao (
Lao: ເຫລົ້າລາວ) is a
Laotian rice whisky produced in
Laos.[78][79] Along with
Beerlao, lao-Lao is a staple drink in Laos. The name lao-Lao is not the same word repeated twice, but two different words pronounced with different tones: the first,
ເຫລົ້າ, means "alcohol" and is pronounced with a low-falling tone in the standard dialect, while the second,
ລາວ, means Laotian ("Lao") and is pronounced with a high(-rising) tone.
Malaysia:Teh tarik (literally "pulled tea") is a hot
milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and
kopi tiams.[80] Its name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation. It is made from a strong brew of
black tea blended with
condensed milk. It is the national drink of
Malaysia.[81]
Myanmar:
Lahpet yay is brewed from a mix of fermented or pickled tea, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. It is traditionally served hot in Burmese tea houses - open air, bustling, street corner places.[82][83]
Singapore:Kopi is a type of traditional highly caffeinated black
coffee, sometimes served with
milk and/or
sugar. This drink has
Hainanese roots, many of which migrated south to Singapore during the 19th to 20th centuries. It is also otherwise known as
Nanyang coffee. Nanyang means ‘South Sea’ in Mandarin, and usually references to
Southeast Asia.[85] The Singapore coffee is recognized to be culturally significant[86] and part of the everyday diet and lifestyle of many
Singaporeans.[87]
The
Singapore Sling is a gin-based
slingcocktail from Singapore. It was created before 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon (
Chinese: 严崇文;
pinyin: Yán Chóng-Wén), also of Hainanese descent, at the Long Bar in
Raffles Hotel, Singapore, and is considered the national cocktail.
Tiger Beer is considered the national
beer of Singapore.
Thailand:Thai tea is a Thai drink made from tea, milk and sugar, and served hot or cold. It is popular in
Southeast Asia and is served in many restaurants that serve
Thai food.[90] When served cold it is known as Thai iced tea. Another highly popular drink is
Krating Daeng, an energy drink which was first introduced in 1976. In Thai, daeng means red, and a krating is a large species of wild
bovine native to South Asia. Krating Daeng inspired the creation of the Western drink
Red Bull.
Vietnam:Rượu nếp, Vietnamese rice wine, made from glutinous rice that has been fermented with the aid of yeast and steamed in a banana leaf.
South
Bangladesh: Tea (
Bengali: চা,
romanized: Cha) is considered to be the national drink of Bangladesh, with government bodies such as the
Bangladesh Tea Board and the
Bangladesh Tea Research Institute supporting the production, certification, and exportation of the tea trade in the country.[91] Recently, new types of tea, such as the
seven color tea or seven-layer tea, (
Bengali: সাত রং চা,
romanized: Shat Rong Cha) has popped up as a well-known
beverage of the country's
Sylhet Division.[92][93] Romesh Ram Gour invented the seven-layer tea after discovering that different tea leaves have different densities.[94][93] Each layer contrasts in color and taste, ranging from syrupy sweet to spicy clove. The result is an alternating dark/light band pattern throughout the drink, giving the tea its name.
India: Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in India.
Lassi or
Chaas is another yogurt-based drink and can be sweet or salty. Lassi or Chaas is a blend of
yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit like
mango.[96][97] While the
Masala chai is a hot, sweet tea popular throughout the subcontinent and is a combination of brewed
black tea, aromatic
spices, and
herbs, milk and sugar.[98] In southern India, the iconic beverage is
Kaapi, also known as Indian filter coffee, which is made by mixing frothed and boiled milk with coffee brewed through a metal filter.[99] Traditional alcoholic drinks like
toddy and
feni remain popular in various parts of the country[100], along with western-style beers, liquors and wines, with
Kingfisher beer being the most widely-recognized Indian beer brand[101].
Maldives: It can be said that the Maldives have two national drinks. Firstly, due to their history and location near the Indian Subcontinent, sai (tea) is a Maldivian favorite. Secondly, as the Maldives are truly an Island nation, raa (
toddy tapped from palm trees) is also has its place in the national identity of the Maldives. Sometimes raa is left to ferment and is thus slightly alcoholic – the closest any Maldivian gets to alcohol.
Nepal:Raksi[102] is a strong drink, clear like vodka or gin, tasting somewhat like Japanese
sake. It is usually made from kodo
millet (kodo) or rice; different grains produce different flavors.[103] The
Limbus, for whom it is a traditional beverage,[104] drink an enormous amount of
Tongba and raksi served with pieces of pork, water buffalo or goat meat
sekuwa.[105] For the Newars,
aylaa is indispensable during festivals and various religious rituals as
libation, prasad or
sagan.
Australia: Australia has quickly become the premier country in the world for coffee, thanks to the immigration of Italian and Greek migrants after World War II. Coffee has become a dominating factor in Australian culture. An
ABC News article published in 2018 described
lemon, lime, and bitters (LLB) as "Australia's national drink".[112] Lemon, lime, and bitters is a mixed drink made with
(clear) lemonade,
limecordial, and
Angostura bitters. The lemonade is sometimes substituted with
soda water[112] or
lemon squash. It was served as a non-alcoholic alternative to "
Pink Gin" (gin mixed with Angostura bitters).[112] It is often considered to be a non-alcoholic
cocktail (or
mocktail) due to its exceedingly low alcohol content, though some establishments consider it to be alcoholic and will not serve it without
identification or
proof of age.[citation needed]Beer and
wine have also been referred to as the unofficial national drinks of Australia.
Fiji: Most Fijians would say that
Kava is the unofficial national drink of Fiji. Kava (also called "grog" or "yaqona") is drunk at all times of day in both public and private settings. The consumption of the drink is a form of welcome and figures in important socio-political events. Both genders drink kava. Kava is consumed for its
sedating effects throughout the
Pacific Ocean cultures of
Polynesia, including
Hawaii,
Vanuatu,
Melanesia, and some parts of
Micronesia. To a lesser extent, it is consumed in nations where it is exported as an
herbal medicine.
Kiribati:Karewe is a palm wine beverage made from "Toddy" (sap of
certain coconut palms) in Kiribati. It is said that "Every male child in Kiribati is expected to learn climbing and toddy cutting from very early age just as a female child is expected to learn cooking and weaving from very early age".[113][12][13] It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of
Asia,
Africa, the
Caribbean,
South America, and
Micronesia. Karewe production by small landholders and individual farmers may promote conservation as palm trees become a source of regular household income that may economically be worth more than the value of timber sold.[114]
Tonga:Kava is a very important drink in Tonga, and some would also argue that it is their unofficial national drink. In
Tonga, kava is like alcohol and drunk nightly at kalapu (
Tongan for "club"), which is also called a faikava ("to do kava"). Only men are allowed to drink kava, although women who serve it may be present. The female server is usually an unmarried, young woman called "touʻa." In the past, this was a position reserved for women being courted by an unmarried male, and much respect was shown. These days, it is imperative that the touʻa not be related to anyone in the kalapu, and if someone is found to be a relative of the touʻa, he (not the touʻa) will leave the club for that night; otherwise the brother-sister taboo would make it impossible to talk openly, especially about courtship. Foreign girls, especially volunteer workers from overseas are often invited to be a touʻa for a night. If no female touʻa can be found, or it is such a small, very informal gathering, one of the men will do the job of serving the kava root; this is called fakatangata ("all-man").
See Tongan Kava Ceremony for more information.
^Zeder, Melinda A. ed. (2006). Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archaeological Paradigms. University of California Press. p. 264.
ISBN0-520-24638-1. {{
cite book}}: |author= has generic name (
help)
^Steinkraus, Keith H. ed (1995). Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods. Marcel Dekker. p. 304.
ISBN0-8247-9352-8. {{
cite book}}: |author= has generic name (
help)
^Indra, Rinchingiin (2003). "Mongolian Dairy Products". In Dendev Badarch, Raymond A Zilinskas (ed.). Mongolia Today: Science, Culture, Environment and Development. Routledge. p. 74.
ISBN0-7007-1598-3.
^Tai, Gloria.
"Bubble Tea". China Live. Retrieved 11 June 2019. It can almost be considered a national drink in Taiwan where it originated and took by storm in the 1980's
^Martin, Laura C. (2007). Tea: The drink that changed the world. Rutland: Tuttle Publishing. p. 219.
ISBN9780804837248.
^Pakiam, Geoffrey K.
"Milo Dinosaur. The life and times of a Southeast Asian national beverage | IIAS". www.iias.asia. Retrieved 29 October 2021. 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.
^Nadworny, Katie (6 June 2019).
"15 Things to Eat and Drink in Turkey". Fodors Travel Guide. Retrieved 11 June 2019. 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")
^Arditi, Talya (29 December 2015).
"How to drink raki, Turkey's signature drink". CNN Travel. Retrieved 11 June 2019. Meet raki – otherwise known as Lion's Milk – the Turkish national drink made of twice-distilled grapes and aniseed.
^Burch, Jonathon (27 April 2013).
"Turkey's leader hits a nerve over country's "national drink"". Reuters. Retrieved 11 June 2019. 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.
^Kanan, Onur (May 22, 2014).
"Ayran, Turkey's favorite summer drink". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 11 June 2019. Ayran, which is also known as the non-alcoholic national drink of Turkey, is made of yogurt, water and salt.