Regional Cocktails To Try Before You Die

If you get a chance over the course of your travels, don’t pass up these can’t-miss regional cocktails.

The caipirinha is Brazil’s national cocktail and is created from a mix of cachaça (a liquor distilled from sugarcane), sugar and lime. It’s super-refreshing and the perfect cocktail to sip on a long summer evening.

Pastis is a French liquer served simply mixed with water. Derived from aniseed, it’s a cousin of absinthe, and particularly popular in Marseilles. The strong drink is meant to be nursed slowly, and is often served before mealtime.

In the United States, one of the most well-known regional cocktails is the mint julep. The signature cocktail of the Kentucky Derby, you can experience it best at one of the many bourbon bars in Louisville.

The national drink of Peru is the pisco sour, created from Peruvian pisco, a South American brandy, plus sugar, lime and egg whites. Peruvians take cocktails seriously — there’s even a museum dedicated to the pisco sour in Cusco.

A newer regional cocktail is the Siam Sunray in Thailand, invented as recently as five years ago. It’s a concoction of vodka, rum, simple syrup, lime, ginger, lemongrass and chili peppers served over ice.

If you’re traveling to South America during the southern hemisphere’s winter, you may come across canelazo. The Andean drink is sweet and served hot, and includes rum, orange, cinnamon, cloves, lime, salt and sugar.

Further north in Oaxaca, Mexico, take a break from the tequila and try out mezcal, a spirit made from a separate breed of agave. Take your shot with a strong stomach — it’s served with salt mixed with ground larvae and pepper.