In neighboring countries there is plenty to drink and to snack on
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), among the most drinking countries in the world, the top places of the "alcohol rating" are occupied by European states. And this is not surprising, given what delicious alcoholic drinks they know how to make there. So, get your glasses ready – and we will go through the national drinks of the most drinking countries in the world.
In Belarus, which took first place in the list of the most drinking countries in the world, they produce sbiten, Vilnius home beer, and all sorts of variations of tinctures: on cranberries, currants, black chokeberries, and even mint. And here they also drink krambambula – a tincture on honey and spices, which is served cold and hot.
In Moldova, it is customary to distinguish three main strong drinks: țuică (this is a plum, apricot, or pear tincture), the Moldovan analogue of cognac, and, of course, local wine. Vodka and wine in Moldova are produced both at home and industrially, while cognac is made only in factories.
In Lithuania, which took second place in the "alcohol rating", they can treat you to honey balsam. Known to all locals, in strength it can compete only with absinthe – 75 proof. The liqueur includes juniper berries and cranberry juice, which is infused on linden flowers.
Another drink from the Baltic region is a tincture consisting of 27 ingredients, including ginger root, black pepper, orange peel, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and much more.
In the Balkans, many wines are produced, but they mainly drink rakia (a strong alcoholic drink with an alcohol content of 40-60 proof). In each region of the Balkan countries, it is prepared in its own way, and depending on the key ingredient, various types of the drink can be distinguished. For example, there is "slivovitz", which, it is easy to guess, is made from plums, "muscatova" from grapes, "kaysieva" from apricots, and "smokinova" from figs. Rakia is drunk both chilled and heated, with cloves, cinnamon, and orange zest.
Medovukha, spotykach, varenukha – these are the names of strong tinctures that are drunk in Ukraine instead of vodka (or horilka). The tincture called spotykach appeared back in the 18th century, it is made with vodka and spices. Varenukha has been known since the 16th century. There are many recipes for making varenukha, so it is difficult to name the proportional amount of ingredients.
Speaking of Hungary, we can recall two drinks. First of all, this is a herbal liqueur, produced for over 200 years according to a secret recipe that is passed down from generation to generation (we only know that the drink contains at least four dozen herbs, and the raw material is aged in oak barrels). The second is Tokaji white dessert wine, which is produced in the vineyards of the Tokaj-Hegyalja region. The town of Tokaj itself is popularly called "multi-story" because of the "floors" going underground – these are wine cellars. The length of the Tokaj cellars is 40 km, the cellars were built here more than 500 years ago and are distinguished by ideal humidity and temperature for wine storage.
In the Czech Republic, they can treat you to anything, such a wide selection of alcoholic drinks is here. Czech beer, liqueurs infused with herbs, fruit and berry brandies, and, of course, absinthe banned in some countries: it is hard to say who drinks all this – locals or tourists. For beer tasting, they go to the legendary brewery in Prague, and for the 38-proof herbal spirit tincture – to Karlovy Vary, where it is produced. Absinthe is sold in souvenir shops, visitors are offered traditional green, yellow, red, and even black, made from wormwood roots.
But the residents of Slovakia drink slivovitz (that same variety of rakia mentioned above), pear vodka, several versions of liqueurs, and borovička (also popular in the Czech Republic). As Gazeta.Ru notes, borovička is drunk here as an aperitif both in its pure form and as a cocktail with lemon juice or tonic.