DRINKING WITH THE LOCALS British pubs and Parisian wine bars are well-known European drinking establishments. For local ambience and opportunities to strike up conversations with patrons, search out neighbourhood watering holes in other destinations as well. The Netherlands, for example, is home to dozens of convivial bruine kroegen (brown cafés). The name originated from their burnished walls, stained from hundreds of years of tobacco smoke. (Smoking is now banned in cafés, restaurants and hotels.) Do not confuse brown cafés with coffeeshops, where Dutch adults gather to legally buy and smoke marijuana. Coffeeshops must display green-and-white official licence signs in their windows. Most brown cafés serve beer and jenever (Dutch gin) – a grain distillate infused with juniper berries and other botanicals. Drink it as the Dutch do, from a tulip-shaped shot glass without ice. When the Dutch drink jenever followed by a beer chaser, they call it a head-knocker. But beware. Jenever looks as innocent as water, but packs a knee-withering wallop. You can also sip jenever in a tasting house, where bartenders traditionally fill the glasses so full that you must bend over the bar to take the first sip. You’ll also find unique beverages and drinking establishments in Korea. Crowded and noisy Korean bars serve makgeolli – a milky-white unrefined rice wine – and cheongju, a refined rice wine. Soju – a vodka-like liquor made from sweet potatoes – and Hite beer are also well-liked. Tea is Korea’s most popular beverage. You can choose from many varieties, including green, barley, ginseng, arrowroot, citron, Chinese quince, ginger and herb. The best place to sample them is in traditional tea houses, such as those located amid the antique and calligraphy shops of Seoul’s Insadong district. The subdued atmosphere of tea houses is ideal for quiet conversation and appreciation of both the beverage and the artfully designed pottery cups in which it’s served. Coffee is also available here, as well as in coffee shops, where the price of a cup allows you to sit and talk for as long as you wish. Korean non-alcoholic soft drinks are treats that no visitor should miss. Sikhye is made by boiling rice, malt and honey in water, and then allowing it to ferment. It’s served chilled with rice grains floating on top. Equally refreshing is sujeonggwa, a fruit punch made from cinnamon, sugar and dried persimmons. A half-dozen pine nuts drift atop the amber beverage. Both drinks are so popular that they’re available in cans. 16 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx