Drink Like a Local: Raise a Toast to Travel

Can you really say you’ve been to Brazil if you haven’t sipped a caipirinha and watched the sunset? The refreshing muddled blend of cachaça, limes, and brown sugar is the country’s national drink. No matter where you go, live and libate like a local—and let me know if I missed your favorite!

Peru/Chile

The Pisco Sour is a tart, sweet, silky, herbaceous cocktail to savor, and when you need a nonalcoholic boost, the caffeine in a yerba maté tea is just the ticket.

India

Ordering gin and tonic in the country of the cocktail’s origin is a true travel moment, particularly when it’s served with a salty snack and a grand view. For a refreshment that skips the alcohol, you can’t beat a mango lassi, a thick blend of mango, yogurt, milk, sugar, and cardamom.

Bali

It’s never hard to find someone with a machete at the ready to slice open a fresh green coconut—all you need to do next is stick in a straw and sip—ahhhh! You also can’t go far without seeing someone drinking Bintang—a pale lager that’s likely the most popular beer in Indonesia.

Singapore

Kopi, or coffee, is the national drink here, and kopitiams (coffee shops) are a way of life—the default order is made with sweetened condensed milk and is simply delicious. But it wouldn’t be a proper visit without a drink at the Raffles Hotel Long Bar—home to the Singapore sling, where the sweet cocktail is served in souvenir glasses.