List of national drinks


A national drink is a distinct beverage that is strongly associated with a particular country, and can be part of their national identity and self-image. These drinks can be either alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Alcoholic national drinks might be spirits consumed straight, but more often, they are mixed drinks, beer, or wine. Non-alcoholic national drinks include Coca-Cola in the United States, boba tea in Taiwan, and Thai iced tea in Thailand.
Several factors can qualify a beverage as a national drink:
  • Regional Ingredients and Popularity: The drink is made from locally sourced ingredients and is commonly consumed, such as mango lassi in India, which uses dahi, a traditional yogurt.
  • Unique Local Ingredients: The beverage contains an exotic ingredient that is unique to the region.
  • Cultural Tradition: The drink plays a significant role in festive traditions and cultural heritage.
  • Official Promotion: The country actively promotes the drink as a national symbol.
Choosing a single national drink can be challenging for some countries due to their diverse cultures and populations, such as Mexico or India. Conversely, some beverages, like pisco sour, are claimed by more than one country—both Peru and Chile, in this case.
Below is a list of national drinks categorized within geo-political regions modified from the United Nations' five "regional groups". This list generally excludes moonshines or illicitly produced alcoholic beverages.

America

North

Central and South

Europe

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.

Africa

Asia

East

  • : 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. 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.
  • : Green Tea. 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.
  • : Awamori, a traditional Okinawan distilled liquor made from long-grain indica rice
  • : Airag, or in some areas tsegee, is a Fermented [milk products|fermented dairy product] traditionally made from mare's milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the Central Asian steppes, of Huno-Bulgar, Turkic and Mongol origin: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Kyrgyz, Mongols, and Yakuts. A 1982 source reported 230,000 horses were kept in the Soviet Union specifically for producing milk to make into kumis.
  • : 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. Soju is a clear, colorless distilled beverage of Korean origin.
  • : Soju is a clear, colorless distilled beverage of Korean origin. It is usually consumed neat, and its alcohol content varies from about 16.8% to 53% alcohol by volume. Most brands of soju are made in South Korea. While soju is traditionally made from rice, wheat, or barley, modern producers often replace rice with other starches such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.
  • : Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in the 1980s.

Southeast

  • : There is no national drink, but Air Batu Campur is popular among citizens.
  • : Teuk tnaot chhouk, a palm wine
  • ': 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.
  • : Lao-Lao is a Laotian rice whisky produced in Laos. 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 and is pronounced with a high tone.
  • : Teh tarik is a hot milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls, and kopi tiams. Teh tarik's name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation, and is made from a strong brew of black tea blended with condensed milk. Teh tarik is considered Malaysia's national drink.
  • ': 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.
  • : Beer.
  • : Kopi is a type of traditional highly caffeinated black coffee, sometimes served with milk and/or sugar. This drink has Hainanese roots, many of whom migrated south to Singapore during the 19th to 20th centuries. Kopi is also otherwise known as Nanyang coffee., with Nanyang meaning ‘South Sea’ in Mandarin, and usually is a reference to Southeast Asia. Kopi is recognized to be culturally significant and part of the everyday diet and lifestyle of many Singaporeans.
  • The Singapore Sling is a gin-based sling cocktail from Singapore, and was created around 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, 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.
  • The Milo dinosaur is a Singaporean chocolate malt–based beverage composed of a cup of iced Milo with undissolved Milo powder added on top of it. It is usually served cold to prevent the powder from immediately dissolving in the drink. The drink originated from Indian Singaporean eateries in Singapore during the 1990s, and it is now most commonly found in mamak stalls, kopitiams, and hawker centres from all ethnic groups in Singapore.
  • : 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. 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.
  • : arrak, a local alcoholic drink made from fermented palm sap or rice, the beer Bierra Leste, and the coffee Timor.
  • : Primarily Vietnamese iced coffee, and to a lesser extent 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

  • : Tea 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. Recently, new types of tea, such as the seven color tea or seven-layer tea, has popped up as a well-known beverage of the country's Sylhet Division. Romesh Ram Gour invented the seven-layer tea after discovering that different tea leaves have different densities. 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.
  • : Ara, or Arag, is a traditional alcoholic beverage consumed in Bhutan. Ara is made from native and high-altitude tolerant barley, rice, maize, millet, or wheat, and may be either fermented or distilled. The beverage is usually a clear, creamy, or white color.
  • : Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in India but can not be considered the national drink. 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. 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. 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. Traditional alcoholic drinks like toddy and feni remain popular in various parts of the country, along with western-style beers, liquors and wines, with Kingfisher beer being the most widely-recognized Indian beer brand.
  • : It can be said that the Maldives have two national drinks. Firstly, due to their history and location near the Indian Subcontinent, sai is a Maldivian favorite. Secondly, as the Maldives are truly an island nation, raa 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.
  • : Raksi is a strong drink, clear like vodka or gin, tasting somewhat like Japanese sake. It is usually made from kodo millet or rice; different grains produce different flavors. The Limbus, for whom it is a traditional beverage, drink an enormous amount of Tongba and raksi served with pieces of pork, water buffalo or goat meat sekuwa. For the Newars, aylaa is indispensable during festivals and various religious rituals as libation, prasad or sagan.
  • : Sugarcane juice
  • : Tea

Central

West

Oceania

  • : Kava
  • : 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. In Australia is common Iced Coffee. An ABC News article published in 2018 described lemon, lime, and bitters (LLB) as "Australia's national drink". Lemon, lime, and bitters is a mixed drink made with (clear) lemonade, lime cordial, and Angostura bitters. The lemonade is sometimes substituted with soda water or lemon squash. It was served as a non-alcoholic alternative to "Pink Gin". It is often considered to be a non-alcoholic cocktail 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. Beer and wine have also been referred to as the unofficial national drinks of Australia.
  • : Coffee
  • : Tea
  • : Tumunu
  • : Easter Island Cocktail
  • : Most Fijians would say that Kava is the unofficial national drink of Fiji. Kava 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.
  • : Hinano Lager : Calamansi Basil Lemonade
  • : Mai tai
  • : Karewe is a palm wine beverage made from "Toddy" 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". 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.
  • ': Coconut Water
  • : Sakau
  • : Iced Coffee
  • ': Wine
  • : L&P, Instant Coffee
  • : Coconut Water
  • : Beer and Wine
  • : Michelob Ultra
  • : Coconut Water
  • : Kava
  • : Ti' punch
  • : Kava
  • : Kava
  • : Kava
  • : 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, which is also called a faikava. 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 "toua." 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 toua not be related to anyone in the kalapu, and if someone is found to be a relative of the toua, he 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 toua for a night. If no female toua 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. See Tongan Kava Ceremony for more information.
  • : Kava
  • : Kava drink
  • : Kava