The best travel memories often start with a local drink. Here are 15 cocktails from around the world worth knowing, making, and sharing with whoever opens their door to you.
One of the quiet joys of traveling the world is discovering that every country has a drink it is proud of. Not a beer or a wine. Something specific. A liqueur made from prickly pears on a Mediterranean island. A vermouth cocktail served in exactly one bar on a side street in Madrid. A purple corn drink that has been around since before the Incas.
Showing up to stay with a Host is one of the more intimate travel experiences you can have. You are a guest, not a customer. And one of the oldest ways humans welcome each other is with a drink. Share one of these with your Host and you will give them something better than a bottle of wine: a story, a recipe, and a reason to sit down together.
These are 15 worth knowing.
The Spritzes
Spritz culture has spread across summer terraces from Malta to the Alps, and for good reason: they’re light, endlessly riffable, and give you an instant conversation topic.
1. The Maltese Spritz (Bajtra Spritz): Malta
The Maltese Spritz is one of the most unexpectedly good drinks you’ll find in Europe. The base is Bajtra, a Maltese prickly pear liqueur, mixed with prosecco or sparkling rosé. It comes out pink, lightly sweet, and surprisingly refreshing. Not bitter like an Aperol spritz, but not sugary either. It’s the kind of drink you order once, then immediately order again.
Read the full story over on the Couchsurfing blog.
How to make a Maltese Spritz / Bajtra Spritz:
- 30ml Bajtra (prickly pear liqueur)
- 60ml prosecco, or sparkling rosé for a sweeter, pinker version
- Splash of soda water
- Ice
- Orange slice or maraschino cherry to garnish
Tip: prosecco cuts the sweetness slightly compared to sparkling rosé. Try both.
2. Hugo Spritz: South Tyrol, Italy
Created in 2005 by bartender Roland Gruber in South Tyrol, the Hugo has since swept through Austria, northern Italy, and Germany without ever quite breaking through to the rest of the world. Which makes it ideal to bring on the road. You’ll often be the only one at the table who’s had it.
Floral, light, slightly minty. It tastes like an Alpine meadow in a glass.
How to make a Hugo Spritz:
- 90ml prosecco
- 30ml elderflower syrup or St-Germain
- Splash of soda water
- 2–3 fresh mint leaves
- Slice of lime
- Ice
- Large wine glass or balloon glass
3. Aperol Spritz: Italy
The one that started the spritz revolution. It earns its place here as the reference point everything else in this section gets compared to. If you show up somewhere with a bottle of Aperol and a bottle of prosecco, you will never be turned away.
How to make an Aperol Spritz:
- 90ml prosecco
- 60ml Aperol
- Splash of soda water
- Ice
- Slice of orange
The Classics
4. The Manuela: Madrid, Spain
The Manuela is a Madrid vermouth cocktail you can only get in one place: Taberna La Concha on Calle Cava Baja in the La Latina neighborhood. Named after the bar owner’s daughter. Three short sprays of gin, red vermouth, a dash of Campari bitters, and an olive and orange peel on a cocktail stick. It’s a ritual as much as a drink.
If you want the full story, it’s on the Couchsurfing blog.
How to make a Manuela at home:
- 1 martini glass with one ice cube
- 5ml dry gin (three short sprays. The gin is a whisper, not a feature)
- 90ml red vermouth (vermú rojo)
- Generous dash of Campari bitters
- Olive and orange peel on a cocktail stick to garnish
5. Caipirinha: Brazil
Brazil’s national cocktail. Cachaça, muddled lime, sugar. Tart, strong, and completely its own thing. The person who grew up making this will have strong feelings about the lime-to-sugar ratio. Ask them to make it.
How to make a Caipirinha:
- Half a lime, cut into wedges
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 60ml cachaça
- Ice
Muddle lime and sugar in the glass first. Add ice and cachaça. Stir.
6. Pisco Sour: Peru & Chile
Both Peru and Chile claim it. Don’t take sides. The egg white foam, fresh lime, and two drops of Angostura bitters on top make it one of the most elegant things you can put in a glass.
How to make a Pisco Sour:
- 60ml pisco
- 30ml fresh lime juice
- 15ml simple syrup
- 1 egg white
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Dry shake (no ice) first to build the foam. Add ice, shake again. Strain into a chilled glass. Bitters go on top of the foam.
7. Negroni: Italy
Equal parts gin, Campari, sweet vermouth. Stirred, never shaken. Orange peel. The Negroni is a drink for long evenings that are going somewhere.
How to make a Negroni:
- 30ml gin
- 30ml Campari
- 30ml sweet vermouth
- Large ice cube
- Orange peel to garnish
Stir with ice for 20–30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube.
8. Spicy Paloma: Mexico
More popular than the Margarita inside Mexico. The spicy version, with a chili salt rim and fresh jalapeño in the shaker, is the one worth making. The heat builds slowly. Whoever you’re drinking it with will ask for another.
How to make a Spicy Paloma:
- 60ml tequila (blanco or reposado)
- 90ml fresh grapefruit juice
- 15ml fresh lime juice
- 1–2 thin slices fresh jalapeño
- Pinch of salt
- Soda water to top
- Chili salt for the rim (salt + chili flakes or Tajín)
Rim the glass with chili salt. Shake tequila, grapefruit, lime, one jalapeño slice, and salt with ice. Strain over fresh ice. Top with soda. Garnish with the second jalapeño slice and a grapefruit wedge.
9. Mojito: Cuba
Rum, fresh mint, lime, sugar, soda. Belongs equally to dives and rooftops. If whoever you’re staying with has a lime tree or a mint plant on the windowsill, you’re already halfway there.
How to make a Mojito:
- 10 fresh mint leaves
- 2 tsp sugar
- 30ml fresh lime juice
- 60ml white rum
- Soda water to top
- Ice
Muddle mint with sugar and lime juice gently: press, don’t shred. Add rum and ice, top with soda, stir carefully. Garnish with mint.
The Niche Ones
10. Gin Basil Smash: Germany
Invented in Hamburg in 2008 by bartender Jörg Meyer. Niche enough that most people outside Germany haven’t encountered it. Simple enough that anyone can make it at home. Fresh basil, gin, lemon, sugar. It tastes like a herb garden in a glass and looks like something from a very good restaurant.
How to make a Gin Basil Smash:
- 8–10 fresh basil leaves
- 60ml gin
- 25ml fresh lemon juice
- 15ml simple syrup
- Ice
Muddle basil hard with the other ingredients in a shaker: you want the colour and the oil. Add ice, shake well. Double strain into a chilled glass with ice. Garnish with a basil leaf.
11. Fernet con Coca: Argentina
Argentina’s unofficial national drink. Fernet-Branca (a bitter Italian amaro) and Coca-Cola, two-to-one Coke to Fernet. Herbal, a little medicinal, oddly addictive once it’s in a glass with ice. Argentines are evangelical about it. It will either convert you immediately or take a few attempts.
How to make Fernet con Coca:
- 60ml Fernet-Branca
- 120ml Coca-Cola
- Ice in a tall glass
Two-to-one Coke to Fernet. Do not deviate. Stir briefly.
12. Raki: Turkey
Turkey’s national spirit turns milky white when water is added, which is why it’s called “lion’s milk.” It’s anise-flavored, always served alongside food, always diluted, never rushed. Raki is a long evening in a glass.
How to serve Raki:
- 45ml raki in a narrow glass
- Equal amount of cold water added slowly
- Ice added after the water, not before
- Serve alongside meze: olives, white cheese, melon
13. Dark ‘N’ Stormy: Bermuda & the Caribbean
Dark rum, ginger beer, lime. Sharp, warming, completely unfussy. Bermuda trademarked the name with Gosling’s as the required rum, but across the Caribbean, any good dark rum does the job.
How to make a Dark ‘N’ Stormy:
- 60ml dark rum
- ~120ml ginger beer to top
- Squeeze of half a lime
- Ice
Fill glass with ice. Add rum. Top with ginger beer. Squeeze lime over the top.
The Mocktails
Not every Hangout calls for alcohol, and not everyone drinks. These two are genuinely worth making, not polite substitutes.
14. Agua de Jamaica: Mexico & West Africa
Hibiscus tea, called agua de jamaica in Mexico and bissap across West Africa, is tart, deep red, and naturally stunning in a glass. Served cold over ice with lime and a little sweetener, it holds its own next to anything alcoholic on the table.
How to make Agua de Jamaica:
- 10g dried hibiscus flowers
- 500ml boiling water
- 2–3 tsp sugar or honey, to taste
- Juice of 1 lime
- Ice
Steep hibiscus in boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain, sweeten while warm, chill. Serve over ice with lime. Add soda for a fizzy version.
15. Chicha Morada: Peru
One of Peru’s oldest drinks, made from purple corn boiled with pineapple peel, cinnamon, and cloves. Non-alcoholic, deeply flavourful, and unlike anything else on this list. Made in large batches and served cold: ideal if you’re staying somewhere for a few days and want to leave something behind.
How to make Chicha Morada:
- 500g dried purple corn (maíz morado)
- Peel and core of 1 pineapple
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 5 cloves
- 2 litres water
- Juice of 2 limes
- Sugar to taste
Boil corn, pineapple peel, cinnamon, and cloves in water for 45 minutes. Strain. Add lime juice and sugar while warm. Chill completely. Serve over ice. Keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.
A Note on Bringing a Drink
Showing up somewhere ready to make one of these with your Host is one of the more naturally generous things a Traveler can do, but worth a quick check first. Not everyone drinks alcohol, for personal, religious, or health reasons. A message before you arrive (“I’d love to bring something. Any preferences, or should I skip the alcohol?”) covers it gracefully.
The best encounters on Couchsurfing tend to be the ones where someone brings something local and unexpected. A bottle of Bajtra from a Maltese market. Fernet from a Buenos Aires shop. Hibiscus flowers from a street stall.
Couchsurfing connects more than 25 million Members across over 200,000 cities. The trust that makes those encounters possible is built through the References system: public, permanent records visible on every Member’s profile before any stay or meetup is arranged. A paid Membership is what funds that infrastructure, along with host search, Hangouts, and the rest of the community tools.
The world is full of Hosts who know a drink you have never heard of. Go find them.
