The Ultimate Booze Bucket List
Are you looking for a unique experience that could give you the opportunity to travel the world? Well look no further because this list will guide you on a variety of drinking experiences, festivals and rituals. In this post we explore the 10 most unique and fascinating alcoholic experiences.
1. Complete The Bourbon Trail in Kentucky, USA
Even though bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States, Kentucky is usually the first place people think of. Way back in the 1700s, the state mastered the art of distilling this golden liquor. Today, some of the world’s renowned bourbon distillers are located on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Get your ‘passport’ stamped at the 10 most famous distilleries. You can even take home your very own bottle of Maker’s Mark in a vat of red wax as a souvenir.
2. Visit a Palenque in the Middle of Nowhere Mexico
Most mezcal brands in Mexico obtain their spirits directly from various palenques or farms in remote parts of Mexico. The best way to visit a palenque is to hang out at mezcalerias in an area like Zoquitlan where you are bound to meet a number of producers from distilleries. Strike up a conversation and you could be invited to a tour of the fields and see how the spirit is made.
3. Celebrate the Festival of San Juan in Spain
Every June, the people of Valencia celebrate the Festival of San Juan. Groups of people gather on a beach to party through the night around bonfires and drink Agua de Valencia (a Mimosa like drink made with Cava, Valencia organises and vodka). This festival is celebrated to shake off the negative memories of the previous year. One of the rituals includes writing a list of everything negative and throwing it into the fire before you leap over the flames. You are then expected to jump into the ocean 12 times at the stroke of midnight before you continue to drink until daybreak.
4. Drink vodka and dance with the locals in Russia
This amazing experience comprises of dancing with the locals which includes squatting, kicking, jumping and twirling to the tune of upbeat music. One of the most riotous events is in fact New Year’s where you have to accept a shot of vodka every time it is offered.
5. Attend Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany
This is the biggest beer festival in the world and is definitely something that you shouldn’t miss. The festival starts in September, despite what the name indicated. Throughout Munich, you can find biergartens where you will find traditional Bavarian music and food as well as thousands people revelling in the festivities.
6. Banana Beer after hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
After an adventurous hike up Mount Kilimangaro, the local people, the Chagga will make you try a brew called mbege otherwise known as banana beer. It is highly labour intensive to make this brew as it involves a complex process of making and fermenting the bananas for a week, before staining the liquid through shredded grass.
7. Pour a perfect Guinness in Dublin, Ireland
Learn how to pour a proper Guinness – at a 45 degree angle for about 119.5 seconds. You will be able to then take this newfound knowledge to the streets to drink a pint in less crowded pubs.
8. Drink Tongba with Nepali Sherpas
Journey to the eastern mountainous regions of Nepal where the sherpas brew a millet based alcoholic beverage which resembles a thick, bitter, hot beer.
9. Sail a boat to remote Islay Islands for Whisky in Scotland
Sail a boat across the rough seas to the shores of Islay, a region in Scotland which is well known for its heated scotch. A visit to specific distilleries will reward you with a locked wooden box. You will have to take this box up a steep hill towards the loch high above the distillery. Once you reach the loch, the wooden box will be unlocked and you will be rewarded with a bottle of single malt and a glass to enjoy which you take in the beauty around you.
10. Be part of a Kava Ritual in Fiji
Made from the Kava root, this Fijian drink is not strictly ‘alcoholic’ but is known to have anti-anxiety properties. This drink is consumed at ceremonial occasions with many associated etiquette rules. The ceremony begins with the eldest man entering the house followed by the rest of the men, then the women, and everyone takes their seat. The eldest man will then present the root to the village chief. If accepted, the villagers grind it up and mix it with water before straining it in a bowl. The drink is offered to the chief and then the village executives and finally to the guests. The drink will leave you feeling tingly and extremely calm, mimicking the effects of Xanax.