Madrid:What to drink in bars?

What do you like to drink in bars? I've tried wine, jerez, and manzana verde in restaurants in Madrid before, but I haven't tried ordering anything at a bar before. What drinks would be good to try?

Thanks!

A popular choice in Madrid seems to be Vermouth. Personally, if anything's wet and in a glass container.......

Vermouth IS quite popular but not sure how popular it is with the younger crowd. (uh-oh.. my ladyfriend's going to kill me if she reads this but...) My ladyfriend loves a vermouth in the afternoon. At what TIME is this drunk?? I don't recall - maybe at 5 or 6pm?? I don't like the stuff myself and always have more than a half a bottle left after she leaves from visiting me here in the US and I try it sometimes and... Blech! Not for me.

Sherry is another popular one but.. ahem.. again, I don't care for it. If it's not coffee, wine, beer, or champagne I won't likely choose it for myself at a bar but then... well... okay, I'm quitting now. heehehe...

I don't drink beer normally, but I am curious to try Spanish beer in Madrid. What are some Spanish brands that should I ask for? What kind of Spanish beer would be good for a novice beer drinker?

My advice Katerine is that you go to as many bars as possible, and try as many things as you can.
After you have done so, do this:

1) Go to Plaza Mayor
2) Let your body go down until you get to La Cava Baja.
3) If you have a good map you will be able to find La Cava Alta
4) Once you have found it, walk it until you find Matritum.
5) Come in and order "Mistela Josefina Piñol" (2,55 eur).
6) Write back to the message board with opinions.

Good luck with your homework!

Katherine writes: Just ask for una caña. That will get you a glass of draught beer (whatever the tavern has on tap). If you're lucky, it will be Mahou. If you want to order by brand, you're looking at paying a bit more: San Miguel, Mahou or Aguila are populat brands.

Hi Katherine! All of the above are great suggestions--I personally love vermut, but only if it is on tap, not out of a bottle.

A couple of drinks that I fell in love with in Madrid were both not actually Spanish at all.
Caiprihinhas are a concoction of fresh lime, and aguardiente. I think it is Brazilian originally. There is a bar near Huertas call La Trocha that specializes in this drinks. They have these big wooden contraptions hooked on the bar and they smash the limes right in your glass. Plus you can get rum or vodka if the aguardiente (sugarcane liquor) is not for you.

The other drink that I loved in Madrid was Mojitos. These are Cuban drinks made with lots of fresh mint leaves, a bit of lime, simple syrup, rum and a splash of soda. There is a bar in Lavapies called El Mojito that specializes in--surprise--mojitos!

Also there is a bar (or was a bar) on C/Echegaray, 8, called La Marga that specialized in all sorts of American style cocktails--Long Island Iced Teas, Martinis, etc. I remembered it being hard to find American-style mixed drinks in Madrid and when I found La Marga, I was in heaven. So much so, taht if you go tell Jan, the owner that Candace says hello!

Also, if you are American you probably haven't had much chance to try Cuban Rum. It is wonderful. There are tons of varieties but Havana is very popular.

Finally, I remember when ordering cocktails in Madrid I was initially put off by the price, as they are considerably higher than beers or wine. But, unlike in the states, the pour is very heavy, at least three shots. Your mixer (coke, naranja, whatever) is served on the side. So, it is like three drinks in one.

Salud!

Thank you all for your responses! All of your suggestions are great! I'll print out this page and try all of your suggestions when I am in Madrid in two weeks.

This trip will be my fifth trip to Madrid, but, somehow, I never ended up at any bar and never ordered any thing other than wine or jerez in a restaurant. However, a couple of times, a waiter would come out with a bottle of something mysterious and pour it out. I don't know if that happens often, but I thought it was great!

Also, Andres, I have signed up for your walking wine tour, so I will see you in two weeks!

Many people ignore this (Spaniards themselves as well) but Spain is considered the second wine world power only after France. But watch out, it is not that France has better wines that Spain but that their range of superb wines is even wider that the Spanish one.

Andrés

Andres, I agree with you about Spanish wines. I have never had a Spanish wine that I did not like in Spain although I have had wine from France that I did not like. I do not know a lot about Spanish wine, but I do know that the Rioja is my favorite of all wines.

if u can find it i would recommend ron de miel con cola or just a whisky con cola..i love ron de miel..its something i always have in sevilla..i've never asked for it in madrid..but i'm sure it shouldn't be a problem. have fun trying drinks..hope u don't get too tipsy !!

I just returned from being in Madrid last week. I tried Mahou beer. I am just not a beer drinker, I think. I struggled and struggled to drink it, but could only get halfway through the glass. I just don't like the bitter taste of beer. I like sweet drinks with umbrellas and fruit. I seriously was wondering what would happen if I leaned over and barfed the beer on the floor. I bravely held it in as I wanted to appear glamourous, but I thought hard about the barfing. The next time I was in a bar, I drank jerez and did not feel like barfing. I also would like to think that I looked glamourous then too.

Those were my only two drinking experiences from last week. I was by myself for most of the time, and it's just not fun to drink by yourself. I had thought that I would be bar hopping, etc. with other students as I was enrolled in a Spanish language course. I was the only beginner in the school and so had private lessons.

Sorry you had a bad experience...I understand where you are coming from, I also really dont like the taste of beer. The only time I can tolerate/semi-enjoy it is when I am already completely drunk . I love all the mixed drinks in spain though! One that seemed to be popular in the north (Bilbao), that I really liked was Calimotxo (haha I have NO idea if I spelled that correctly ). I have tried to make it a couple times here in the states...but somehow it just isnt the same .
Kelly

Kalimotxo is how it´s spelled I believe. It sounds like Kalimocho, as that´s how the tx is pronounced in basque. It´s half coca-cola, half cheap red wine and ice. I made it in the states with merlot and it turned out ok. Young people here drink tons of it. It sounds gross but actually it isnt too bad.

Yep thats it Roe, Kalimotxo. When someone first told me what was in it, I thought it sounded bad. But it is actually very good!!! Anybody know if I will be able to find it in andalucia next semester?

Katherine, I am with you...beer is definitely an acquired taste! I like it only under very limited circumstances...it must be summer and it must be ICE COLD.

Maybe it's tacky to say it, but I really love sangría. Is that just too "touristy"?

I also drank vodka and orange juice (what we call a screwdriver--though in the bars I visited it was made with some orangy stuff that tasted like Tang) and the occasional Cuba Libre (rum, Coke, and maybe a lime). And MANY gin and tonics (which, incidentally, glow purple in black light). All of these were in bars in Salamanca that were frequented by lots of international students...in the more typically Spanish bars, it was cañas every time...and sips of other people's drinks, none of which I recall offhand. I think the Spanish guys I was with generally ordered drinks in liters, and we often shared among a number of people. I don't know why that was (less expensive? more likely to get the chicas drunk?), but it gave me the "spins" a few times.

I like fruit/sweet drinks too...I wonder if the Cosmopolitan has made its way to Spain?

On a hot Spanish day, few things beat a cachi of beer mixed with lemon flavoured Fanta. A tinto de verano can also quech your thirst.

As for the calimocho, I think the "k" spelling is the Basque spelling; whereas, the "c" spelling is the Spanish spelling. I was stold that the calimocho began in Burgos shortly after World War II. If there are any libation historians in our midst, perhaps they could verify this fact.

Cheers!

My favorite drink is the Calimotxo also!! YUmm. i was actually just drinking awhile ago. Half coke half wine. When I was in Pamplona for the running of the bulls that is what my friends (native spaniards) and I brought with us to drink. I found though as I travelled spain, that it is mostly a drink of the north. Another favorite is peche. (don't think i spelled that right) but it is peach wiskey. yuM!

Two drinks that stuck out to me (besides beer) were 1) Cuarenta y Tres y Limon (The great citrusy/vanilla Liquer and Lemon Fanta, kind of tasted like an orange creamsicle) and 2)an appropriately poured "cidra" (cider)

I, on the other hand, love beer. Spanish beer is great, especially Mahou. However, Cruzcampo will do in a pinch.

There's a great bar, la Dolores, at the corner of c. Lope de Vega and c. Jesus (a block away from c. de las Huertas. I recommend it for a caña, or a doble -- any time.

If you go another block further from Huertas, to c. Cervantes, the bar Cervantes has great beer and also vermut on tap. Their tapas are phenomenal.

The comments on the mixed drinks were correct. Spain is about the only place where I had to tell the bartender to stop pouring so that there'd be enough room for some mix.

I also recommend Spanish brandies. The better ones are as good as, if not better, than French cognac.