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)