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.