Relive foreign flavors through taste: 6 must-try classic drinks from around the world

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Network, Li Xinyi | Compiled & Reported | Source: Moleskine Editorial Department

The Colosseum is iconic to Italy, the Eiffel Tower evokes France, and the Taj Mahal is India’s most famous landmark... The stunning sights along the way often unconsciously help document the countries you’ve traveled to; and your taste buds help remember the flavors here—whether they’re rich, aromatic, pure, intoxicating, or unbearably sweet?

Every country has its own representative everyday drink. These beverages, deeply integrated into daily life, are closely tied to culture. When you taste them, you’re experiencing not just the pure flavor of the drink, but also the essence of the land it comes from. Each has its own serving ware and drinking method, and as you sip, the aroma lingers in your memory through your taste buds. Once imprinted, even years after your journey, catching a whiff or a sip of it can transport you back to that remembered place. Why not take a moment to savor a drink and reminisce about foreign lands with us?

Germany — Beer

In Germany, you might find that beer is often cheaper than mineral water. Especially since most German food tends to be on the salty side, pairing it with a refreshing, ice-cold beer is an incredibly satisfying experience. There are about five thousand kinds of German beer, and drinking habits and tastes vary slightly from region to region. In northern Germany, beers are mostly slightly bitter Pilseners; in the south, the focus is on crisp and smooth wheat beers (Weizen). Bamberg’s most famous smoked beer (Rauchbier) has a unique smoky flavor and is a type of dark beer; Bavaria’s specialty, black beer (Schwarzbier), offers the sweet aroma of roasted malt; and in Cologne, the golden Kölsch beer served in tall, slender glasses has an exceptionally elegant taste.

Since you’re in beer-loving Germany, skip the canned beer from convenience stores. The freshest and purest taste of German beer comes straight from the tap in pubs and restaurants—and only there will you find the perfect glassware to serve it in. Because every kind of beer has different characteristics, some are particularly sensitive to temperature, others emphasize the diffusion of aroma, and factors like foam, taste, and even drinking style can change depending on the shape of the glass. That’s why each beer has its own special glass—for example, Munich beer is served in a sturdy mug with a handle, wheat beer in a streamlined glass that’s wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, Pilsener in a flute-shaped glass, and Kölsch in a tall, skinny glass. This way, the full sensory experience of each beer can be fully appreciated.

France — Wine

The magic of French cuisine lies in how the wine produced in each region perfectly complements the local specialties. A dish like Alsatian pork with sauerkraut would lose much of its charm without Riesling white wine, just as a classic Burgundy boeuf bourguignon wouldn’t quite be the same without top-tier Pinot Noir red wine.

The French system for classifying wine is arguably the most sophisticated in the world, divided into four tiers: AOC, VDQS, Vin de Pays, and Vin de Table, with AOC being the highest. Within AOC, there are four sub-levels, starting with the best: Grand Cru, followed by Premier Cru (1er Cru), Village AOC, and Regional AOC (e.g., Bourgogne AOC). All wines must undergo rigorous annual inspections by national committees, including taste tests, evaluations of regional production standards, and assessments of winemaking traditions, to qualify as representative of their area’s fine wines. The story within a glass of wine is far more complex than outsiders might imagine—from the grape variety, the terroir where it grows, the cultivation and harvesting methods, the fermentation process, to even the personalities of the vintners and blenders. It takes all this accumulated history to create a single glass of unforgettable wine.