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10 Traditional Spanish Drinks to Try in Spain
Every country has the drinks it serves to visitors and the drinks it keeps for itself, and traditional Spanish drinks are no exception. Spain is generous enough to share both, but it helps to know which is which. This guide follows the shape of a Spanish day, from the midday vermut to the small glass of herbs that closes a long dinner. It works whether you are travelling through Spain this summer or planning a wedding weekend for guests who have never tasted horchata.
The Aperitivo Hour: Traditional Spanish Drinks Before Lunch
Lunch is the main meal of the Spanish day and it starts late, often around two. The hour before it, however, has its own name and its own drinks.
1. Vermut (Spanish Vermouth)
What it is. A fortified wine aromatised with herbs, roots and spices. Modern vermouth was born in Turin in 1786, but Spain adopted it with such conviction that it now feels entirely local.
Where it comes from. The heart of Spanish vermut is Reus, in Catalonia’s Tarragona province. Around thirty producers worked there between the late nineteenth and mid twentieth centuries, and the town calls itself capital of vermouth since 1892, when its first brand was registered.
How it is served. Sweet red vermut (vermut rojo) on ice, with a slice of orange and an olive. Older bars pour it from the tap, with a soda siphon on the side, and always with something salty: olives, crisps, anchovies or a tin of mussels.
Worth knowing. La hora del vermut, the vermouth hour, is a weekend ritual. In fact, in Catalonia people say fer el vermut, to «do the vermouth», which tells you it is an activity rather than a drink.
When and where to try it. Saturday or Sunday around one, in an old-fashioned bodega in Madrid, Barcelona or Reus.
At your wedding weekend. Open the lunch the day after the wedding with a vermut bar: two or three Spanish labels, oranges, olives and good conservas. It revives tired guests remarkably well.
2. Rebujito
What it is. A long drink of dry sherry, lemon-lime soda, plenty of ice and a sprig of mint.
Where it comes from. Andalusia. The sherry is manzanilla, which can only be aged in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, or fino from the Jerez area. Who first mixed it is disputed; nevertheless, in recent decades it has become the signature drink of the region’s spring fairs.
How it is served. In jugs, over ice, in small glasses refilled constantly. Seville favours manzanilla, while the horse fair in Jerez prefers fino.
Worth knowing. Seville’s Feria de Abril began in 1847 as a livestock fair. Today it is a week of casetas (private marquees), sevillanas and, for much of the city, rebujito.
When and where to try it. Andalusia in spring and summer, ideally at a feria, or any good tapas bar in Seville or Jerez.
At your wedding weekend. In the south, a welcome evening built around rebujito jugs and sevillanas gives guests a taste of feria without pretending to be one. Because it is lighter than most cocktails, it also helps in the heat.
Traditional Spanish Drinks for Long Summer Afternoons
3. Tinto de Verano
What it is. «Summer red»: red wine topped with gaseosa (a lightly sweet soda water) or lemon soda, served with ice and a slice of lemon.
Where it comes from. The most repeated story places it at the Venta de Vargas, an inn outside Córdoba, in the early twentieth century. Its owner, Federico Vargas, is said to have cut his wine with soda against the heat. As a result, in Córdoba it is still called un Vargas.
How it is served. By the glass, very cold, with a young, unoaked red.
Worth knowing. In a Spanish bar in July, this is the red you are more likely to see locals order. Sangria tends to be a jug for gatherings, whereas tinto de verano is the everyday glass.
When and where to try it. Any terrace in Spain between June and September.
At your wedding weekend. Perfect for the informal moments, for example a pool afternoon, a pre-wedding barbecue or a beach lunch. Ask for a decent young red and chilled jugs, so it never sits warm.
4. Sangria
What it is. Wine, usually red, macerated with fruit and a little sugar, often with a splash of brandy or orange liqueur, and lengthened with soda before serving.
Where it comes from. Spain and Portugal. The name comes from sangre, blood, for its colour. Since 2014, EU rules allow a drink to be sold simply as sangría only when it is made in Spain or Portugal; elsewhere the label must say where it was produced.
How it is served. From a jug, with seasonal fruit such as citrus, peach or apple. First it rests in the fridge for a few hours; then the soda goes in at the last minute.
Worth knowing. Of all the traditional Spanish drinks, sangria owes the most to one event: the Spanish Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, where many Americans first tasted it. The same EU rules also recognise a white-wine version, called clarea.
When and where to try it. Anywhere it is made fresh rather than poured from a dispenser.
At your wedding weekend. A beautiful welcome drink on a long table, provided it is made properly. Our full guide to serving sangria at a wedding in Spain explains how far ahead it should be prepared.
5. Horchata de Chufa
What it is. A chilled, milky-looking drink made from tiger nuts (chufas), water and sugar. No dairy, no alcohol.
Where it comes from. Valencia. The chufa is a small tuber grown in l’Horta Nord, the farmland just north of the city, under the Chufa de València designation of origin, with Alboraia as its capital. Its cultivation is generally traced back to the centuries of Islamic rule.
How it is served. Ice cold, or granizada (half-frozen), with fartons: long, soft, sugar-glazed buns made for dipping.
Worth knowing. Legend says a king, tasting it, exclaimed «Això és or, xata!» («That’s gold, darling!») and gave the drink its name. Nobody can prove it, and nobody in Valencia minds.
When and where to try it. Valencia in summer, at a traditional horchatería.
At your wedding weekend. Before an evening ceremony in a Valencian summer, an horchata and fartons cart is refreshing, unexpected and suitable for everyone, children and non-drinkers included. Our Valencia wedding planning page covers the region in detail.
The Toast: Spain’s Sparkling Moment
6. Cava
What it is. Spain’s traditional-method sparkling wine: the second fermentation, which creates the bubbles, happens in the bottle, as in Champagne.
Where it comes from. The first bottles were made in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, in Penedès, in 1872. Today about 95% of cava comes from the Catalan zone around Penedès, with Sant Sadurní, less than 50 km from Barcelona, as its capital. The Cava designation is defined by method rather than a single region, so smaller amounts also come from parts of Aragón, Navarra, La Rioja, Álava, Extremadura and Valencia.
How it is served. Well chilled, in a flute or white-wine glass. The classic grapes are Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada, and the drier brut styles pair most easily with food.
Worth knowing. The label tells you how long it rested: at least nine months in bottle for standard cava, 18 for Reserva and 30 for Gran Reserva.
When and where to try it. In a Penedès cellar, an easy trip from Barcelona, or at any Catalan table at Christmas.
At your wedding weekend. Among traditional Spanish drinks, cava is the natural toast. A cellar visit also makes an elegant outing for guests who arrive early. For weddings in Catalonia, start with our Barcelona wedding planning page.
7. Cava Sangria
What it is. A modern, festive sangria made with cava instead of still wine, with fresh fruit and sometimes a little brandy or orange liqueur.
Where it comes from. It is most at home in Catalonia, where sangria made with cava or white wine is common. To be precise, however, it is a recipe, not a category: Cava on a bottle is a protected designation, while cava sangria simply describes what someone made with it.
How it is served. Mixed just before serving so the bubbles survive, with ice and fruit.
Worth knowing. This is the one sangria that should never rest for hours.
When and where to try it. Terraces and beach bars along the Catalan coast in summer.
At your wedding weekend. A sunset welcome drink, mixed to order by the bar team. Our sangria guide explains when this lighter version suits better than the classic.
Sobremesa: Traditional Spanish Drinks After Dinner
Sobremesa is the time spent at the table after a meal, talking, and in Spain it can easily outlast the meal itself. Its drinks are mostly small and strong.
8. Carajillo
What it is. Coffee with a spirit, most often brandy, although rum, anís, orujo or whisky also appear.
Where it comes from. Spain, with several origin stories and none proven: soldiers in colonial Cuba taking coffee with a little coraje (courage), or Barcelona porters asking for coffee and rum together. Valencia’s cremaet, for example, flames rum with sugar, cinnamon, lemon peel and coffee beans before the coffee goes in.
How it is served. In Spain, hot, in a small glass. In Mexico, on the other hand, it became something else: espresso and Licor 43, a Spanish vanilla and citrus liqueur, over ice, shaken or layered. That iced version is now appearing on cocktail menus in the United States.
Worth knowing. Order a carajillo in Valencia and in Mexico City and you will get two different drinks. Both are right.
When and where to try it. After a long lunch, at the counter of any traditional café.
At your wedding weekend. Between dinner and the dancing, a carajillo moment wakes everyone up gently. Offer the hot Spanish version beside the iced Mexican one, which many North American guests will already know.
9. Licor de Hierbas
What it is. A herbal liqueur, usually anise-based, served as a chupito (a small shot) after a meal.
Where it comes from. Several regions make their own, and three are protected geographical indications. Hierbas de Mallorca uses island plants such as fennel, rosemary, lemon verbena and chamomile, in sweet (dulces), medium (mezcladas) and dry (secas) styles. Hierbas Ibicencas, from Ibiza and Formentera, was recognised in 1996. Finally, Galicia’s version is based on orujo, a grape pomace spirit.
How it is served. Very cold, often straight from the freezer, sometimes over ice.
Worth knowing. In Ibiza, hierbas traditionally accompanies flaó, the island’s cheese and mint cake. It is also not unusual for a restaurant to bring a round after the bill, on the house.
When and where to try it. At the end of a long lunch in Mallorca, Ibiza or Galicia.
At your wedding weekend. For an island wedding, a tray of chilled hierbas as the last toast before the dancing is a small, local gesture guests remember. See our pages on Mallorca and Ibiza.
10. Crema Catalana Liqueur
What it is. A cream liqueur flavoured with cinnamon, lemon and caramel notes, inspired by Catalonia’s best-known dessert.
Where it comes from. The liqueur is a modern Catalan product. The dessert, by contrast, is far older: crema catalana, an egg custard scented with lemon peel and cinnamon under a crust of burnt sugar, appears in eighteenth-century sources. It is traditionally eaten on 19 March, the feast of Sant Josep, hence its other name, crema de Sant Josep.
How it is served. Very cold, in a small glass, after dinner.
Worth knowing. The liqueur is not the dessert in a glass, and the dessert is not crème brûlée. The French one relies on cream and vanilla, whereas the Catalan one relies on milk, citrus and cinnamon. Saying so in Barcelona will win you friends.
When and where to try it. The dessert in any Catalan restaurant; the liqueur, usually, at the end of the same meal.
At your wedding weekend. Serve it in tiny chilled glasses with dessert, or caramelise miniature cremas in front of guests and let the liqueur follow. Either way, it is a sweet and very Catalan full stop.
A Word on Gin and Tonic
Strictly speaking, the gin and tonic is not one of the traditional Spanish drinks. It came from Britain, by way of the quinine taken in colonial India. Spain, however, made it its own, in a balloon glass with plenty of ice and generous garnish. There is also one local thread: in Menorca, gin has been distilled since British rule of the island in the eighteenth century, and Gin de Mahón holds its own protected geographical indication.
Building a Wedding Drinks Menu Around Traditional Spanish Drinks
Guests remember the moments that could only have happened here. A drinks menu built on traditional Spanish drinks creates them quietly, because it follows the rhythm of a Spanish day:
- Welcome evening: rebujito in Andalusia, cava sangria on the coast, vermut in the city.
- Ceremony and toast: cava, ideally from a producer you have tasted together.
- Dinner: still wines from the region where you are marrying.
- Sobremesa and late night: carajillo, hierbas or crema catalana liqueur before the dancing begins in earnest.
- The day after: a vermouth hour to open a long recovery lunch.
Two things make the difference. The first is region: a drink tastes better where it belongs, so the list should change with the place. The second is execution. What can be served depends on each venue, its bar arrangements and its caterer, and therefore good versions need planning rather than improvisation.
Choosing what to pour is the easy part. Making sure it arrives cold, well made and at the right moment of a three-day wedding weekend is the part guests never see. For the rest of the programme, see our ideas for wedding weekend activities in Spain, and our Andalusia wedding planning page for celebrations in the south. For the regions behind these drinks, Spain’s official tourism site is a reliable starting point.
Frequently Asked Questions About Traditional Spanish Drinks
What are the most traditional Spanish drinks?
There is no single answer. Wine is the everyday drink, while vermut, sherry, cava and tinto de verano are traditional in different regions and at different times of day. Sangria is simply the best known abroad.
What is the difference between sangria and tinto de verano?
Sangria is wine macerated with fruit, sugar and often a spirit, and it rests for hours before serving. Tinto de verano, by contrast, is red wine topped with gaseosa or lemon soda and mixed in the glass. One is a jug for gatherings; the other is the everyday summer glass.
Do Spaniards really drink sangria?
Yes, though less often than visitors imagine. It tends to appear at home gatherings, fiestas and long summer lunches. At the bar, locals are more likely to order tinto de verano, a vermut or a glass of wine.
Which traditional Spanish drinks are non-alcoholic?
Horchata de chufa, made from tiger nuts, water and sugar, is the classic. It is naturally dairy-free and works beautifully at summer weddings for children, non-drinkers and anyone who wants something cold and local.
Is cava the same as champagne?
They are made by the same traditional method, with a second fermentation in the bottle, but they are different wines. Cava comes mainly from Penedès in Catalonia and uses Spanish grapes such as Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada.
Can we serve traditional Spanish drinks at our wedding in Spain?
In most cases, yes, although it depends on each venue, its bar arrangements and its caterer. The key is planning: deciding which drinks suit each moment of the weekend and making sure they are prepared properly, with local character.
Plan a Wedding Weekend That Tastes of Spain
A wedding weekend in Spain should taste of the place, from the first vermut to the last glass of hierbas. That takes local knowledge more than a longer drinks list: knowing which drink belongs to which moment, which caterer makes it properly and how the whole weekend flows for guests who have travelled a long way. If that is the kind of celebration you have in mind, our luxury wedding planning begins with how you and your guests like to celebrate. Read how we plan, then tell us about your wedding.
