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Worlds 50 most delicious drinks

Few things unite tourists and locals like sitting down with a local bevvie. But which is your favorite?
By Tim Cheung 9 December, 2011

We all know, as suggested by our wait staff, that drinks come before food.

But let's wait on the main course for a while.

In case you get impatient, read here: World's 50 most delicious foods
(http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-067535) .

For now, the drink list has arrived. Take a swig, or the chug the lot in one.

Then let us know which drinks you love by voting on our Facebook poll
(https://www.facebook.com/questions/10150505712210166/?qa_ref=qd) .

50. Mango lassi, India

Some of Indias lucky workers have migrated into the air-
conditioned confines of its call centers and IT offices. For
the rest, and for travelers there, reprieve comes in the
form of a cooling, sweat-beating summer drink that acts
like an internal sun screen.

Mango, yogurt and milk combine in creamy harmony

making those sweltering afternoons fighting stray dogs
for the shade almost something to look forward to.

49. Red Bull, Austria

OK, Red Bull is an acquired taste even on a good day.
50. The coolest thing in India? But nothing else in the history of drinks and beverages
has made deadlines more hittable than this energy drink.

It doesnt really help you grow wings, but when served

chilled its fruit-punch flavor explodes in your face like a
slap from a sugary, caffeine-marinated cod.

48. Yakult, Japan

Drinking a carton of bacteria is hardly one of the worlds
most marketable activities, however friendly they might
claim to be.

49. Feels like you're getting smacked in the
brain by a fizzy caffeine wave.
But if you can get over that, a vanilla tongue soak awaits
thatll make you wish each serving was more than just
100 milliliters.
47. Guinness, Ireland
When youre talking Guinness, perfection is 119.5
seconds. Thats how long it takes for a perfect pint of
this ruby red (not black) nectar to be poured according to
brand owner Diageo.

Its packed with iron, its healthy (no really) and is one of
the beer worlds smoother, earthier characters.

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46. Pina colada, Puerto Rico

48. If they were really that friendly, wouldn't
So good, someone wrote a song about it
they come in bigger packages?
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVdhZwK7cS8) .
Just looking
at the drink brings you closer to a beach and sipping this
mixture of coconut milk, pineapple juice and rum will send you directly to a hammock between
palm trees in the Caribbean.

45. Cendol, Indonesia

 Strictly speaking this is more of a watery dessert than a
drink, and is served in a bowl, but at least that way you
get to take bigger gulps.

The mixture of creamy coconut milk and sweet palm

sugar chilled by shaved ice will is the perfect antidote to
the hawkers on Kuta beach.

44. Sujeonggwa, Korea

47. Impossible photo: no such thing as just
one pint of Guinness.
Made from dried persimmons, cinnamon, ginger and
peppercorn, sujeonggwa is essentially a liquid made of
spices, boiled and steeped in a cup.
The cooking and cooling processes mean it can be hours
before the final spicy, sweet and tangy flavors are ready
for you. The brick-red extract is fragrant and appetizing,
making the hours of preparation as agonizing as the
result is rewarding.

43. Fanta, Germany

Created in Nazi Germany by an enterprising German
Coca-Cola executive when shipments of Coca-Cola
ingredients were halted during World War II, Fanta was
so popular with Germans that three million cases were
produced in 1943 -- enough to keep the companys
German operations afloat during the war.

The brands workhorse is Fanta Orange, a soda

43. Rich with sugar, and history. marketed under campaigns sunny enough to brighten
away its shadowy past.

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42. Shikuwasa juice, Japan

For a fruit relatively unknown in the West, the Japanese shikuwasa has a familiar look about it. In
fact, its sometime name of flat lemon reveals that it shares several characteristics with that
yellow citrus, including an acidic punch.

The Okinawa native, scientifically called Citrus depressa, yields a sharp juice thats best diluted
or added to a cocktail.

41. Raksi, Nepal

Made from millet or rice, Raksi is strong on the nose and sends a burning sensation straight
down your throat that resolves itself into a surprisingly smooth, velvety sensation.

Nepalese drink this home brew to celebrate festivals, though we think that the prized drink itself
is the reason to celebrate.

40. Coconut water, Global

You can eat its flesh raw or flaked and cook with its oil,
but the best way to ingest the star of so many tropical
scenes is to stick a straw inside and drink.

Coconuts, technically a fruit, may kill more people each

year (http://www.unisci.com/stories/20022/0523024.htm) than
sharks, but they taste a whole lot better, too.

39. Scotch whisky, Scotland

40. One of the freshest fruit juices (look it up)
on the beach.
We dont like to be snobbish, but if youre going to drink
whisky you have to do it right. Whether single malt or
blend, the favored drink of such eminent names as
Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher has kept men
and women warm and interesting for many decades.

Dont dare taint it with ice.

38. Mojito, Cuba

Its named after a Cuban seasoning, or an African amulet; it was invented by the Cubans, or in
honor of Sir Francis Drake; it should be made fresh and simple, or you can change it up
whatever your whim. All depending on who you ask.

Everyone has their own take on the mojito, reportedly Ernest Hemingways favorite drink, so that
the mix of white rum, lime, sugar, mint and soda water, can turn you into the life of the
conversation, or a flailing, wailing drunk.

39. Warning: the consumption of Scotch
may leave you wondering what the hell
happened to your pants.
36. "The only American invention as perfect
as the sonnet" - H.L. Mencken.
35. Plastic straw = childish. Metal straw =
must try.
34. Can you market your way to global
domination? While we decide let's pop
another cork.
Complements everything from coffee to Cointreau, but mixes best with the opposite sex.
31. Tequila, Mexico
If Tequila says to you hot, hazy nights with salt, lime, buxom waitresses and facial grimaces all
blurring together, this entrys not for you.
The 100 percent blue agave Tequila requires no accessorizing; just sip, savor and repeat.
30. Sparkling water, Global
37. Cider, England
A glass of genuine farmhouse cider is about as similar to
the mass-produced stuff in cans as apples are to horse
manure. Steeped in cinnamon and cloves and swirling
with unfiltered apple bits, a room-temperature mug of the
real deal lends a warming, fragrant note to cruel winter
days.
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36. Martini, United States
You could try bastardizing this sacred cocktail with
various pollutants -- Appletinis? Chocolate martinis?
Please stop! -- but nothing is ever going to change the
magic that gin, vermouth and olives do to a long day.
35. Yerba Mate, South America
Made by steeping the leaves of the South American
rainforest holly tree in hot water, yerba mate ranks
among the traveling worlds most surprising and pleasing
discoveries.
Served in a hollow gourd with a metal straw, the
caffeinated bevvie is so much a part of the South
American scene -- popular in Argentina, Paraguay,
Uruguay and southern Brazil-- that drinking it there
instantly turns you into a debonair local.
34. Champagne, France
You may love F1 drivers for their glamorous lifestyles, but
you have to hate them for wasting all that Champagne
every fortnight.
Champagne is the diamond of the drink world, taking its
place on the podium as the beverage to have when
celebrating pretty much anything.
In fact, take a gulp and you could almost imagine that a
thousand little diamonds are bursting on your tongue, as
the crisp, light fizzy beverage gets to work.
33. Carrot juice, Global
Healthy enough to feature in diet plans, but sweet
enough to be enjoyed by kids, carrot juice is a jack of all
trades.
Dont get too attached though. Drinking too much carrot
juice has been known to turn the skin orange.
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32. Baileys Original Irish Cream, Ireland
The benevolent wizards who make Baileys credit 38,000
of the top-bred Irish dairy cows grazing on approximately
1,500 selected Irish farms mainly on the east coast of
Ireland for producing the rich cream that makes their
god-like elixir the top-selling Duty Free liqueur brand in
the world.

29. More intoxicating than Giselle Bundchen
in a two-piece.
28. Thick and sweet -- the Goldie Hawn of
milkshakes.
27. World's biggest "tea bag"?
23. Funny how the human variety is the one
that makes us squirm.
22. In sports drinks, success is 75 percent.
Tap water? What else you got on the menu tonight,
monsieur, boiled hot dogs and bread crumbs?
Sparkling, carbonated, fizzy, with gas whatever you
call it, the mere addition of bubbles transforms plain old
H2O into a stylish beverage, conferring upon you
instant lan.
At least till you start burping it all back up.
29. Caipirinha, Brazil
Brazils national drink is a modern take on the Daiquiri
and brings a refreshing base of lime together with a hint
of Brazilian sugarcane rum.
Garnish with a wedge or slice of lime, slurp, then beam
like Ronaldinho after scoring a hat trick.
28. Chocolate milkshake, United States
This artery-clogging third musketeer (after burger and
fries) of the fast-food world gives a sweet ending to all
family meals out.
And it may not even be as fattening as you think -- the
amount of energy spent trying to slurp this thick sludge
up the straw must burn off at least a few of those
calories.
27. Thai iced tea, Thailand
The best tea is served in a plastic bag from street carts,
and looks bright orange, but in a good way. Its a strong,
sweet caffeine kick, made from strong-brewed black tea
and then mixed with condensed milk and spices.
If it wasnt any good Vietnamese and Chinese
restaurants wouldnt bother stealing the recipe.
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26. Irish car bomb, United States
The smooth sucker-punch of the ICBs three ingredients
has made it a lets-get-ready-to-rumble guys-night
tradition. Ritual is the key: float a half shot of Irish
whiskey atop a half shot of Irish cream. Drop the glass
into a half-pint of Irish stout, down quickly and wait for
the bro hugs to begin. (Use Jamesons, Baileys and
Guinness for the classic version).
Too bad the Irish have never heard of it; like most
offensive Irish sacraments, the drink was invented in the
United States (http://www.irishcarbomb.com/) .
25. Bubble tea, Taiwan
More bubble than tea, this is a tea-slash-milk-slash-fruit
drink and its most famous variety includes chewy
pearls, resembling oversized frogspawn, at the bottom
that you suck up with an oversized straw.
It sounds weird, but it has become a favorite drink snack
among Asias millions of young shoppers.
24. Raki, Turkey
Dubbed "lion's milk, raki is a potent liquor made from
grapes or figs, but when diluted with water turns milky
white and becomes a much tamer, licorice flavored
aperitif.
It is popular as a seafood accompaniment, alongside
mezze, before dinner, after dinner, with cheese, kebabs
and melon. Basically anytime, anywhere, is good time for
raki.
23. Milk, Global
Where would the breakfast cereal business be without milk? The only drink millions of people
deliberately mix with their food every morning, milk is also the childs bone-strengthening
beverage of choice.

Throw in the "Jackass" pranks involving liters of milk and vomiting, and you have a drink thats
funny as well as tasty.

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22. Gatorade, United States

Gatorade makes you run faster, we heard, because losers could miss out on the after-race
drinks.

Bad jokes aside, the sports drink originally created to replenish the water, carbs and electrolytes
lost by athletes at the University of Florida has become a global success, with a 75 percent
share of the sports drink market in the United States.

21. Eggnog, England

Bring in the eggnog and the otherwise long and torturous family gathering where everyone wears
hideous sweaters turns into a joyous Christmas dinner. Or thats the idea, anyway.

This sweetened beverage of milk and beaten eggs tastes like an alcoholic creamy egg custard.
Best served warm.

20. Sex on the beach, United States

When a young Florida barman entered a competition to
sell the most cocktails, he called his peach schnapps,
orange juice, cranberry juice and vodka concoction Sex
on the Beach.

Now he's also responsible for the most juvenile of bar

orders: Ill have Sex on the Beach, please, snort snort.

19. Es kelapa muda, Indonesia

20. If this cocktail's also your pick-up line,
you'll be drinking it alone.
This popular Indonesian drink loved by kids is essentially
chilled young coconut juice with colored-syrup and
coconut slices.
Fresh on the taste that lasts through your whole meal, es
kelapa muda is Indonesian tradition at its finest and
purest.

18. White wine, Global

You know when someone pays US$117,000 for a single
bottle and stores it in a bullet-proof case that will only
open to his fingerprint, the drink youre talking about is
something special.

Christian Vanneque, owner of the SIP Wine Bar in Bali,

forked out for a bottle of 1811 Chateau dYquem earlier
this year to fulfill a lifelong dream.

White wine may not be the most delicious drink in the

18. Nearly US$30,000 a glass. Better not be
corked.
world, but it appears to attract the most ardent fans.
17. Lemonade, Egypt
Lemons, water and sugar. Doesnt sound like much, but
this summer refresher, first documented in Egyptian
writings around 1,500 years ago, turns kids into happy
angels and adults into happy kids.

If you can ignore the five spoons of sugar in your glass, it

can even be considered healthy: its been said to aid
digestion, relieve heartburn and control diarrhea and
constipation.

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16. The irresistible temptation of drinking
without paying. At least immediately.
16. Anything from a hotel mini-bar, Global
Its one in the morning and youre dying for some bottled water. Or apple juice. Or a Heineken.
 Whatever it is, when youre willing to shell out US$8 for a
lousy drink in an undersized can, it damn well better be
one of the most satisfying chugs youve ever had.

15. Sake, Japan

If you fancy a laugh, watch the look on a diners face
when they see a first-time sake drinker shoot a small
cup of sake.

Served chilled, hot or room temperature, depending on

your mood or meal, sake is stronger than wine and
weaker than vodka. No matter the temperature though,
13. Got to hand it to the guy who created a sake has a cool dry flavor, and like wine, flavor accents
best-selling drink by taking out the water. vary with quality and type.

14. Pastis, France

Although not as exciting, or as hallucinogenic, as its
reckless cousin, absinthe, which in its true form is
banned from civilization, the potent licorice-like pastis
has just the right dash of floral and herbal qualities to
make it a signature French drink.

Served with chilled spring water at a strict ratio of five-to-

one, pastis tastes like mellowed liquor with an appetizing
anise flavor.

13. Kool-Aid, United States

11. Rich but fun, kinda like George Clooney Kool-Aid revolutionized powder mix drinks and sets the
in a glass.
benchmark for kids in North America regarding the taste
of flavored water.

Its mascot, a jug, has perhaps the worlds worst slogan: Oh yeah! Luckily the drink tastes
better.

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12. Watermelon cucumber punch, Global

Take two of the worlds most refreshing fruits, throw them into a blender, add lime juice and
syrup and you have the makings of what, on a sweltering day in the sun, can taste like a life-
saving beverage.

11. Sangria, Spanish

So your parents-in-law pay you a surprise visit, and all youve got in the cupboard is a cheap
bottle of red and some half-rotten fruits. Not to worry.

The Spanish came up with sangria, a sweet, carbonated wine punch that has entertained guests
from all nations and tax brackets.

Splash some brandy over it to bring out that spicy kick.

10. Hot chocolate with marshmallows, United States

If pia colada equals tropical beaches, then hot
chocolate with marshmallows equals extra-thick mitten
socks and couch loafing inside ski resorts.

This drink is your only legitimate excuse to stay indoors

when in the Alps.

The rich and aromatic hot chocolate also makes gloomy

winter mornings worth looking forward to.

9. Gin and tonic, England

Trust the Brits to make a medicine (the quinine in tonic
water was used by the British East India Company to
8. One of the best ways to ingest your fruit
quota each day.
prevent malaria) more palatable by throwing in some
booze.

Still, were glad they did, as the clink-clink, glug-glug, fizzzz of a gin and tonic being poured is
about as perfect an introduction to a balmy evening as its possible to find.

8. Red wine, Global

What sound does a fermented grape make? None, it just lets out a little wine.

7. The drink that made "with bits" a desirable
quality.
4. If your beer is pale and tasteless, your
glass may be empty. Order another.
3. The first defense and final attack against
the evil of the morning after.
2. A cola trinity.
1. No one crawling through a desert ever
hallucinated wine, right?
And thank God for that. Or rather, thank the Georgians.
The region in what is now known as Eurasia is credited
with the first wine production 8,000 years ago.
Thanks to them we now have such enjoyable pairings as
beef and Merlot, tuna and Pinot Noir and drunk Scottish
students and Buckfast.
7. Orange juice, United States
O.J. earns a spot on our list just for reminding us of our
childhoods. The refreshing, tangy, wholesome drink, first
mass-produced and distributed in the United States
around 1915, has always reigned king over its try-hard
cousins, apple, watermelon, pineapple and tomato.
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6. Air mata kucing, Malaysia
Malaysians have figured out the golden formula for
making a delicious drink -- make it sweet, cold and toss
in some tropical fruits. Air mata kucing, or longan drink,
is exactly that.
Sweetened by rock sugar and dried longan, it also
comes with winter melon and a cheap price tag.
5. Tea, Global
In Tibet the butter version keeps cold bodies warm and
lips chap-free. In India it provides a sugary boost and a
break from street chaos. In Japan it's consumed in an
elaborate ritual. In England it's accorded magic potion
status.
Nothing seems quite so bad when you hear the words,
What you needs a nice cup of tea.
Theres no arguing with the worlds second-most widely
consumed drink (after water).
4. Beer, Global
Sure, the wheel was a great invention; so too the
computer chip. But they dont go nearly as well with
pizza.
Whichever trooper first had the courage to drink steeped
and fermented barley had to be a bit of a loose cannon,
but thanks to him or her we now have such luminary
beverages as Kronenbourg 1664, Weihenstephaner Vitus
(winner of Worlds Best Beer
(http://www.worldbeerawards.com/2011/) ) and the unforgettable
Santas Butt Porter, all of which are, as Homer Simpson
puts it, "the cause of and solution to all life's problems!"
3. Coffee, Ethiopia
Theres a reason coffee, said to have been discovered in
Ethiopia, is one of the worlds most traded commodities -
- Monday mornings happen to all of us.
This little green bean arguably deserves more than one
entry in this list, but for all the various modes of ingestion
-- latte, cappuccino, mocha, American - you only need
to know one thing to start your day off well -- theres
more where it came from.
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2. Coca-Cola, United States
Invented by a pharmacist as a remedy to headaches in
1886, the worlds most popular carbonated soft drink is
like the American dream in a can -- from nothing, 85
eight-ounce cans of Coke were consumed
(http://www.prosebeforehos.com/image-of-the-day/10/13/cocacola-consumption-per-capita/) globally per capita in
2008 -- more than any other soda.

The drink has gone through various manifestations, including Diet, Cherry, Lemon and Zero, but
its the original, with a brain-freezing, nasal-passage-penetrating kick that keeps em coming
back for more.

1. Water, Global
Its great for washing cars, and when it falls from the sky its a perfect excuse to stay home and
watch a war movie. But as the base of every other drink on this list, of every food in the world
and indeed of all life, nothing beats a glass of pure, unsullied water for its thirst-quenching,
revitalizing, life-giving properties.

Especially when it comes in a shapely glass bottle with a fancy label and hefty price tag. The
best part, you can make it even better on a hot day by just adding more water, frozen.

Now let us know which drinks you love by voting on our Facebook poll
(https://www.facebook.com/questions/10150505712210166/?qa_ref=qd) .

Originally published December 2011. Updated August 11, 2012.

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