Drinking

Let's be honest, Armenian wine is not among the best - not even in the region. Nevertheless, it is still interesting to taste some Armenian cherry wine, apricot wine, peach wine, pomegranate wine, and variations of red and white wines. And with a bottle price of about 6 USD, it is okay to try a few to see which one gives you the least hangovers. Their cognac though is another story, reputed to have been a favourite of Winston Churchill, who, by personal request, received several dozen cases from Stalin.

Us humans being humans, we need to find a purpose to everything. So the millions of cacti growing on Bonaire had to be put to good use. The yatu cactus is used to make fences and the kadushy is delicious in a soup. But a few years ago, a Dutch couple decided to push things a little further by trying to make cactus-aromatised alcohol. Thus was born the Cadushy Distillery of Bonaire. The tiny distillery now makes several different liqueurs and even vodka, rum and whiskey, but the most exotic one remains the bright green cactus liqueur. When you stop by the distillery in Rincon, you are instantly welcomed with a shot of the liqueur and offered a quick tour of the distillery, including samplings of all the products that are made on site. If the ladies from the welcoming committee feel generous in their portions and if you top this with a drink at the bar, you might come out of this visit a little tipsy, especially after a long day at the nearby national park.

Some Lobi traditions are disappearing fast. Women no longer wear the discs plugged through their lips which used to be so admired; traditional building techniques are giving way to Western-style brick building. However, one highly enjoyable tradition is not going anywhere: the Lobi people's socialising over drinking. Cabarets are often no more than a courtyard with a few benches where women are brewing chapalo and pito – bittersweet millet beer served fresh and lukewarm from the pot in small calabash bowls. Here hours are withered away in pleasant and welcoming conversation, and locals are happy to see foreigners to participate. Both men and women frequent these happy places, which is a refreshing change from Burkina's bars that seem to be men-only. Most cabarets also have some traditional instruments lying around and if spirits are high – they often are – these are brought out in the early evening. Should a break from the millet beer be needed, Gaoua (Ga-wa) town also host a small museum, a big Sunday market and a sacred grove where chickens are sacrificed.

Burkina Faso isn't Cuba or the Bahamas. But no-one seems to have told that to the good people in Banfora. Here they grow so much sugar cane that they are able to cover Burkina's entire domestic needs. Luckily, a few innovative souls have figured out what sugar canes also could be used for, and have thus begun to distill rum. The most prominent of these outfits are the bar at the Hotel là Canne a Sucre, where you can buy a tasting set for less than 4€ - sampling four of their different variants of rum. The Caribbean feeling pretty much ends here, because the rums are very much African creations: including ginger, mint, coffee and mandarin flavoured rum.

One of the main crops on Santo Antão is suger cane. The cane sugar that is consumed on the islands is however imported from Alagoas, Brazil, because the Cabo Verdeans have a better use for their sugar cane: making Grogue. This often very locally brewed alcohol is a type of rum. When hiking through the villages of Santo Antão, you are bound to run into such a small distillery. The people will happily show you the process of distilling the sugar cane and might even let you try some grogue. First, the suger cane goes through a press to extract the sugar cane juice. The dried sugar canes are eventually used as a fuel for the distillation process.

Probably the best thing in Gibraltar (given you love everything kitch). These British pubs tend to compensate for being so far from the British mainland that they vastly overdo their Britishness. The result is pubs that are more British than the regular pub on the British Isles. However, the truly weird thing about these bars is that many local Gibraltarians are both British and Spanish. For example, most are Catholics and not members of the Church of England and multiple of these places serve both Fish’n’Chips and Tapas. The inevitable cultural confusion is completed by the bartender being a Polack or Italian working abroad rather than a local. So even if kitch is not your thing, the pubs makes an excellent place to observe the rather unique Gibraltar culture – if you can find one without too many tourists.

Many have been to a so-called Irish pub outside Ireland, but how is a real Irish pub in Ireland then. Well, there are the tourist pubs, which can be absolutely brilliant with an international crowd and live traditional music, even during the week. Then there are the ordinary Irish pubs, which can also double as a restaurant or a club. These are most lively during the weekend or when a big game of Gaelic football is on. And then there are the real local pubs, often run by some old granny. These act as the towns meeting place and is great for some people watching. Since even the smallest town has a few pubs, you can always go pub crawling and find out which one serves the best Guinness.

Jamaica much famous bar is, of course, Pelican Bar. Located 1 km out to sea on a submerged sandbar on the edge of a reef, it has one of the most spectacular setting ever. Pelican Bar is made entirely of driftwood and you can only get here by boat. It’s run by some very friendly rastas, which must have the strangest workday ever. Groups of tourists come and go all day long until sunset. Besides very cold Red Stripes, they also serve food (lobster) and you can have your name carved into the wood.

Chibuku is dirt cheap maize (and sorghum) beer cherished throughout Southern Africa. It's sold in paper cartons with easily recognisable red and blue stripes enclosing its catchy slogan "Chibuku international beer shake-shake". The fermented liquid is thick with lumpy bits, so a strong shake-shake is indeed necessary before opening. The first time you come across Chibuku is probably when you see scraps of Chibuku cartons lying around in the streets, giving a hint of where the local Chibuku joint is located. It's theoretically possible to get drunk on the stuff, but chances are your stomack will have had enough before you reach any level of intoxication. But give it a go, it will earn you street credits with the local drunks.

In Mauritania, where alcohol is banned, tea is the fuel for conversation and as such, so it is no small business. Tea will be offered to an arriving guest, a passer-by in front of someone's house or in the middle of nowhere – when the taxi-brousse driver needs a break. But make sure you have the time before accepting a tea-offer. Brewing tea correctly in Mauritania takes no less than 40 minutes and easily more than an hour. Two pots and at least three glasses are required in an endless ritual of pouring the tea between the pots, between glasses and between glasses and pots. Tea here is not one glass, but three. The first strong – this one is for health. The second neither too strong or too sweet – this one is for a life without too many extremes. The last glass you get served is very, very sweet – this one is for love. The glasses large shot-glasses and the upper half consist of white foam made in the pouring process. Drinking the tea actually takes a fraction of the time it takes to make it. The mean time is filled with conversation.