Be like a local and follow these countries’ drinking traditions

Every country has different customs and traditions. Since it’s Friday, we thought we’d focus on how people like to drink from where they are. Because they just don’t order beer and cocktails, and get on with their night. There are practices that you can only find in certain countries.

If you just so happen to visit some of these countries we listed down, you can have a better understanding of what goes on in the local bars.

Korea: Chicken and beer pairing

Also known as chimaek, Koreans are obsessed with eating double-fried chicken of various flavors with draft beer. Munchies cited a statistic from the Korea Times that said Koreans will eat 12 chickens per year each.

Australia: Buying everyone a round

In Australia, there’s a tradition called “shouts” which requires you to buy a round of drinks for your friends. Toit notes that this cycle will go on until every person in the group has bought their share “and not buying your round is considered to be revolting social behavior.”

Germany: Kidnapping the bride

Getting married in Germany can be quite eventful. The night before the wedding, the groomsmen and/or the family will kidnap the bride and take her to a bar. The groom’s job is to look for them and to order a round of drinks so he can have his bride back. If that’s not love, we don’t know what is.

France: Manners, manners, manners

According to Huffington Post, you have to remember some things while drinking with the French. “Ladies are served first, glasses are only ever filled halfway, and it’s considered vulgar to pour your own drink.” Jot those down!

Spain: Put down that glass of water

Do you ever get those moments wherein you raise a glass of water during a toast because you don’t have wine with you? Well, you shouldn’t do that in Spain because they have a slightly scary superstition. Wine Country explains that if you do this, you’ll get seven years of bad sex. This also includes toasting other non-alcoholic drinks like sodas and juices. If you don’t want bad luck to chase you down, then it might be best for you to raise that wine glass even if you’re not drinking it.

Hong Kong: Getting animalistic

Booze Traveler host Jack Maxwell told Mental Floss that during a trip to Hong Kong, he got to try cobra wine. According to the locals, they age wine with the body of an animal so that whoever drinks it will absorb its energy. “Cobra wine, for instance, is supposed to give you the strength of a cobra. Tiger penis vodka is supposed to be for virility. They put turtles in another alcohol and geckos in another; I guess that’s to save you 15 percent on your car insurance. But they really believe that there’s a connection with these animals,” he said. We dare you to try these odd beverages.

Art by Marian Hukom

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