Here at the BarWhiz Blog we’ve written a lot about popular drinks, from those that will bring you in out of the cold to the most popular drinks to serve at a house party.

Today we take on the almost impossible task of determining what are the Most Popular Drinks Of The 7 Continents.

Africa – Dawa

Swahili for medicine, Dawa is a classic African cocktail, that by all accounts was first invented in Kenya, and has since become a popular drink to sip in the whole of the continent.

2 oz vodka
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp brown sugar
1 lime
Dawa stick for garnish

Muddle lime chunks, honey and brown sugar in a rocks glass. Add crushed ice, vodka and stir. Garnish with Dawa stick.

Europe – Beer?

From Champagne in France, Scotch in Scotland, Stout in Ireland, Vodka in Russia, and everything in between, it’s quite hard to narrow down the list to one single popular drink for all of Europe. Based on the image to the right, by landmass alone, vodka looks to be the clear winner. However this report suggests that draught beer is becoming increasingly popular in Russia… so who can really tell what the most popular drink is in Europe. If you ask a backpacker, undoubtly they will tell you it’s beer, (or whatever it is you are willing to buy a round of), so we’ll just stick with that.

1 keg, can, or bottle of beer

Open it up, pour it in a glass or drink it from the bottle or can. Come on, it’s beer, you know how to do it.

Asia – The Bucket

Speaking of backpackers, if you’ve done any backpacking through Asia then you must be familiar with the dreaded ‘Bucket’. Is it really the most popular drink in all of Asia? With over half of the World’s population residing in the continent, not likely, but look, it’s a great drink to share with friends.

1 bottle of Sangsom whiskey
1 can of energy drink (Red Bull, M150, etc)
1 can of pop
1 plastic bucket
1 package of straws

Mix all ingredients in a bucket, add straws and enjoy with friends.

Australia – Fosters

Although the current trends in Australia are suggesting a shift in consumer tastes, with more people purchasing spirits and wines, this “nation of beer drinkers” still love their Fosters. Oh, and for the backpackers, there is always GOON.

1 big can of Fosters

Open can and drink up mate.

North America – Wine

North America consists of more than just the two countries of Canada and the United States. There are in fact 35 countries that fall within the North American continent. With just over 550 million inhabitants, and knowing the stereotypical drinking habits of the three biggest countries, (Canadians love their beer eh?, Americans their bourbon, and Mexicans their tequila), would it surprise you to know that the most popular drink is actually wine? It sure as hell surprised me, and I live in North America!

1 bottle of your favorite wine

Fight out the cork, or twist off the cap, pour into a wine glass and enjoy.

South America – Cuba Libre

Not to be outdone, South America has an estimated population of just over 400 million inhabitants within 14 countries. So what is the most popular drink on this continent? We’re going to have to settle for the traditional Cuba Libre. I know I can already hear the groans now, so check out this great list of some ‘other’ South American cocktails.

2 oz light rum
1 can of cola
1 lime

Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice, add rum, squeeze juice of lime and fill with cola. Garnish with lime wedge.

Antarctica – Anything On The Rocks

Although not an inhabited continent in the conventional sense, Antarctica does have up to 5,000 residents at any one time. Some, about 1,000 or so, stay year round manning the many scientific research stations that dot the continent’s landscape. What do the inhabitants of Antarctica drink? Well, anything on the rocks of course. There is plenty of ice around after all.

About the Author
Corey Rozon is a freelance writer from Ottawa, Canada.

You know we are all about warmin’ up with a cold one, but sometimes – when you are as cold as this girl looks – what you really need to do is to warm up with a warm one.

Here at the BarWhiz Blog we love to showcase our extensive list of our favorite cocktails and drink recipes, so to take the chill out of your bones this winter why not try out some of our most popular drinks to come in out of the cold:

Irish Coffee

2 oz Irish whiskey
6 oz coffee
sugar
cream

Add whiskey and coffee into a glass mug. Top with sugar, cream, stir and serve. I tend to add an ounce or two of Irish cream, such as Bailey’s, to replace the cream and sugar, but hey, that’s just me.

Dirty Chai Toddy

1 oz bourbon
1 oz espresso
4 oz half and half
2 oz water
½ cinnamon stick
1 cardamom pod, crushed
3 peppercorns, crushed
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 tbsp sugar
1 bag of black tea

Bring cream, water, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, ginger and sugar to boil in a small saucepan. Add tea bag and steep. Strain in warmed mugs, add espresso, bourbon and serve.

Esky’s Hot Spot

2 oz scotch
sugar
lemon peel
4 oz water
nutmeg

Combine whiskey, sugar and lemon peel into a mug. Add boiling water, stir and garnish with nutmeg.

Mulled Wine

2 bottles red wine
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 orange, zested
1 lemon, zested
3 peppercorns, crushed
2 cardamom pods, crushed
1 cinnamon stick, crushed
1 clove, crushed
1 star anise
½ cup kirsch

Combine red wine, sugar, orange and lemon zests into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add all spices to a tea ball and place in saucepan. Once sugar has dissolved remove pan from heat, remove spices and stir in kirsch. Ladle mulled wine into heatproof glasses, add garnish and serve.

Blizzard Cocktail

1 ½ oz rum
½ oz hazelnut liqueur
½ oz Irish cream liqueur
5 oz coffee
whipped cream
chocolate shavings

Combine rum, hazelnut liqueur, and Irish cream in a glass mug, top with coffee and garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Peppermint Patty

2 oz peppermint schnapps
5 oz milk
Hot chocolate powder
whipped cream
candy cane bits

Combine milk and chocolate powder in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and transfer into a glass mug. Add peppermint schnapps, garnish with whipped cream and candy cane bits and serve.

Tom and Jerry

1 ½ oz brandy
1 oz dark rum
5 oz hot milk
1 egg
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
nutmeg

Separate egg whites and add sugar. Beat egg whites and slowly add ½ oz of brandy and spices. Fold egg whites in egg yolk. Place 1 tablespoon of batter into coffee mug, add brandy and dark rum, and top with hot milk. Garnish with nutmeg and serve.

Spiked Apple Cider

2 oz bourbon
5 oz apple cider
½ oz orange juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cloves
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp nutmeg

Combine apple cider, orange juice, sugar, clove, cinnamon and nutmeg into a small saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes; add bourbon, strain into glass mug and garnish with cinnamon stick.

Spiced Pumpkin Cider

1 ½ oz spiced rum
5 oz apple cider
2 ½ oz pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
pinch of pumpkin pie spice
1 cinnamon stick
whipped cream

Combine apple cider, pumpkin puree, and spices into a small saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer for at least 10 minutes. Strain into glass mug, add rum, garnish with whipped cream and nutmeg.

Hot Buttered Rum

2 oz dark rum
6 oz hot water
2 tsp sugar
1 pat of unsalted butter

In a glass mug combine sugar and a small amount of hot water until the sugar dissolves. Add rum, butter and fill with hot water.

Honey-Bourbon Toddy

1 oz bourbon
4 oz hot water
1 tbsp honey
1 strip of lemon peel
1 cinnamon sticks

Combine honey and hot water in rocks glass and stir until honey is dissolved. Add bourbon and garnish with strip of lemon peel and cinnamon stick.

Hot Milk Punch

1 oz dark rum
1 oz brandy
1 tsp sugar
4 oz milk
nutmeg

Combine rum, brandy and sugar into a glass mug, stirring until sugar dissolves. Fill with hot milk and garnish with nutmeg.

Flaming Brandy Punch

Makes 18 to 20 servings

2 bottles dry red wine
4 cups brandy
1 ¼ cups water
1 cup fresh orange juice
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 ¼ cups (packed) dark brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
1 strip of orange peel
1 whole nutmeg

Combine water, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and orange peel into a large pot and bring to boil. Once sugar has dissolved stir in wine. Pour mixture into heatproof punch bowl. Mix in orange and lemon juice. Fill ladle with brandy and ignite. Pour flaming brandy into punch bowl and allow flame to burn out. Pour in remaining brandy and garnish with nutmeg.

About the Author
Corey Rozon is a freelance writer from Ottawa, Canada.

Even the Grinchiest of Grinches and the Scroogiest of Scrooges’ ice-cold hearts thaw just a little bit when it comes to getting together with friends for a few holiday drinks. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, from the second to third week of December, and well into the New Year, it is a great time to attend or even host a holiday party.

I’ve been to some pretty amazing parties where the host serves an elaborate themed menu, showing of their incredible culinary skills, however where many parties have failed is when it comes to party drinks. Typically BYOB (bring your own bottle) is expected.

It’s understandable of course, after all who really can afford to both feed and supply alcohol to all of their friends around this time of year. However, being able to supply some creative drinks alongside the incredible food would just blow your guests away.

The affordable solution: create a drink menu and assign each guest a particular bottle or ingredient to bring with them. Here are some of our favorite Christmas Party Drink recipes to add to your drink menu:

#1 – Eggnog

What is Christmas without a glass or two of everyone’s favorite treat – eggnog! Whether you purchase it from the store or make it from scratch, everyone loves a little eggnog each year, especially when it’s spiked. Since eggnog is our #1 pick for the most popular Christmas party drink we will not only provide you with a recipe to make homemade eggnog, but we’ll also provide you with two boozy variations. Think of it as our Christmas present to you.

· Simple Eggnog Recipe (Serves 20)

1 dozen eggs
12 oz white sugar
2 quarts milk
2 quarts whipping cream

Separate egg yolks and set whites aside for latter use. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl, add remaining ingredients, mix well and chill in refrigerator. Before serving whisk egg whites and fold into mixture.

· Brandy Eggnog

1 oz brandy
½ oz dark rum
8 oz eggnog
whipped cream
ground nutmeg
cinnamon sticks

Shake brandy and rum in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into a mug, add freshly made eggnog, top with whip cream and garnish with nutmeg and cinnamon sticks.

· Eggnog Martini

1 ½ oz dark rum
3 oz eggnog
almond extract
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg
cinnamon stick

Shake rum, eggnog and almond extract in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into martini glass rimmed with cinnamon. Garnish with nutmeg and cinnamon stick.

#2 – English Christmas Punch

This Christmas punch is enough for 27 glasses, and best of all it is served on fire! Caution should be taken when igniting the punch; you don’t want to end up with a Griswold Christmas tree.

26 oz dark rum
26 oz dry red wine
24 oz strong tea
1 lb superfine sugar
juice of 1 large orange
juice of 1 lemon
orange slices

Combine wine, tea and the juice of one lemon and orange into a saucepan. Warm the mixture, being careful not to boil. Pour into heatproof punch bowl. Add sugar to a large ladle allowing excess sugar to enter punch bowl. Pour rum over ladle until sugar is saturated. Ignite the rum and sugar mixture carefully pouring into punch bowl. Stir to extinguish flames, add remainder of rum and orange slices for garnish.

#3 – Mulled Beer

Far be it from me to tell you how to drink you beer, I am after all a proponent of warming up with a cold one, but sometimes it’s nice to offer your guests a warm drink. This holiday recipe, which serves 20 of your closet friends, creates a warm and spicy twist on the traditional Christmas beer.

10 bottles of dark ale
5 egg yolks
5 tsp white sugar
2 tsp nutmeg
cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger

Combine beer and spices in a large saucepan and heat until ground spices dissolve. Mix sugar and egg yolks together and add to spiced beer ensuring to stir well. Pour into beer mug and garnish with nutmeg and cinnamon stick.

#4 – Hot Buttered Rum

Speaking of warming up with a warm one, this buttery treat is the perfect drink to hand your guests as they enter into you home from the frigid outdoors.

1 ½ oz of brandy
½ oz dark rum
1 Tbsp unrefined brown sugar
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz water
cloves
ground cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and warm on low heat. Works best if you make multiple cups at one time. Pour mixture into mugs and garnish with ground cinnamon

#5 – White Christmas

For those guest who wrinkle their noses to the though of eggnog, surprise them with this alternative. The additional flavors do a good job of masking that eggnog taste for those not so inclined.

1 oz Southern Comfort
½ oz white chocolate liqueur
4 oz eggnog
chocolate flakes

Shake all ingredients a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into martini glass and garnish with chocolate flakes.

#6 – Poinsettia

This elegant cocktail is made with Champagne, or sparkling wine, which will add a touch of class to any holiday party.

3 oz sparkling wine
½ oz triple sec
3 oz cranberry juice

Combine triple sec and cranberry juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into a Champagne flute and top with sparkling wine.

#7 – Candy Cane

Here’s a fun cocktail to make for those that have a peppermint tooth – they are easy to spot, as they are the ones always stealing the candy canes off of your tree.

¾ oz berry flavored vodka
¾ oz peppermint schnapps
¾ oz white crème de cacao
¼ oz grenadine
half and half
soda water
candy cane

Combine vodka, peppermint schnapps, white crème de cacao, and grenadine into a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass rimmed with crushed peppermint candy. Fill with half and half, top with soda water and garnish with a candy cane.

#8 – Merry Christmas

Last but not least, here at the BarWhiz Blog we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas with a cocktail of the same name.

1 oz gin
1 oz cranberry juice
1 tsp lemon juice
club soda
fresh cranberries

Shake gin, cranberry and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice, top with club soda and garnish with fresh cranberries.

About the Author
Corey Rozon is a freelance writer from Ottawa, Canada.

You’ve decided to take the plunge and have finally proposed to your girl – or were brow beaten into a proposal. Whatever the case, congrats man. So what if she now carries your boys around in her purse next to her lipstick and tampons. That doesn’t mean you can’t take them out and dust them off for one last night of debauchery.

If you want to set out on an epic night for your bachelor party we have a list drink ideas for you. So crank up some Queen and take a look at our pick for the Most Popular Drinks At A Bachelor Party:

Beer

Beer is pretty much the staple for any party, but this is not just any party – this is your last night as a free man, and you can’t very well play Drink the Beer without any beer.

1 case of beer

Twist cap, chug and repeat.

Irish Car Bomb

If you need to really get the party going, a couple of these bad boys will do in pinch.

¾ pint Guinness stout
½ oz Bailey’s Irish cream
½ oz Jameson Irish whiskey

Pour stout into a pint glass and allow it to settle. Fill shot glass with Jameson and float with Bailey’s. Drop the shot glass into the pint of stout and chug.

Overdrive

They say this stuff gives you wings, so you may still have a chance to escape.

3 oz Red Bull
1 oz vodka

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, strain into rocks glass and chug.

Kamikaze

Ever wonder why all those pilots signed up for that gig? They were all married. Just sayin’.

1 ¼ oz vodka
¼ oz triple sec
¼ oz limejuice or sour mix

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, strain into shot glass and kiss your ass goodbye.

The Ole’ Ball and Chain

‘Nuff said.

1 oz Bacardi Tropico
2 oz cold sake
4 oz Japanese green tea
splash of sour mix

Pour all ingredients into pilsner glass filled with ice. We all know you are kind of a Geisha anyway, so go ahead fancy boy, and garnish that drink with a lime wedge or twist.

Jagerade

The sun may be on the horizon but the party’s not over yet. Time to replenish some of those lost electrolytes.

8 oz chilled Gatorade energy drink
4 oz Jagermeister

Pour all ingredients into Collins glass filled with ice and guzzle back that sweet nourishing nectar.

Bloody Bull

Ah, the breakfast of champions. If your best man did his job right you’ll still be partying when 11 o’clock in the morning rolls around – or whatever time it’s legal to start serving alcohol again.

1½ oz vodka
2 oz. tomato juice
2 oz beef bouillon

Pour all the ingredients in a highball glass over ice; add a squeeze of lemon and a dash of pepper. Drink slowly, because once you’re done, so is your freedom.

About the Author
Corey Rozon is a freelance writer from Ottawa, Canada.

 
Whether you are trying to save money, or are just getting tired of the club scene night after night, weekend after awesome weekend, the classic house party is always a fun and inexpensive alternative to going out.

We’ve already given you the Complete Guide For Throwing A House Party and reviewed the
Most Popular Drinking Games, so today we will provide you with the Most Popular Drinks To Serve At A House Party.

#1 – Beer

Whether you serve it on tap, in the bottle or in the can, you can’t go wrong with having a full stock of beer at your house party. If you are throwing a kegger, always buy double the amount, especially if it is going to be a big party, because that draft beer doesn’t last long. A little trick to save some money but still look like you only buy the premium stuff is to start with a keg or two of the premium and then serve the low-grade suds once everyone is feelin’ fine.

#2 – Cocktails

It doesn’t matter if you make them fruity or boozey, cocktails are a staple for any house party. The best way to ensure you have enough variation is to grab your standard bar well of bottles, that’s vodka, gin, whiskey and rum (white and dark if you really want to impress your guests). Grab a variety of mix, from fruit juices to soft drinks and throw in some fresh fruit for garnishes. Also, if you don’t have an ice machine at home make sure you purchase a couple of bags of ice – and it is probably not a bad idea to have a blender on hand either.

#3 – Shots & Shooters

Another staple of the house party is shots and shooters, so make sure you add a few liqueurs to your shopping list as well. In addition to your cocktail liquors, to make some of the most popular shots and shooters you will need tequila, amaretto, goldschlager, jagermeister, sambuca, and various flavours of schnapps. However, by far the most popular shooter at any party is the famous Jell-O Shooter, so don’t forget to stock up on some J-E-LL-O.

#4 – Punch

They say a proper punch contains at least five ingredients, one of which is sweet, one is sour, another is strong, the other is weak and the final one is spiced. You can’t go wrong with serving punch at a house party, and best of all it is a great way to serve a lot of people easily and affordably.

Since a BarWhiz drink post isn’t complete without at least one recipe, we’ll share with you our favourite punch:

Strip & Go Naked

1 case of your favourite beer
26 oz bottle of rye
26 oz bottle vodka
26 oz bottle spiced rum
8 cans of frozen pink lemonade
crushed ice

Combine all ingredients in a large vessel such as a ‘clean’ garbage can, mix well and serve in classic red cups. Stripping and going naked is optional.

About the Author
Corey Rozon is a freelance writer from Ottawa, Canada.