ShellsG
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances (Sept/Oct. 2015)
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I wanted to follow up on a post I saw a few months ago, but now I can't find it! I did my best to eat and drink like the locals, and so made a few discoveries (discoveries to me, at least) along the way. For those wanting to break free from the typical pilgrim *beer / rioja cycle, try these:
Coffee
Standard coffee terms are café con leche (we all know this one), cortado (espresso with a little bit of heated milk), café solo (a shot of espresso), solo doble (double shot of espresso). That last term is so simple, but it took awhile for me to figure out.
Coffee for pros
A carajillo is a shot of espresso mixed with brandy. I saw this mostly in the Basque areas, where they would heat up the brandy in the espresso machine before adding it to the coffee. The old men advised me to have one around 10 am, as it gives you "a little courage" for the day. This was less common as we moved west.
Afternoons
Patxaran (Spanish: pacharán) is a Basque liquor flavored with sloe berries, usually served over ice. Every bar had it in La Rioja and Navarre, though it also became less common as we moved west.
Anís is similar to other anise-flavored drinks in France and Spain. Was more common towards Galicia. At least, I first noticed it in that area.
Cerveza con limón. By the third hot day in Spain we had all discovered how good a cerveza con limón was after a long day's walk. Mahou Limón is the pre-made brand, though it's better freshly made.
.
Wine
As one French peregrino noted, the Spanish do horrible things to wine. Specifically, almost every bar serves their red wine chilled. We might have had some great reds along the way, but chilling it masks all the flavor. Ah well. Moving into Galicia, though, there are some interesting reds to try. Albariño is nice and crisp, and I think is more well known now. New to me was godello, which was a floral wine with just enough acidity to give it some depth. It pairs nicely with Gallego food!
In León I discovered Spanish vermut, which is served on the rocks or in a martini glass. It's not a mixer like in other countries! There are tapas bars dedicated to vermouth, and a lot have their own house brands. Apparently good vermouth is the new trendy drink in Madrid.
Chupitos
A chupito is an after-dinner shot. I didn't learn the word until my final week, though I had been hearing it and not quite catching what people were saying.
In Castilla y León & Galicia, at least, a chupito means a shot of arujo, which is like grappa. It's fire water! You can have some added to your coffee, or just have a shot after dinner. It's really, really strong, so drink carefully.
I had an interesting experience one night when I asked for a brandy after dinner. The bartender asked me what kind, and I didn't know. He pulled out three bottles. The first had a picture of a bull. "This is what pilgrims drink," he told me, "because it's the cheapest." The third was a top-shelf brand. That one was for the tourists. The middle bottle, he said, is what we (locals) drink. I took the middle bottle. I wish I remembered the name.
Finally, there was a yellow herbal liqueur that I cannot remember the name of & that other peregrinos told me was good. I forgot about it and never tried it.
*not that there's anything wrong with beer and rioja.
** I'm not fluent at all in Spanish, so feel free to add any nuances or corrections!
I agree, however, with a year of aging it may improve.View attachment 37384
I am sorry that I have to agree with this assessment. It is such a cool idea having an outside dispenser of wine. But in this case, if you had never had wine before in your life, this wine would cure you of ever drinking wine again. Maybe I just hit a bad day as MichaelC did. Maybe they mixed up the line that was to go to the sewer with the one to the dispenser. Who knows?
In any case, by all means stop and take a picture of the dispenser because again it is such a cool idea. Take a taste, but for heavens sake, don't fill up one of your water bottles with it.
When the room temperature is 35C then a room temperature wine would be, to me, unpleasantly warm.
The yellow one is liquor de hierbas. It is served after dinner. The locals smile when I order it. And sometimes they are so pleased they gift it to me. The other drink not on your list is Tinto verana con limon. This is great in hot weather. It is made of red wine, limon soda and lots of ice. Even my snobbish daughter said it was surprisingly good. A side note-- I enjoy the cold red wine. And I drink cafe solo. Don't be surprised when they ask you if you really want that. Locals are used to Americans drinking big cups of coffee and cafe solo is served in a tiny cup.I wanted to follow up on a post I saw a few months ago, but now I can't find it! I did my best to eat and drink like the locals, and so made a few discoveries (discoveries to me, at least) along the way. For those wanting to break free from the typical pilgrim *beer / rioja cycle, try these:
Coffee
Standard coffee terms are café con leche (we all know this one), cortado (espresso with a little bit of heated milk), café solo (a shot of espresso), solo doble (double shot of espresso). That last term is so simple, but it took awhile for me to figure out.
Coffee for pros
A carajillo is a shot of espresso mixed with brandy. I saw this mostly in the Basque areas, where they would heat up the brandy in the espresso machine before adding it to the coffee. The old men advised me to have one around 10 am, as it gives you "a little courage" for the day. This was less common as we moved west.
Afternoons
Patxaran (Spanish: pacharán) is a Basque liquor flavored with sloe berries, usually served over ice. Every bar had it in La Rioja and Navarre, though it also became less common as we moved west.
Anís is similar to other anise-flavored drinks in France and Spain. Was more common towards Galicia. At least, I first noticed it in that area.
Cerveza con limón. By the third hot day in Spain we had all discovered how good a cerveza con limón was after a long day's walk. Mahou Limón is the pre-made brand, though it's better freshly made.
.
Wine
As one French peregrino noted, the Spanish do horrible things to wine. Specifically, almost every bar serves their red wine chilled. We might have had some great reds along the way, but chilling it masks all the flavor. Ah well. Moving into Galicia, though, there are some interesting reds to try. Albariño is nice and crisp, and I think is more well known now. New to me was godello, which was a floral wine with just enough acidity to give it some depth. It pairs nicely with Gallego food!
In León I discovered Spanish vermut, which is served on the rocks or in a martini glass. It's not a mixer like in other countries! There are tapas bars dedicated to vermouth, and a lot have their own house brands. Apparently good vermouth is the new trendy drink in Madrid.
Chupitos
A chupito is an after-dinner shot. I didn't learn the word until my final week, though I had been hearing it and not quite catching what people were saying.
In Castilla y León & Galicia, at least, a chupito means a shot of arujo, which is like grappa. It's fire water! You can have some added to your coffee, or just have a shot after dinner. It's really, really strong, so drink carefully.
I had an interesting experience one night when I asked for a brandy after dinner. The bartender asked me what kind, and I didn't know. He pulled out three bottles. The first had a picture of a bull. "This is what pilgrims drink," he told me, "because it's the cheapest." The third was a top-shelf brand. That one was for the tourists. The middle bottle, he said, is what we (locals) drink. I took the middle bottle. I wish I remembered the name.
Finally, there was a yellow herbal liqueur that I cannot remember the name of & that other peregrinos told me was good. I forgot about it and never tried it.
*not that there's anything wrong with beer and rioja.
** I'm not fluent at all in Spanish, so feel free to add any nuances or corrections!
Agree!
Anyway, the notion of ‘wine at room temperature’ is relative. I have read that in Europe it originally stems from old days, when room temperature was more like 16-17C and not the 22-23C, which is the norm today. I prefer red wine at about 18-19C. White wine chilled.
Love it chilled but in saying that I always have bottles in the cellar ready for people with different drinking habitsIn my experience, a red wine is best served slightly below room temperature. When the room temperature is 35C then a room temperature wine would be, to me, unpleasantly warm. I do not find it uncommon for red wine to be chilled throughout many European countries. I prefer a chilled red wine that I can warm in my hands in a glass (as you do with a brandy) to an overly warm glass of wine that has been sitting at "room temperature" all day.
I got to the bodega early in the morning and by the time I got there the wine for the day was almost gone. I also know that some tour buses stop there and let the bus traveling pilgrims have a glass and get a picture taken.I've read that the bodega used to put decent wine in the fountain, so that pilgrims could stop by and have a glass. So many were filling their bottles with it, instead of just having one drink, that they stopped and now just put in the swill. I can't blame them, really. It's a shame, because it was a great idea.
As a tea drinker I can vouch for the availability and excellence of camomile tea everywhere in Spain. All you have to know is that it’s called ‘Manzanilla’.If you're a tea drinker, you're pretty much screwed. I only found a few places that had proper black tea. Green tea was slightly more available but still not common.
I became very good at asking if Cafes had tea, but only about 1 in 20 or less answered yes.
I wanted to follow up on a post I saw a few months ago, but now I can't find it! I did my best to eat and drink like the locals, and so made a few discoveries (discoveries to me, at least) along the way. For those wanting to break free from the typical pilgrim *beer / rioja cycle, try these:
Coffee
Standard coffee terms are café con leche (we all know this one), cortado (espresso with a little bit of heated milk), café solo (a shot of espresso), solo doble (double shot of espresso). That last term is so simple, but it took awhile for me to figure out.
Coffee for pros
A carajillo is a shot of espresso mixed with brandy. I saw this mostly in the Basque areas, where they would heat up the brandy in the espresso machine before adding it to the coffee. The old men advised me to have one around 10 am, as it gives you "a little courage" for the day. This was less common as we moved west.
Afternoons
Patxaran (Spanish: pacharán) is a Basque liquor flavored with sloe berries, usually served over ice. Every bar had it in La Rioja and Navarre, though it also became less common as we moved west.
Anís is similar to other anise-flavored drinks in France and Spain. Was more common towards Galicia. At least, I first noticed it in that area.
Cerveza con limón. By the third hot day in Spain we had all discovered how good a cerveza con limón was after a long day's walk. Mahou Limón is the pre-made brand, though it's better freshly made.
.
Wine
As one French peregrino noted, the Spanish do horrible things to wine. Specifically, almost every bar serves their red wine chilled. We might have had some great reds along the way, but chilling it masks all the flavor. Ah well. Moving into Galicia, though, there are some interesting reds to try. Albariño is nice and crisp, and I think is more well known now. New to me was godello, which was a floral wine with just enough acidity to give it some depth. It pairs nicely with Gallego food!
In León I discovered Spanish vermut, which is served on the rocks or in a martini glass. It's not a mixer like in other countries! There are tapas bars dedicated to vermouth, and a lot have their own house brands. Apparently good vermouth is the new trendy drink in Madrid.
Chupitos
A chupito is an after-dinner shot. I didn't learn the word until my final week, though I had been hearing it and not quite catching what people were saying.
In Castilla y León & Galicia, at least, a chupito means a shot of arujo, which is like grappa. It's fire water! You can have some added to your coffee, or just have a shot after dinner. It's really, really strong, so drink carefully.
I had an interesting experience one night when I asked for a brandy after dinner. The bartender asked me what kind, and I didn't know. He pulled out three bottles. The first had a picture of a bull. "This is what pilgrims drink," he told me, "because it's the cheapest." The third was a top-shelf brand. That one was for the tourists. The middle bottle, he said, is what we (locals) drink. I took the middle bottle. I wish I remembered the name.
Finally, there was a yellow herbal liqueur that I cannot remember the name of & that other peregrinos told me was good. I forgot about it and never tried it.
*not that there's anything wrong with beer and rioja.
** I'm not fluent at all in Spanish, so feel free to add any nuances or corrections!
Like I said Leadell, proper black tea. I don't drink fruit teas. When out in the sticks I couldn't find Te Negra con leche fria any where. The cities were better, especially a little place near the cathedral in Burgos.As a tea drinker I can vouch for the availability and excellence of camomile tea everywhere in Spain. All you have to know is that it’s called ‘Manzanilla’.
I wanted to follow up on a post I saw a few months ago, but now I can't find it! I did my best to eat and drink like the locals, and so made a few discoveries (discoveries to me, at least) along the way. For those wanting to break free from the typical pilgrim *beer / rioja cycle, try these:
Coffee
Standard coffee terms are café con leche (we all know this one), cortado (espresso with a little bit of heated milk), café solo (a shot of espresso), solo doble (double shot of espresso). That last term is so simple, but it took awhile for me to figure out.
Coffee for pros
A carajillo is a shot of espresso mixed with brandy. I saw this mostly in the Basque areas, where they would heat up the brandy in the espresso machine before adding it to the coffee. The old men advised me to have one around 10 am, as it gives you "a little courage" for the day. This was less common as we moved west.
Afternoons
Patxaran (Spanish: pacharán) is a Basque liquor flavored with sloe berries, usually served over ice. Every bar had it in La Rioja and Navarre, though it also became less common as we moved west.
Anís is similar to other anise-flavored drinks in France and Spain. Was more common towards Galicia. At least, I first noticed it in that area.
Cerveza con limón. By the third hot day in Spain we had all discovered how good a cerveza con limón was after a long day's walk. Mahou Limón is the pre-made brand, though it's better freshly made.
.
Wine
As one French peregrino noted, the Spanish do horrible things to wine. Specifically, almost every bar serves their red wine chilled. We might have had some great reds along the way, but chilling it masks all the flavor. Ah well. Moving into Galicia, though, there are some interesting reds to try. Albariño is nice and crisp, and I think is more well known now. New to me was godello, which was a floral wine with just enough acidity to give it some depth. It pairs nicely with Gallego food!
In León I discovered Spanish vermut, which is served on the rocks or in a martini glass. It's not a mixer like in other countries! There are tapas bars dedicated to vermouth, and a lot have their own house brands. Apparently good vermouth is the new trendy drink in Madrid.
Chupitos
A chupito is an after-dinner shot. I didn't learn the word until my final week, though I had been hearing it and not quite catching what people were saying.
In Castilla y León & Galicia, at least, a chupito means a shot of arujo, which is like grappa. It's fire water! You can have some added to your coffee, or just have a shot after dinner. It's really, really strong, so drink carefully.
I had an interesting experience one night when I asked for a brandy after dinner. The bartender asked me what kind, and I didn't know. He pulled out three bottles. The first had a picture of a bull. "This is what pilgrims drink," he told me, "because it's the cheapest." The third was a top-shelf brand. That one was for the tourists. The middle bottle, he said, is what we (locals) drink. I took the middle bottle. I wish I remembered the name.
Finally, there was a yellow herbal liqueur that I cannot remember the name of & that other peregrinos told me was good. I forgot about it and never tried it.
*not that there's anything wrong with beer and rioja.
** I'm not fluent at all in Spanish, so feel free to add any nuances or corrections!
I was talking to two Spanish couples the other day, and they said it was a saying in Spain:
Si vas a España y no bebes vino, ¿por qué vas a España?
If you go to Spain and don't drink wine, why do you go to Spain?
My nearest supermarket here in the UK is an Aldi and I have been very pleasantly surprised with its stock recently. A quince tree I planted several years ago fruited for the first time this year and I have made quite a lot of membrillo. I can now buy Manchego cheese and a decent Rioja to go with it 15 minutes walk from my house. The centrepiece of my Christmas dinner table this year will be a whole Serrano ham which I bought there last week - although I had only gone in for some coffee. There will be a Spanish theme going on for part of our celebrations@HedaP we have lucked out with some very good Spanish wine from Aldi! Worth checking out.
My nearest supermarket here in the UK is an Aldi and I have been very pleasantly surprised with its stock recently. A quince tree I planted several years ago fruited for the first time this year and I have made quite a lot of membrillo. I can now buy Manchego cheese and a decent Rioja to go with it 15 minutes walk from my house. The centrepiece of my Christmas dinner table this year will be a whole Serrano ham which I bought there last week - although I had only gone in for some coffee. There will be a Spanish theme going on for part of our celebrations
The cafe carajillo is simply wonderful if you been trekking through the rain all morning., learn how to prounounce it properly before ordering. The J is pronounced as a K in this instance (as in Rioja) and the LL is pronounced as a Y as in Marbella.
I've never heard a J pronounced as a K either. I can't even imagine how that would sound.You learn something new every day. I've been a non-native Spanish speaker for 40 years now and I've experienced a lot of different Spanish accents but I've never ever ever heard of a J pronounced as a K.
Turns out, though, that some British people turn the H sound into K when they anglicize Spanish vocabulary. At least, that's what Wiktionary says they do to the word Rioja.
I've found Spanish to be a lovely language, well worth a lifetime of study. But British English? That's much too hard a language for me.
Turns out, though, that some British people turn the H sound into K when they anglicize Spanish vocabulary. At least, that's what Wiktionary says they do to the word Rioja.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GhotiFamously it was once demonstrated that by taking parts of other English words with unlikely pronunciation it was quite feasible to spell the word "fish" g-h-o-t-i
I've only heard of the LocK Ness monster.I am Scottish. We Scots generally have no problem with the rolling "r" in Spanish or the "j" being pronounced like a 'H' or 'ch'. Not unlike the Scots word 'loch' meaning a lake. English people - especially those from the south of the country - often find a soft gutteral 'ch' hard to pronounce and end up saying things like 'LocK Lomond' or 'LocK Ness'. No surprise if the same happens when they pronounce some Spanish words.
British English pronunciation is often very strange and inconsistent. I'm often amazed that any non-native speaker ever grasps it at allFamously it was once demonstrated that by taking parts of other English words with unlikely pronunciation it was quite feasible to spell the word "fish" g-h-o-t-i
I've never heard a J pronounced as a K either. I can't even imagine how that would sound.
Okay, I've answered my own question: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/rioja
That's certainly not how Spanish speakers pronounce it.
I would go with this pronunciation: http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/la rioja
No one mentioned mixing red wine with coca cola, a drink I was told was favored by the Basque. I tried it... once. I don't remember red wine served chilled unless it was tinto de verano or sangria. For a non-alcoholic refresher, I preferred Fanta limon, but would accept Kas. Fanta limon, for some unknown reason, is not sold in the United States. So I have to go to Central and South America or Spain for this soft drink.
They would have been throwing up and pissing in the streets regardless of what they drank.I happened to arrive in Logrono during the fall wine festival. All the 20-somethings were drinking wine and Coca cola, throwing up and pissing in the streets. It was very disheartening.
I've never heard a J pronounced as a K either. I can't even imagine how that would sound.
Okay, I've answered my own question: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/rioja
And here's the sound of my jaw hitting the floor after I heard the British pronunciation in that first link. ¡Ay caramba!
Cerveza con limón. By the third hot day in Spain we had all discovered how good a cerveza con limón was after a long day's walk. Mahou Limón is the pre-made brand, though it's better freshly made.
As one French peregrino noted, the Spanish do horrible things to wine. Specifically, almost every bar serves their red wine chilled.
The only truly awful wine I had was at that wine fountain at Bodegas Irache. That was pure vinegar. I don't know how people were drinking it.
I've read that the bodega used to put decent wine in the fountain, so that pilgrims could stop by and have a glass. So many were filling their bottles with it, instead of just having one drink, that they stopped and now just put in the swill. I can't blame them, really. It's a shame, because it was a great idea.
I am surprised there has been no mention of rosada
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