[Keith C.]

I'm curious about whether there are any beverages (particularly alcoholic) that one might consider distinctly Kiwi. For example, Mexico has tequila, Japan has saki, Greece has ouzo, etc.

Personally, I'll try almost anything, even when I should know better. (Having pineapple wine in Hawaii comes to mind.) So, when I have these distinctly New Zealand drinks, is there much chance that I'll like them?

Thanks,
Keith

[kanatakiwi]

well there's L & P (lemon and Paeroa) but that's not alcoholic!. world famous in New Zealand though.......;)

[Caniwi]

I believe it goes quite well with southern comfort, tho....;)

[jen]

L&P was the first thing I thought of too - maybe it counts if you use it as a mixer. I tried it with rum and thought the combo was worse than the sum of its parts but I'll have to experiment further :laugh.

There's local fruit wine; we've bought Feijoa wine and Boysenberry Port from NZ wineries and we have some Mead made here in Welly. I can't think of a liquor, though.

I tried pineapple wine in Hawaii, too! It was better than the garlic wine I bought in Gilroy, California (garlic capital of the world, just ask them) but that's not saying much.

Jen

[sarahw]

Can't think of anything in particular - all takes on drinks from elsewhere - however, kiwifruit, boysenberry & feijoa wine probably nearest. Suggest a trip to your local Prenzel when you get here if you're into spirits - they do a good fake Baileys, some caramel & chocolate liquers & some lovely schnapps flavours with various other spirits too - ooh as well as tipsy toppings for icecreams - yum! Sambucca flavour with liquorice allsorts on icecream! Better go starting to drool!!

[Timbo]

One of the Maori guys that I work with tells me that some of the "old school" still make an alchoholic drink from fermented (rotten?) corn. He insists that IF you can get it past your nose, it is superb.
I for one do not intended trying to disprove him.

[Questor]

Not a distinctly NZ thing but on the same kinda lines as the one Timbo mentioned, is Botrytis wines (particularly from Martinbrough) Basically a mould that grows on the grapes, and gives them a fantastically different taste - used best as an aperitif, and not as gri as they sound!
Jon

[Moorf]

"Flat whites" - I think they're just regular coffee but I'd never heard them called that before I came here.... sorry, not alcoholic!

[Keith C.]

Thanks for the replies. I'm bound to try the Feijoa wine, since I didn't even know what Feijoa was.

I tried to think of alcoholic drinks for which the US was known. The main things I thought of were bourbon and "purple drank." :)

Keith

[Jules]

Tui (beer) my OH drinks it :yes

Jules

[Questor]

Tui (for me) is far too sweet - i feel like if i have more than one i'll be predisposing meself to diabetes!

[b&k]

Botrytis wines are not new and definitely not unique to NZ. They have been made for thousands of years in France (particularly Sauternes), Germany (called TrockenBeerenAuslese or TBA for short), Austria (TBA again) and Hungary (from Tokaji, probably the best sweetest wine in the world).

The best Antipodean example is De Bortoli's Noble One which you can find in some NZ supermarkets.

Here comes the science...
Botrytis cinerea is a mould which forms on grapes in damp vineyards and can take one of two forms - grey rot or noble rot. The former attacks the whole plant and berries and will make the fruit unusable.

Noble rot, attacks the berries and, by inserting small spines into the grapes, draws moisture from them, concentrating the juice (and flavours). The mould also imparts it's own distinctive (very pleasant) flavour to the grapes. Provided the grapes haven't shrivelled so much that the berries split, then great wine can be made.

Now, if I was to suggest a wine that is kiwi, it has to be Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. It's a great wine the rest of the world can't imitate. You can tell as soon as you smell it that it can only come from Marlborough.

If anyone wants more info on NZ wine let me know.

[Questor]

Oh I know it's not knew - I just really like the NZ ones :)

[vixxann]

one of my kids got a liking for L&P whilst we were over but the youngest kept calling it Lemon Pee because we'd been talking about the film Worlds Fastest Indian where he pees on his lemon tree! After exploring around a campsite we'd just arrived at , she came running up to us yelling, YES they've got a lemon tree... I can wee on it!!

Flat whites are my favourite NZ beverage - don't think they compare to any kind of coffee I've had before - absolutely gorgeous.

Hubbie like Tui and also a dark beer - think it was called Black Mac?!