WHetting your WHistle in CA!

Central American Beer & Spirits!

             The first thing thing that needs to be said about this section is that for all you beer snobs out there, you will be sadly mistaken at your choices here! You won't find IPA's, Hefeweizen, or distinctive ale's but what you will find is drinkable, refreshing beer that will go down easy while you relax. Remember...you ARE in a place of beauty with turquoise waters and white sand beaches! 

            Another thing to remember is what spirits are big here; you are in the land of rum! Rum is KING! and the rum is delicious! So that being said here are our thoughts on the alcohol choices in Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, and of course Costa Rica.

Honduras:

             All four of the beers that are domestic in Honduras are pale lagers, and typically have an alcohol level around 4%. This first one gets a lot of advertisement from its dancing ladies and by sponsoring parties but don't be fooled by that-Barena is down right lousy! (I have to add this in-as the Girlfriend I quite liked Barena, I found it light and refreshing with a piece of lime or lemon!) In fact, of the four, its the worst for flavour and price. It comes in clear, classy bottle with palm trees. I would say it is on par with a Bud Light, maybe, on a good day. It has very little flavour and is quiet pricey within the country. I was fooled by it a few times but only drink it if there is nothing else. Next one up is... Port Royal! This beer comes in green bottles to hide the true nature of it. I have to say that it is better than Barena because it has flavour, albeit bad, but there is something there. It, like Barena, has a nice logo reminding you that you are in the tropics and can sacrifice on taste. Port Royal is about the same price as Barena, and almost exclusively drunk by tourists. It has a faint hint of hops but not really enough to enjoy, in fact most locals seem to think its quit skunky. 

              The next one up is not bad, its Imperial. Do not confuse this with the Costa Rican Imperial, they are two different beasts. Imperial is a little pricey in Honduran terms but it tastes quite nice. Its a real average beer but if you have tried the other two you will be happy with average. If you are only going to drink one beer with dinner I might even list this as the highest but lets be honest... are you really going to have just one? So the winner is... Salva Vida!

            Don't get your hopes up because this still isn't great but its super cheap, drank by everyone, and is great to drink on the beach. Again it tastes like a cheap beer in the states but this beer isn't offensive like some of the others, it can be bought at stores for around $3 a six pack or no more than $2 a bottle at restaurants. You can get American beers in grocery stores, I saw them sell PBR and Stroh's on separate occasions and to my surprise they were the cheapest. 

              So lets move onto spirits shall we...! You can find vodka, whiskey, and tequila here but remember the rum will be the best and most affordable. As far as rum goes you can get all the major brands like Bacardi, Mount Gay, or Captain Morgans but try something new. Plata is the first one that you might come across. It's light and goes with any cocktails you might want but I would't sip on it. It is also very reasonably priced. Next up.. Ron Carlos.. aka Dirty Ron. This little number will get you drunk for $5 and thats about it. It's drinkable and if you are making drinks it's just fine. It was my most consumed rum while in Honduras! Pirates Grog is a rum that is made on the island, and is very nice. It is being marketed to other parts of the world last I heard and it is sort of a craft rum. Finally the most dangerous.. Aristocrat 151.. aka Blackout! At $4 a bottle this is a steal, it's not nice but it's the most bang for your buck. It is hard to find and it is used by more than a few bar tenders to light the bar on fire! Other spirits you will find are typical whiskey/tequila's/vodka but there is one vodka we found that cost $2.50 for a 750ml. I cant remember the name though. So that does it for Honduras, there are plenty of choices so try a few and see what you think. 

              Another choice if you are on the islands is Guifiti, its rum mixed with herbs and roots from the jungle, then left in the sun for a week or two, then its ready. Apparently it has special powers that give men... a little extra strength...! It is safe to drink and a story to tell, most bartenders have a bottle tucked away so feel free to ask.

Nicaragua:

Nicaragua has beer and rum just like everyone else but they might have the best rum in the region. Flor de Caña is their rum of choice. Its cheap and its very good. It comes in a variety of blends but is typically sold in 4, 5, or 7 year ages. The more aged they were the better but to my non rum connoisseur tongue, they were the same. We bought 4 litres for $36 at the border, its not much more once inside the country. I highly recommend trying this. Next up on the beer is Toña... 
not much can be said about this other than it is cheap. It is a really light beer made for easy drinking on a hot beach. We drank it while we were there but I wouldn't buy it anywhere else. The other choice we saw was Victoria, I found it a touch better than Toña. Both are beers that are nice if they are ice cold on a hot day. Maybe stick to rum here as it was the best.

Costa Rica:

              Costa Rica is an interesting country within Central America. It is expensive.. similar prices to USA or Canada. Its about $1 a can in a store. All the alcohol here is going to be expensive so hit up duty free on the way in. 

             Once there you have a few beer choices: Imperial, Rock Ice, Pilsen, and Bohemia. There are a few microbrews in the area but I don't recall enough about them to give an honest opinion. 

              First on the agenda is Imperial; it is the beer of Costa Rica. It comes in 3 different styles: Silver, Light, and regular. I'm not sure what is going on with Silver but it wasn't particularly nice, kinda sweet. The light is lighter than regular but I preferred the regular, it's not too bad. It does have flavour which will come as a surprise after the rest of the countries on here. Next is Rock Ice, it comes in different flavours including michelada (lime&salt), don't buy them if you don't have to! This is by far the worst we had while in CR. Bohemia is what I drank the most of, its cheap, in a can, and doesn't leave an offensive taste. Finally there is Pilsen, this was my favourite to drink, maybe because of the other choices... but is very drinkable with strong taste. It will cost the same as Imperial. If you are like me you might not have known what michelada is. It is beer and a glass of ice with a small amount of lime in the bottom with salt on the rim. Its very popular there, it also keeps your beer cold. Give it a shot, I did, and that was the only shot it got! 

               Costa Rica also makes a special rum: Cacique-Guaro. Its very sweet and made from local sugar cane. Shots of it are cheap because it is local. The cool thing about it is that you can light it on fire and it improves the flavour immensely. Locals told me that it makes you hallucinate.. I never had that happen but I did drink a bit of it. Its a good thing to try since you are there and won't try it once you go home, its safe to drink, its not some crazy moonshine!

Belize:

               Last on the list is Belize. Their national beer is Belikin, brewed in the capital right next to the airport. It has a few different styles like Imperial but must were not to my liking. I did however like the stout, it was tasty. They also make a regular that is most common but this country really had the worst beer. Barrel One was a rum they made which was ok, if you mix the rum with the beer it makes them both quit enjoyable!