15 Spanish-Inspired Drinks That Pair Perfectly With Tapas

15 Spanish-Inspired Drinks That Pair Perfectly With Tapas

Spaniards are known for living life to the fullest, while still taking the time to truly savor their food, art, and culture. While the concept of a siesta (an afternoon nap) has largely fallen by the wayside in modern Spain, people in Spain do still take a lengthy lunch break, during which they can relax and enjoy the afternoon with a light meal and a beer or wine cocktail. Take inspiration to do the same with one of our 15 Spanish-inspired cocktails.

Perhaps the most well known Spanish drink is sangria, a cocktail made of infusing wine with fruit, spices, and other liqueurs—no two recipes are the same. Fun fact: The Spain booth at the 1964 World’s Fair featured sangria, and it’s been a well-known classic stateside ever since. We’ve got red wine sangria (the most authentic), white wine sangria, moscato sangria, and more. Try one of our twists on the classic, like our Fireball sangria or a sangria slushie too.

While sangria is well-known, there’s another great Spanish wine cocktail you may not have heard of. From the Basque region of Spain comes a refreshing soda cocktail, the kalimotxo (pronouched cal-ee-MO-cho). It’s a simple combo of Coke (preferably the Mexican, glass bottle kind without corn syrup) and red wine (some say the cheaper the better) that has sangria vibes, plus caffeine. It sounds a little crazy, but trust us, it’s delicious and refreshing.

Speaking of refreshing, if you’re looking for a light cocktail that won’t leave you feeling foggy, try a clara, a drink made of ½ lemonade and ½ beer. Similar to a shandy or radler (grapefruit + beer), it’s the perfect summer beverage. Our summer shandy punch recipe has the delicious additions of fruit and ginger beer, but even if you’ve just got the two basic ingredients, you’ll be sippin’ pretty.

Want more of a creamy cocktail? Spain’s got you too. While coquito and horchata may be better known as Puerto Rican and Mexican, respectively, both drinks originated in some form in Spain, and you can still find them on a ton of Spanish menus. Go for a coquito if you’re a fan of the flavor of eggnog and painkiller cocktails (think more creamy spiced coconut, less pineapple). Not into coconut? Try a horchata, traditionally made in Spain from tiger nuts, and in Mexico from the more easily found almonds or rice. Our recipe doesn’t include alcohol, but you could certainly add some! Maybe some rumchata, a lá our rumchata hot chocolate?

Whatever you do, be sure to pair your Spanish cocktails with some Spanish food. Tapas are classic, and you can make your entire meal out of appetizers. Yum!

PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: LENA ABRAHAM