What to drink in Tarragona

🍾 Cava

Catalonia is the home of cava, Spain’s famous sparkling wine made using the traditional method (like champagne). Most of the country’s best cavas come from the Penedès region, not far from Tarragona. A great aperitif or match for seafood.

🌿 Chartreuse liqueur

A famous herbal liqueur made from more than 130 herbs and long associated with Tarragona. It’s usually drunk as a digestif after a meal, but in the city it’s also easy to find ice cream and other desserts flavoured with Chartreuse — one of the local gastronomic symbols.

🍷 Vermouth (Vermut)

Catalonia is one of Spain’s main vermouth-producing regions, and the tradition of “ir de vermut” (going for a vermouth before lunch, usually on a Saturday or Sunday) is still very much alive. Vermouth is served chilled, with a slice of orange and an olive. Nearby Reus is famous for its vermouth culture — it even has its own museum (Museu del Vermut).

🥛 Horchata (Orxata)

A refreshing sweet drink made from tiger nuts (chufa), milk and sugar — not to be confused with Mexican rice-based horchata. Especially good in hot weather, and often served with fartons, long sweet buns for dipping.

🍧 Granizado

An icy, refreshing drink, somewhere between a granita and a slush. The most popular flavours are lemon (granizado de limón) and coffee (granizado de café). A real lifesaver in the heat, sold almost everywhere in summer, from cafés to beach kiosks.

🍇 Mosto

Grape juice — essentially unfermented wine. It’s often ordered by people who don’t drink alcohol but still want to join in over a glass of “wine”. It’s served in a wine glass, which makes it a great low-key alternative.

☕ Café con hielo

Not just iced coffee but a small ritual: a hot espresso is served separately from a glass of ice (sometimes with sugar), and you pour it over the ice yourself to cool it down. Very refreshing in the hot months.

🍇 Local wines

Several well-known Catalan wine regions surround Tarragona: DOQ Priorat, among the most prestigious red wines in Spain, DO Montsant and DO Tarragona. If you like wine, it’s worth trying at least a glass of local red or white.

🍯 Moscatell de Reus

In the 19th century the city of Reus was one of the world’s major centres of the muscat wine (moscatell) trade. This sweet dessert wine made from muscat grapes is still produced in the region — a good match for dessert or cheese.

🌐 Translated from Russian; the translation hasn't been proofread yet.