To some tastes, especially those who prefer stronger and complicated beers, Venezuelan beers may seem thin and watery. The most popular beer brand is Polar, which is available in a low-calorie/no-flavour version (Polar Light), light version (Polar Ice), or premium version (Solera), which actually bears some semblance to real beer. Brahma and Regional are other beers available throughout the country.
Whisky is very popular among Venezeulans, particularly for special events. Venezuelan-made rum is generally dark and of very good quality. Among the best is the "1796" brand from Santa Teresa. It is a Solera rum.
Venezuelans are heavy drinkers and will often go through a case of beer (admittedly of the aforementioned watery kind) during vacation days, starting before breakfast, only to carry on with a bottle of rum or whisky come nightfall.
A popular non-alcoholic drink is called "chicha Andina," which is made from rice or corn flour.
Malta or Maltin is a carbonated non-alcoholic malt drink sold alongside regular soft drinks, although it is also manufactured by the Polar company.
Venezuelan coffee is excellent, but make sure you are asking for proper coffee (machine-made, 'de la maquina'), otherwise you might be served a 'negrito' or 'guayoyo', which can be anything from weak filter coffee to coffee-smelling brown water.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Venezuela
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Venezuela - updated Mar 2024
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Venezuela Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.