I have never been a cocktail person. If I’m going to have a drink, I tend to go for a simple glass of wine or a beer.

This is because Spain made me a beer person. In my summers in Spain, I loved going out with friends and roommates for a glass of wine or for “cañas y tapas.” A caña is a tiny glass of beer, maybe 1.5 or 2 ounces, very cheap, usually served with a free tapa–olives, or a slice of cheese, etc.

Madrid has more bars per capita than any other city in the world. I believe there were 3 on the block where my apartment building was! They are usually quite tiny. The idea of a caña is that you can go from bar to bar, drinking cañas, but not getting drunk or spending tons of money.

You can also get full-sized glasses of beer, of course. I had my first Guinness at a bar in Madrid watching the USA beat Spain in a soccer match.

I didn’t drink beer before going to Spain. But it was the cultural thing to do–that, or wine, or sangría. So I acquired the taste for it. And now I love a good beer!

What is your go-to drink?