Alcoholic and soft drinks
France > Paris > Eating and drinking > Alcoholic and soft drinks

Beer

All cafés and bars serve a full range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks throughout the day. Although on the whole there is much less drunkenness than in Britain, it's still common to see people starting their day with a beer, Cognac or coup de rouge (glass of red wine). A café Cognac is the popular combination of a cup of espresso and a glass of Cognac.

On the soft drink front, bottled fruit juices and the universal standard canned 7-Up-style lemonades (limonade), Cokes (Coca) and clones are widely available. You can also get freshly squeezed Orange and lemon juice (Orange pressé/citron pressé), the latter of which is a refreshing choice on a hot day – the lemon juice is served in the bottom of a long ice-filled glass, with a jug of water and a sugar bowl so you can sweeten it to your taste. Particularly French are the various sirops, diluted with water to make cool, eye-catching drinks with traffic-light colours, such as menthe (peppermint) and grenadine (pomegranate). Bottles of mineral water (eau minérale) are widely drunk, from the best-selling Badoit to the most obscure spa product. Ask for gazeuse for sparkling, plate for still. That said, there's not much wrong with the tap water (l'eau du robinet), which will always be brought free to your table if you ask for it.

Characteristically French apéritifs are the aniseed drinks – pastis, in French – Pernod and Ricard. Like Greek ouzo, they turn cloudy when diluted with water and ice cubes (glaçons) – very refreshing and inexpensive. Two other drinks designed to stimulate the appetite are Pineau (cognac and grape juice) and kir (white wine with a dash of Cassis – blackcurrant syrup – or champagne instead of wine for a kir royal).

Beers are the familiar Belgian and German brands, plus homegrown ones from Alsace. Draught (à la pression, usually Kronenbourg) is the cheapest drink you can have next to coffee and wine. Ask for un demi (one-third of a litre). A light, summertime option is shandy (un panaché). For a wider choice of draughts and bottles you need to go to the special beer-drinking establishments, or English- and Irish-style pubs found in abundance in Paris. A small bottle at one of these places will cost at least twice as much as a demi in a café. In supermarkets, however, bottled or canned beer is exceptionally cheap.

As for the harder stuff, there are dozens of eaux de vie (brandies distilled from fruit) and liqueurs, in addition to the classic cognacs or Armagnac. Among less familiar names, you could try Poire William (pear brandy), Marc (a spirit distilled from grape pulp) or the grappa-like Basque Izarra. Measures are generous, but they don't come cheap: the same applies for imported spirits like whisky, often called scotch.