Rum is the liquor of choice, though you will find some whisky and vodka as well. The local brand of Rum is Flor de Caña and is available in several varieties: Light, Extra Dry, Black Label, Gran Reserva aged 7 years, Centenario aged 12 years and a new top-of-the line 18 year old aged rum. There is also a cheaper rum called Ron Plata.
Local beers include Victoria, Toña, Premium, and Brahva. Victoria is the best quality of these, similar in flavor to mainstream European lagers, while the others have much lighter bodies with substantially less flavor, and are more like mainstream U.S. lagers. A new beer is "Victoria Frost" which is similarly light.
In the non-alcoholic arena you will find the usual soft drinks Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. Some local drinks include pinolillo' and cacao are delicious drinks from cocoa beans, corn and milk and usually some cinnamon, a thick cacao based drink, Milka', and Rojita, a red soda that tastes similar to Inca Cola or "Red Pop" if you're from Texas or the southern United States.
Nicaraguans drink a huge variety of natural fruit juices and beverages jugos naturales which are usually pure juices, and refrescos naturales which are fresh fruit juices mixed with water and sugar. Popular are tamarind, cantelope, watermellon, hibiscus flower flor de jamaica, limeade, orange, grapefruit, dragon fruit, star fruit usually mixed with orange, mango, papaya, pineapple, and countless others. "Luiquados" or shakes of fruit and milk or water are also popular, most common are banana, mango or papaya with milk. Also common and very traditional are corn and grain based drinks like tiste, chicha both corn, cebada barley and linaza flaxseed. Most fresh drinks are around C$10-20. As in other parts of Central America, avoid juices made with water if you are not conditioned to untreated water, unless at a restaurant that uses purified water.
