wine
Grape growing and wine production have a long history in Bulgaria, dating back to the times of the Thracians. Wine is, together with beer and grape rakia, among the most popular alcoholic beverages in the country.
Some of the well known local wine varieties are Mavrud, Pamid, Gamza red dry, Melnik, Dimyat, Misket, Muskat, Pelin, Kadarka red sweet and Keratsuda white dry.
spirits
Rakia ÑÐ°ÐºÐ¸Ñ is the Bulgarian national alcoholic drink and is served neat, usually at the beginning of a meal with salads. Its powerful 40% vol, clear brandy that can be made from grape, plum or apricot. In some villages people still distill their rakia at home; it is then usually much stronger >50% vol.
Another quite popular drink is mastika маÑÑика 47% vol, a drink closely related to Greek Ouzo and Turkish Raki. It is usually drunk with ice, with water in a 1:1 mixture.
Menta менÑа is a peppermint liqueur that can be combined with mastika.
non-alcoholic
There are more than six hundred mineral water springs around the country, so this is something you'd better taste and drink. In some regions tap water is not safe to drink.
Ayrian yogurt, water and salt and boza millet ale are two traditional Turkish non-alcoholic beverages that you can also find in Bulgaria widely.