Drinking Traditions of Czechia: 6 Local Beverages That Define a Nation

Czechia’s drinking culture blends Bohemian beer craft, Moravian vineyard traditions, and herbal liqueurs born in spa towns. Geography and climate matter: soft water shaped Plzeň’s lagers, Žatec’s mild summers favor Saaz hops, and South Moravia’s warm hills ripen aromatic whites.

Drinks are woven into daily life—pub lunches with crisp lager, a wedding toast with slivovice, a nightcap of bitters, and harvest festivals pouring cloudy burčák. Expect precision in pouring, pride in ingredients, and rituals that make each glass culturally specific.

Ingredients and style: Czech pale lager (pivo) built on Moravian barley malt, Saaz (Žatec) hops, soft water, and bottom-fermenting yeast. Typical strength ranges 3.8–5.0% ABV, with pub staples ordered by gravity rather than alcohol—desítka (10° Plato) and dvanáctka (12°). Production uses decoction mashing for malt depth, open fermentation, and weeks of cold maturation in horizontal tanks. The result is a brilliant golden beer with dense foam, soft malt sweetness, and a floral, spicy hop snap.

Cultural roots and service: Modern Pilsner emerged in Plzeň in 1842 and became a benchmark for lager worldwide. Pub service is ritualized: hladinka (creamy cap), šnyt (half beer, half foam), and mlíko (almost all foam) are intentional pours, not mistakes. Beer is everyday fare—paired with schnitzel, roast pork, or just salty cheese in a hospoda—yet revered for freshness and balance. Visit Plzeň or the hop country around Žatec to taste the style at its source and see how water, hops, and patience define Bohemian beer.

Profile and production: Slivovice is a clear plum brandy distilled from fully fermented fruit mash. Traditional pálenice (licensed community distilleries) run batch pot stills, often double distilling to concentrate aroma while cutting harsh heads and tails. Strength is usually 40–50% ABV, though private batches may be stronger. Expect a dry palate, ripe plum core, almond-like notes from pits, and a clean, warming finish. Some producers rest spirit in glass or neutral wood to round edges without masking fruit.

Culture and occasions: In South Moravia and Wallachia, orchards and continental summers supply sugar-rich plums that define the spirit’s character. Slivovice is hospitality in a glass—served at weddings, holidays, and after hearty meals, or ceremonially at gravesides during All Souls’ traditions. Seasonal tastings (košt) compare village bottlings, where provenance and harvest year matter. You’ll find it in rural cellars, family gatherings, and city bars alike—most often neat at room temperature as an aperitif or a bracing digestif.

What it is: Becherovka is a bittersweet herbal liqueur from Karlovy Vary, built on neutral spirit, a guarded blend of herbs and spices, local water, and sugar. Bottled at 38% ABV, it shows aromas of cinnamon, clove, citrus peel, and roots, with a complex bitter backbone. The recipe dates to 1807, when apothecary Jan Becher and physician Josef Vitus Becher developed a tonic aligned with the town’s spa tradition.

How Czechs drink it: Served well-chilled as a digestif, it complements rich Central European fare. The classic long drink is Beton (Becherovka + tonic with lemon), popularized internationally at Expo 1967. In Karlovy Vary, tasting it after strolling past colonnades and mineral springs connects the liqueur to its restorative origins. You’ll also find it in contemporary cocktails, where its spiced profile pairs with apple, honey, or dry vermouth. It is both souvenir and staple—rooted in a place whose climate and wellness culture shaped its identity.

Ingredients and taste: Fernet Stock is a Czech bitter liqueur produced in Plzeň by Stock Plzeň–Božkov. Made by macerating a proprietary mix of herbs and spices in alcohol, then sweetening and aging, it is typically 40% ABV. The flavor is assertively bitter with notes that recall gentian, chamomile, and citrus peel, supported by caramel and spice. Served very cold as a shot, it lands dry, bracing, and slightly medicinal—purpose-built for settling a heavy meal.

History and use: Introduced in the 20th century and embraced during and after the socialist era, Fernet Stock became a national habit alongside beer. You’ll see it ordered as a quick round among friends, or lengthened with tonic or cola in simple highballs. In pub culture, it functions as a counterpoint to lager—something to sip between rounds or as a nightcap. The Plzeň origin links it to a city better known for beer, but the bitter’s popularity across the country shows how Czech tastes also prize herbal austerity and clarity.

What it is: Tuzemák (formerly “tuzemský rum”) is a domestic spirit flavored to evoke rum, typically 37.5% ABV. Because EU rules reserve “rum” for sugarcane distillates, Czech producers blend rectified alcohol (often beet-derived) with caramel and rum essences. Expect aromas of vanilla, toffee, and spice, with a sweet entry and soft finish—less complex than true rum but highly functional in the kitchen and in hot drinks.

Culture and occasions: Tuzemák anchors Czech grog—hot water, lemon, sugar, and a healthy measure—served après-ski in mountain chalets and at winter markets. It flavors pastries like bábovka and rum balls and warms cocoa on cold nights. The spirit reflects Central European adaptation: in a land of beet sugar and limited tropical imports, Czechs recreated tropical flavors to suit climate and budget. In pubs it appears in simple shots, but its strongest identity remains seasonal—steaming cups in January and the scent of baking around Christmas.

Wine profile: South Moravia’s rolling hills and loess soils yield fresh, aromatic whites—Veltlínské zelené (Grüner Veltliner), Ryzlink vlašský (Welschriesling), Müller-Thurgau, Ryzlink rýnský (Riesling), and the local Pálava—alongside reds like Frankovka (Blaufränkisch). Modern wineries ferment in stainless steel for purity or in oak for texture. Typical table wines sit around 11–13.5% ABV, with a spectrum from bone-dry to lusciously sweet ice wines in cold years.

Burčák ritual: Each late August to October, partially fermented grape must called burčák appears—cloudy, lightly fizzy, 1–7% ABV and rising as fermentation continues. It smells of crushed grapes and baker’s yeast, tastes juicy and tangy, and is sold fresh only from Czech-grown grapes. You’ll encounter it at vinobraní (harvest festivals) in Znojmo and Mikulov, or poured from roadside stalls near vineyards and village sklepy (cellars). Drink it the day you buy it and keep the cap loose; gas keeps building. Wine here is social and seasonal, grounded in climate and the rhythms of harvest.