UK Drinks: Best British Drinks To Try!

Whenever I visit a new place I always like to try local products, whether it is Washington wines when visiting Seattle, or pineapple lumps in New Zealand!

If you want to try some local drinks when visiting the UK, here is a list for you to consider. Some are common and widely known to people outside the UK, while others are more niche.

So, here is my ultimate list of British drinks for you to try!

This post is part of my UK Travel Hub — your shortcut to everything I’ve written about the UK.

Several bottles of UK drinks including English sparkling wine, fruit cordials and beer bottles

Top Picks

English Breakfast Tea
Fruit Squash
Pimm’s
Scotch Whisky

British Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Several shelves with boxes of different types of British tea.

English Breakfast Tea

I couldn’t possibly have started anywhere else. It’s the ultimate British drink, so much so that I have dedicated an entire article to British tea etiquette. We drink it at any time of day, and it is a standard offering when you enter someone’s home.

British people generally have a strong preference when it comes to their chosen tea brand, with PG Tips, Yorkshire Tea, Twinings, and Tetley as popular options.

There are even internet charts for people to publicly declare the correct shade of brown a cup of tea should be if it has been made properly.

Earl Grey Tea

An important variation on the classic British tea, Earl Grey has bergamot added to the tea bag/tea leaves to give it a slight floral taste.

It’s a very common addition to tea menus in the UK, and it is particularly popular in settings such as a classic Afternoon Tea.

Horlicks

This creamy, malty drink has fallen out of fashion in recent years, but it is still used as a bedtime drink. It’s a powder that you add to hot milk, made primarily from wheat and barley.

I generally think of it as being something consumed by children and the elderly, and less commonly consumed by young and middle age adults.

Squash

Moving on from the hot drinks (although some people do drink hot squash), is this classic British soft drink. Squash is a cordial that is diluted with water.

The most common flavours of squash in the UK are orange, lemon, and apple & blackcurrant. Robinsons is the most well-known brand, but most supermarkets also have their own versions.

Robinsons also sell varieties of barley water with lemon or orange. It is diluted with water before drinking in the same way as their other squashes it’s just a matter of taste preference.

Many types of squash also have a ‘no added sugar’ version, often aimed at reducing children’s sugar consumption.

Ribena

Ribena also falls under the squash category, but this blackcurrant cordial is popular enough that it is referred to as the brand name, not the type of drink.

As well as the concentrated cordial, you can also buy pre-mixed cartons of Ribena. It’s particularly popular as a children’s drink.

Ribena was originally manufactured in Bristol, England. I The brand is now owned by a Japanese company but it is still very popular in the UK.

Lemonade

British and American lemonade are quite different. While American lemonade is typically a cloudy, yellow drink made of lemon, sugar and water, British lemonade is clear and fizzy.

You can get something more like the American type by buying cloudy lemonade, but that isn’t the standard British version.

Lucozade

Lucozade was originally developed as a recovery drink for people who were unwell, but these days it is marketed as an energy and sports drink.

The original version of this sparkling drink has a citrus flavour, but the range now includes a variety of flavours and options.

Irn-Bru

You can get Irn-Bru all over the UK but it is most popular in Scotland, where it is made.

The recipe for this caffeinated soft drink is secret, and it’s difficult to describe the taste as it is a bit strange. Even Scots can’t agree on the flavour, with a survey about Irn-Bru suggesting tutti-frutti, bubblegum, orange and ginger as possibilities.

What they do agree on is that it is one of the most popular soft drinks in Scotland.

Ginger Beer

Ginger beer was once a brewed alcoholic drink, but these days is typically a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage. It has a distinctive spicy kick, and although it isn’t as popular as options such as lemonade, it is still easy to get hold of.

Old Jamaica is a popular ginger beer, and brands like Fever Tree and Fentiman’s also have ginger beer as part of their range.

Elderflower Cordial

Elderflower cordial is a traditional British beverage made from the delicate white flowers of the elder tree. It’s a popular summer refreshment, often mixed with sparkling water or added to cocktails for a light, floral taste.

Elderflower cordial is also widely available in supermarkets, both in concentrated and ready-to-drink forms.

Vimto

Vimto is a British soft drink that blends grape, blackcurrant, and raspberry juices with herbs and spices. Originally created as a health tonic in the early 20th century in Manchester, it’s now a popular fruity drink enjoyed both as a cordial and in ready-to-drink cans or bottles.

British Alcoholic Drinks

A glass bottle filled with a dark brown liquid and a label saying Pimm's

Pimm’s No. 1 Cup

Pimm’s is the classic British summer alcoholic punch. Pimm’s No.1 Cup is the branded liqueur made from gin with fruit, herb and spice flavours.

The punch is made by adding lemonade (clear and carbonated, not yellow and flat), and a variety of garnishes such as orange, apple, strawberries, cucumber and mint.

It’s generally a day drink, popular at picnics, summer parties, pubs, and of course at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Scotch Whisky

Scotland makes some of the finest whisky in the world. The 5 whisky regions are Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, Islay, and Campbeltown.

Whiskies made in the same region tend to have a similar profile, although this isn’t always the case. For example, Islay (pronounced eye-la) whiskies tend to be peaty and smoky, while Speyside whiskies are often fruitier.

I tend to go for Highland and Islay whiskies, and if you find a whisky you enjoy then it’s often easy to find others you’ll like based on the region.

Cider

Unlike the USA where there is a distinction between cider (non-alcoholic) and hard cider (alcoholic), cider in the UK is an alcoholic drink. You can find 0% alcohol versions just like you can find alcohol-free beer, but that is the exception and not the rule.

If you order cider in a pub, it is an alcoholic drink. You can get cider with other fruits added but it is generally just apples.

Scrumpy

Scrumpy is a sub-category of cider. It is typically a rougher, cloudy liquid with a higher alcohol content. It is often made by smaller producers rather than the mass-produced big cider brands.

Perry

Another cider variation, perry is made from pears rather than apples. It isn’t as common as standard apple cider but you can still get it in pubs and supermarkets.

Buck’s Fizz

Buck’s Fizz is similar to a mimosa, but the proportions are different. A mimosa is usually 1:1 champagne and orange juice, while a Buck’s Fizz has a higher percentage of alcohol, with a 2:1 champagne to orange juice ratio.

It’s most often a New Year’s Day drink, and although it does pop up on brunch menus it isn’t something that we drink frequently.

Mulled Wine

Mulled wine is a classic winter and Christmas drink in the UK. You’ll find stalls offering it at Christmas markets, pubs, and Christmas parties. If you haven’t had it before, it is heated red wine with brandy, spices and fruit added.

We don’t really drink eggnog in the UK – our seasonal alcoholic drink is typically mulled wine.

Personally, I’m not a fan, but that’s mostly because of the cloves which are commonly added.

Beer

Ok, beer is virtually everywhere in the world so it’s not solely British, but I can’t skip it entirely here.

If you want to try some British beer, ‘real ale’ is one term to look for. Real ale, or cask ale, is a type of beer that is brewed from traditional ingredients and undergoes secondary fermentation in the cask from which it is served. It’s often unfiltered and unpasteurised, allowing for natural carbonation and a richer flavour profile.

Craft beer includes real ales, as well as other types of beer, and the UK has a wide range of craft beer brands. Ones to look out for are Hobgoblin, Spitfire, Doom Bar, and Fuller’s London Pride.

The best way to try some British beer is generally going to be to go to a good pub and ask what they have on tap, but bigger supermarkets will also have a large selection of British craft beer.

And one last note – beer is often served cool or at room temperature in the UK, not always cold.

Shandy

If you are in a British pub and want something a bit lighter than beer, you can ask for a shandy which is half beer and half lemonade.

Gin and Tonic

I won’t try to claim a G&T as a British original, but it is a very popular drink in the UK, and over the last decade more and more craft gin distilleries have joined the market.

Sipsmith, Bloom, and The Botanist have joined the big names of Hendricks, Tanqueray and Gordon’s.

Brands producing a wider range of mixers (Fever Tree has 10 types of tonic water, not including special editions), mean that the days of being limited to a measure of Gordon’s topped up by Schweppes are long gone.

You now have far more choice for both parts of this drink to suit your preferences.

A bottle of Chapel Down English sparkling wine

English Wine

England doesn’t generally have an ideal climate for wine, but that doesn’t mean we won’t give it a go.

There are a few vineyards around England (and a small number in Wales), mostly producing sparkling wine. The best-known brand is Chapel Down, but others include Ridgeview and Simpsons Estate.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking it is a cheaper option because it hasn’t travelled – you’ll likely pay more per bottle than an Italian or French wine would cost.

Mead

This one is a bit more niche. Mead is alcohol made by fermenting honey with water. Mead has been made for thousands of years is various places around the world. In the UK it was once brewed in monasteries, most famously at Lindisfarne.

Mead is mentioned in the epic poem Beowulf and once upon a time it was the most common alcoholic drink in Britain (admittedly that was several hundred years ago).

It is typically, but not always, very sweet – unsurprising given that it is made of honey!

You won’t find mead in a typical pub or supermarket, but there are lots of online retailers that sell it, as well as speciality wine shops and even some attractions such as Nottingham Castle!