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Ever wondered what people really drink in the South of the USA? From smooth bourbons and whiskeys to refreshing non-alcoholic classics like sweet tea and lemonade, the South has a culture of drinks as rich as its food and history. Filmed in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, this video takes you through the essential drinks you’ll find across the South—whether you’re sipping a mint julep on a hot afternoon, enjoying a glass of bourbon in a cozy bar, or cooling off with an ice-cold Coke.
We’ll cover:
Bourbon & Whiskey – staples of Southern tradition
Classic Cocktails – like Mint Juleps and Sazeracs
Non-Alcoholic Favorites – sweet tea, lemonade, Cheerwine, Coca-Cola
Local Flavors – unique regional specialties you can only find in the South
If you’re planning a trip to Savannah or anywhere in the Southern U.S., this guide will help you know what to order, what locals love, and how to taste the South one sip at a time.
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Wolters World for Food! Our videos focus on helping travelers know what to eat when they travel, the traditional food that you always want to eat when you travel.
Copyright Mark Wolters 2025
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0:00
Hey there fellow thirsty travelers, Mark here with Walter's World, and today we're in Savannah, Georgia
0:04
And today I want to talk about are some of the drinks you should have when you come to the South
0:13
Because the South is such a fun place to go, but it's so dang hot, you're going to want to keep yourself hydrated and liquidized when you are here
0:22
because you're going to sweat so much in the summer and have a good time when you're here, no matter where you go in the South
0:27
But I want to start with this before we get too far just talking about the drinks You need to realize in the south. You really need to know your audience who you're drinking with
0:35
Because sometimes you go places you want to bring a bottle of wine as it gets or maybe a bottle of rye or some bourbon or whatever
0:41
And you have to realize this houses could be like totally How would I say this super boozy or they could be teetotalers i.e
0:49
They love to drink or they don't drink at all So it's really important to know that distinguish the company before you go and pick up that bottle of bourbon
0:56
okay to give him all right but let's start with some non-alcoholic things first because honestly
1:00
the drink you have to have in the south is sweet tea now when you go around you go to restaurants
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you just order tea it will by default usually be sweet tea like when you go to the restaurants
1:10
it'll say unsweet tea doesn't say tea it says unsweet tea on the thing right because sweet tea
1:14
is how you do it and honestly my southern friends when they go to the north and they try to get
1:19
sweet tea and the places go oh we have tea and sugar packets they're like oh bless your heart
1:24
that is not the same thing because it's not because here how they brew it how they make it
1:28
sweet tea is fantastic within your little diner you're going a little like corner place you're
1:33
getting the barbecue on the side of the road or even at normal restaurants i mean sweet tea is
1:37
amazing okay that's one thing you have to have another thing you want to get when those hot days
1:41
lemonade they make fantastic lemonade down here no i'm not talking powder country time that you
1:46
get a lot of places or or from the like thing that the coke comes out of they push a button
1:50
then it's a different lemonade no no we're talking like real made lemonade when you're here It is so good and you can have a lot of different kinds of it
1:56
But that's one that's gonna be fantastic because those cold drinks are great And I'm gonna tell you one of the things you're gonna get here as well in the south is a big old
2:04
Styrofoam cup of soda or some drink with ice in it. You're gonna go to the gas station to get it
2:09
You like mark So what I get found soda from the gas station No no here it different because here you want to get it with the good ice some people call it the rabbit turd ice but yeah you get that good ice the styrofoam cup that keeps your drink cold forever okay So you have that but let be honest When we talk about
2:25
drinks, we're not talking about non-alcoholic drinks. We're talking about alcoholic drinks
2:29
you should have when you come here, and I want to tell you, bourbon is a big thing in the south
2:34
okay? And whiskey, rye, these things, there's a lot of stuff you want to have when you're here
2:38
and you can have it straight up, you can have it on the rocks, but there's a lot of drinks you want to have and some of the more popular ones probably old fashions are very popular you want to have
2:45
which is you know bourbon or rye in there you have simple syrup and basically sugar and then you have
2:49
bitters in there and then a twist of citrus so you have that one that's a very common one you can get
2:53
all of the south probably another really famous like whiskey based one is whiskey sour which is
2:59
basically bourbon and then lemon juice and simple sugar you know simple syrup or basically sugar
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you have that that's one it's really good and i'll tell you these bourbon drinks they can pack a
3:09
Because a lot of times it's not mixed with like, oh, it's not like a Jack and Coke
3:14
No, no, it's like bourbon and lemon juice sometimes. Like it can be a bit much, so do be careful
3:19
I think one of the ones you really should think about is actually a mint julep. Because a lot of people think, oh, I'm going to go to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby
3:26
Mint julep is really a southern drink. I will tell you, Jocelyn worked here in Savannah for a number of years
3:31
She was a waitress here for like 10 years. And she would tell people they'd come down, look, mint juleps, I'm not sure you're going to like it
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because you have to really, really, really, really, yes, I'm saying really this many times
3:41
really love bourbon, because it literally is ice, bourbon, pouring it, and basically it's just ice, mint
3:50
and simple syrup, like sugar in there, that's it. So it's literally like you're drinking a glass of bourbon
3:54
with the limited thing. It's fun to have, but I'm gonna tell you, if you're not a bourbon person
3:59
it is not something I really recommend. Try some of the other drinks when you're here, okay
4:03
Oh, and by the way, don't be surprised people argue over the right way to make a drink. Therefore, in the comments below, if you think I
4:10
should have a different way of making the drinks, please put it down there. So then I'm not saying
4:14
I did it the right way. I'm just saying there's a lot of ways and there's a lot of interpretations of how people like to make drinks here. Another thing you're gonna notice when you're coming to
4:20
the South is people love their beer. But when we're in the South, even with the true South, this isn craft beer country Yeah there are craft beers you can go to but let be honest If you in the South it all about cheap canned beer Yeah you gonna have have the high life baby You going to have a similar high life or maybe you going to go for a PBR Pabst Blue Urban Tall Boy
4:39
Yes, that is the way you roll in the South. You're going to go to a tailgate for a game
4:43
You're going to go out on the lake. You're going to go out on the water. You're going to go hunting. You're going to do whatever
4:47
You're going to have ice cold cheapo beer. I mean, that's the way you do. And the thing is, even a place like Savannah, which is all sophisticated with the fancy buildings and everything's done up
4:55
You go to the bars, yeah, they're selling dollar pipey beer on Tallboys right there
4:59
That is a southern thing you gotta have, all right? So don't be too snooty to go get yourself some canned beer
5:05
Now, Savannah is one of my favorite cities to visit in the entire country. Another one of my favorite cities also here in the south is New Orleans
5:10
And there's a couple drinks from New Orleans that are southern drinks that whenever people have like a southern party outside the south, they bring up
5:16
And it's one of the things you should try. One is a Sazerac, which is a rye whiskey, absinthe, sugar, and bitters
5:22
Very popular one. I love getting that when I'm in New Orleans. You can actually go to the Sazerac Museum and go have it there
5:27
But you can have that all over, and you can get it all over the south. Probably your local bar can do it for you, too
5:31
Another one that is very popular, which is very sweet and can really knock you on your butt
5:36
is called a Hurricane, which is basically rum, passion fruit, and lime juice
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And it's a lot of rum. But that passion fruit juice really, like, the juices really knock out the rum flavor
5:46
so you don't realize how strong it is. So when you're in New Orleans, you're having a good time there in the French Quarter and stuff
5:51
you'll see tourists that are a little bit too gone because they had a few too many hurricanes
5:55
because they could get you, right? So there's lots of other drinks in the South. In the North
5:59
with the hand grenade, there's all kinds of other stuff. But bourbon, I think, is a really big thing
6:03
I want to kind of mention is really important in the South. They can be bourbon, rye, whiskey, that family, that's their kind of go-to. So if you're looking to give a gift to somebody
6:10
a bottle of bourbon, not a bad thing to have. Now, if you're going to be going to Florida, if you're going to be in Texas or another place, you'll notice there's also frozen drinks. Like
6:18
Some places, there's actually drive-through frozen drink places where you can get a frozen margarita or a frozen daiquiri or some kind of mudslide made into a frozen drink
6:26
These are very popular, especially on the beach. Here in Savannah, you go to Tybee Island, you go to Tybee Times
6:31
There's literally places there that it's like a little smoothie. It just comes out. Here you go
6:34
Now go get drunk. You can have those. I mean, I can't tell you. You're going to Texas
6:38
I know some people don't put Texas in the South, but for this, we'll say you can't go wrong with a margarita in Texas, right
6:43
Because that another really popular drink But let be honest you can go with a margarita for much anywhere in the world because they good right so you have that the thing is when you go around the south you notice there some regional sodas as well you know like big red is really big in texas you know but i guess i don
6:58
think i would say it's like cheer wine is another thing it's from north carolina you'll see it here
7:02
in the south it's not a cola it's not a dr pepper it's almost like its own like little cherry s kind
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of thing on the side some people love it my buddy mark like whenever he comes to this part of the
7:11
south he literally fills up his trunk i love him by your awesome buddy uh does that but that's one
7:16
thing you might want to try when you're here another thing that you don't you don't see a lot as much anymore but used to see quite a bit here in georgia is coke and peanuts or peanuts and coke
7:25
and basically you have a bottle cup it needs to be a bottle of coke and you put peanuts in it
7:28
and the thing is you let it sit in there and the salt from the peanuts and the stuff kind of
7:32
sit in there for a while and it kind of like the coke kind of softens up a bit so how you're
7:36
drinking your cork normally when you get to the bottom you get all these kind of like softer peanuts in there. You can eat those, but kind of that salt within the sweetness and the Coke is
7:44
actually really good. You can try that at home right now. Go get yourself some planters and throw it in there. You'll be great. Though I wonder how it would be if I took boiled peanuts
7:51
and put it in there. I'll have to try that sometime. But I think another thing is important
7:55
to mention about the soda thing is historically, people would call all soda or pop, they call it
8:01
Coke. So you say, I want a Coke. Which Coke would you like? I'd like a Sprite, right? So Coke was
8:06
was like the default soda word. Now, as the U.S. is becoming more homogenous everywhere, you don't
8:11
hear people saying Coke is much for soda. You hear soda more or soft drinks or stuff, and then they'll
8:16
say, I'll have a Coke, I'll have a Pepsi. Well, no one has Pepsi, but Coke or Dr. Pepper or something
8:20
like that. But I do want you to be aware. Sometimes they'll ask you, hey, what kind of Coke do you
8:24
want? And they mean, what kind of soda do you want? Okay, so you say you want a Coke, they might ask, and what kind? And you're like, oh, a Coke Coke. Okay, cool. So be aware of that. The thing is
8:32
when you're going to be here, be responsive. You're going to be drinking because you're going have a great time throughout the South. But you know, don't drink and drive, you know, know your
8:39
limit, you know, use rideshares to get home because we want you traveling more and enjoying
8:43
more drinks around the world. So if you want to know more things about drinks and eats around the
8:47
world, what you should have, subscribe to our YouTube channel. We have all kinds of things to
8:51
tell you about the food in the South, the food in, I don't know, England, the food in China, the food
8:55
in South America. We have things to help people enjoy travel better. So we wish you all the best
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and say thank you for being here and enjoy your drink, buddy. Cheers
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