What People Drink in Costa Rica: 6 Traditional Alcoholic Beverages

Costa Rica’s drinking traditions grow from its tropical geography: sugarcane thrives in lowlands, maize anchors rural kitchens, and palms dot the dry Pacific. Heat shapes habits—light, refreshing ferments and easy-mixing spirits fit beach towns and mountain valleys alike.

From state-made guaro poured at fiestas to homemade chichas cooling on kitchen counters, beverages reflect community life. You’ll encounter them in San José cantinas, roadside sodas near Liberia, and coastal gatherings in Puntarenas and Limón, each sip tied to landscape, harvest, and celebration.

Guaro is Costa Rica’s national cane spirit, most famously sold as Cacique (about 30% ABV). Distilled by the state-owned Fábrica Nacional de Licores (FANAL, established 1856) in Grecia, it’s a clean, slightly sweet, column-distilled alcohol made from sugarcane byproducts. Its neutral profile makes it versatile: expect a light sweetness on the nose, a soft, peppery finish, and minimal barrel influence.

Culturally, guaro is the democratic pour—present at fiestas patronales, neighborhood turnos, and soccer celebrations from San José to Puntarenas. The signature ritual is the chiliguaro shot: guaro shaken with tomato or clamato juice, lime, hot sauce, and salt, served ice-cold. You’ll also find guaro sours and simple highballs in cantinas and dance halls. Travelers can sample responsible pours in city bars around San José or beach spots along the Central Pacific, where the drink’s easygoing character mirrors the coastal pace.

Chicha de maíz is a lightly alcoholic maize ferment rooted in indigenous and campesino traditions (typically 2–6% ABV). Cooks crack white or yellow corn, simmer it with water and tapa de dulce (panela), then cool and allow wild yeasts and natural lactobacilli to ferment the mash in clay or food-grade buckets for two to five days. Some families add pineapple peel or spices to encourage fermentation and aroma.

The result is softly effervescent, with cereal sweetness balanced by a tangy, yogurt-like acidity and a faint funk from natural fermentation. It’s poured from reused bottles or clay jugs into jícaras (gourds), often offered communally during harvests, local fundraisers, and patron-saint festivals. You’ll encounter chicha at rural ferias and in markets around Limón and San José, as well as within Bribri and Cabécar communities in the Talamanca foothills. On hot afternoons, it’s a refreshing, low-ABV choice that reflects both subsistence agriculture and communal hospitality.

Vino de coyol (coyol palm wine) is a seasonal, naturally fermented sap drink from the Pacific dry forest, especially Guanacaste (roughly 3–8% ABV). Producers tap the coyol palm (Acrocomia aculeata) by notching or felling the trunk, collecting sap that ferments spontaneously overnight. The liquid is lightly sweet, gently fizzy, and faintly funky—think coconut water crossed with young cider, plus a yeasty aroma.

Local lore says coyol can “hit twice”—you feel it, then feel it again under the midday sun—reflecting how warm temperatures accelerate fermentation in the bottle. Because tapping palms is regulated, production is small-scale and often informal. Look for it along rural roads near Liberia or Nicoya, where it’s sold in reused bottles at makeshift stands in the dry season (roughly December to April). Best consumed fresh and well-chilled, coyol wine is a window into pre-industrial fermentation practices adapted to a hot, arid climate.

Rompope is Costa Rica’s festive cream liqueur, a custard-based drink enriched with spices and a spirit base (usually rum or guaro, 8–15% ABV). Milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and clove are simmered, then tempered with egg yolks to create a silky base. Once cooled, it’s blended with alcohol and rested for a day to integrate flavors—yielding a rich, dessert-like beverage with warming spice and gentle heat.

You’ll find rompope in December across San José bakeries, Cartago markets, and family kitchens, poured into small glasses or folded into cakes and tres leches. Its creamy texture and sweet spice profile suit cool highland evenings and holiday gatherings after Misa de Gallo. While commercial brands line supermarket shelves, many families prize house recipes, adjusting sweetness and strength. Chilled and sipped slowly, rompope epitomizes Costa Rica’s holiday table: generous, aromatic, and convivial.

Costa Rican rum leans toward clean, column-distilled profiles made from molasses and aged in ex-bourbon American oak (commonly 40% ABV). Labels like Ron Centenario use a mix of age statements and solera-style blending to create expressions with vanilla, toffee, banana bread, and toasted oak notes. The country’s climate speeds maturation, building roundness without overwhelming tannin.

At bars in San José and Heredia, rum is poured neat, on ice, or mixed with cola, ginger ale, or fresh tropical juices. Entry-level bottlings go into cocktails; older expressions invite slow sipping after dinner. While rum lacks the deep peasant roots of chicha or coyol wine, it reflects Costa Rica’s long sugarcane economy and modern aging expertise. For travelers, it’s the polished counterpart to rustic ferments—reliable quality, clear provenance, and flavors that reward unhurried tasting.

Chicha de piña is a homey, sun-friendly ferment made from pineapple rinds, sugar (often tapa de dulce), and water, sometimes with rice and spices like cinnamon or clove (about 1–4% ABV when naturally fermented). The peels are rinsed, submerged, and left out for two to three days, allowing wild yeasts on the fruit to spark a lively, lightly sparkling drink. It pours pale gold, smells tropical and slightly floral, and tastes tart-sweet with a clean finish.

In hot weather, families serve it over ice at lunchtime or as a midafternoon refresher; for parties, some fortify it with a splash of guaro. You’ll see it at roadside sodas in Puntarenas and in weekend markets around Grecia, a thrifty way to use fruit that’s otherwise waste. Like corn chicha, it’s a testament to Costa Rica’s habit of fermenting what the climate offers—fast, low-alcohol, and refreshing.