What People Drink in Seville: 6 Traditional Alcoholic Beverages

Seville’s drinking traditions were shaped by Andalusia’s heat, the Guadalquivir valley, and nearby Atlantic vineyards. Locals favor chilled, savory wines and light mixers that make sense at 40°C, alongside spirits rooted in centuries of trade and monastic craft.

In bars across the historic center, a small glass comes with a tapa and a brief chat at the counter. Fortified sherries, seasonal mosto, and aromatic vermut pace the day, while fairground cocktails keep festivals social, musical, and cool.

If one taste defines Seville’s counters, it is bone‑dry sherry—fino and manzanilla. Both are fortified white wines made primarily from Palomino grapes and aged biologically under a film of flor yeast in 600‑liter American oak butts using the solera system. Fino is matured in Jerez de la Frontera or El Puerto de Santa María, while manzanilla must age in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, whose humid, maritime air stabilizes flor. Bottled at roughly 15–16% ABV, these wines are crystal‑pale, with aromas of green almond, bread dough, and sea spray.

In Seville they are poured icy cold, around 6–8°C, into small tulip glasses and paired with salty tapas: olives, marinated anchovies, fried fish, and jamón ibérico. Fino leans razor‑dry and savory; manzanilla adds a chamomile lift and briny edge. Sherry’s durability—historically prized for export—also suits Andalusia’s climate and busy bars. Order a copita mid‑day or early evening, especially before heavier plates, to understand why locals call these wines gastronómicos.

Rebujito is Seville’s festive cooler: a spritz built from manzanilla or fino and lemon‑lime soda (often gaseosa), loaded with ice and sometimes a sprig of mint. The classic ratio is roughly one part sherry to two parts soda, which brings the drink to an easy 4–7% ABV. Its lineage is commonly traced to 19th‑century sherry cobblers enjoyed by British merchants, adapted locally for Andalusian heat and long social hours.

You’ll see jarras of rebujito carried across the striped casetas during the springtime Feria de Abril, where days stretch into flamenco‑filled nights. It’s also poured at other regional fairs and summer gatherings when temperatures soar. Expect a citrusy nose over a nutty, saline core from the sherry, finishing clean and dry enough to keep pace with fried fish, tortilla, or charcuterie. Outside festival season, many bars will still mix a glass on request, especially on hot afternoons.

Vermouth in Seville is typically the red, sweet‑bitter style served on tap—vermut de grifo. It begins as wine aromatized with wormwood (Artemisia), gentian, cinnamon, clove, and citrus peels, then lightly fortified and colored with caramel. Most versions sit around 14.5–15.5% ABV. Some bars age their house vermouth briefly in casks to knit flavors, resulting in a rounder texture and subtle oxidative notes.

Order it over ice with an orange slice and an olive or a splash from a sifón. The ritual is the hora del vermut, a late‑morning to pre‑lunch pause—especially on weekends—paired with banderillas (pickled skewers), canned seafood, or chips. The taste threads orange bitterness, herbal spice, and gentle sweetness, finishing appetizingly dry. A revival across Spain has returned vermut to prominence, and Seville’s old‑school taverns and newer bodegas now pour it proudly as a social prelude to lunch.

Mosto in Seville means the just‑made, minimally clarified white wine from the Aljarafe hills west of the city. Traditionally pressed from local white varieties such as Garrido Fino and Palomino, it ferments in stainless steel at cool temperatures and reaches about 10–12% ABV. Bottling is secondary; mosto is served straight from the tank, hazy with suspended yeast and grape solids, carrying fresh‑cut apple and fennel aromas with a gentle, slightly bitter finish.

The season runs roughly from November to February, when countryside ventas de mosto open around towns like Umbrete. In cool weather it accompanies hearty plates—migas, grilled pork, chorizo, or simple salads—and is poured in short glasses by the round. Mosto reflects an agricultural rhythm: drink the year’s first wine before spring heat returns. It’s a snapshot of Andalusian vineyards before fortification or aging, and a reason to leave the city for a rustic weekend lunch.

Vino de naranja is an aromatic fortified wine from the neighboring Condado de Huelva, widely stocked in Seville. A base white wine—often Zalema—is infused with bitter orange peels macerated in neutral alcohol, then blended back, lightly sweetened, and aged oxidatively, frequently through a solera. Typical strength is 15–17% ABV. The result is amber to copper in color, with scents of candied orange, caramel, and toasted nuts over a mellow palate.

In Seville it appears as an aperitif or digestif, served cool in small glasses. The orange notes echo the city’s famous bitter orange trees, making it an evocative local gift. Pair it with blue cheese, flan, or almond pastries, or use a small splash to glaze pork and duck. While production sits in Huelva, distribution has long followed Andalusia’s trade routes, and the style has become a natural fit for Seville’s dessert trolley and after‑dinner conversations.

Cazalla—short for Anís de Cazalla—is the region’s signature aniseed spirit from Cazalla de la Sierra, north of Seville. Distillers redistill neutral alcohol or wine spirit with green anise, producing seco (dry) or dulce (sweetened) styles typically between 35% and 50% ABV. Clear and aromatic, it offers a burst of licorice, fennel, and a faint floral tone; sweetness, when present, softens the heat without masking the spice.

Historically, dozens of small distilleries thrived here in the 18th to early 20th centuries, supplying Andalusian fairs and city cafés. In Seville, a cazalla is taken as a quick winter pick‑me‑up at breakfast bars, a post‑meal chupito, or a bracing toast at village festivals. Serve it well chilled in a tiny glass, or with an ice cube to open the nose. The drink’s mountain roots and clean anise profile make it a classic counterpoint to rich tapas and cured meats.