On consuming alcoholic beverages in Cairo, Egypt

I hadn’t realized what big alcohol consumers we actually are, or rather were until we moved to Cairo. Since Courtney is a bit of a connoisseur, we brought 3 bottles of whisky with us, a few favorites, but figured we could easily buy decent beer and wine locally. As it turns out, we were wrong. We have actually yet to visit a store that sells beer or wine, however soon after our arrival we were given the phone number to a place “Drinkies” that delivers alcoholic beverages to your doorstep, and except for during Ramadan when this business was closed, we have been taking advantage of the service. A case of quite drinkable Heineken owned Sakkara Gold beer costs around 130 EGP (24 cans, 500 ml per can). We have yet, though, to find a decent bottle of wine.

In Belgium, I would have a beer or a glass of wine when I got home from work, and usually a glass of wine with dinner. Here, since the acquisition of a drink requires a specific enterprise in itself – it takes a little more that grabbing a bottle off the shelf in the grocery store - we’ve found that we simply don’t drink as much any more. I miss a good strong Rioja Reserva with my steak or pasta dish, but when it’s between an obscure bottle of Omar Khaggam and ice water, I choose the latter.