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We travel the world to experience new people, places and things, and at the top of that list for many are the food and drink we find in new locales. These cocktails will transport you to some of the world’s most exciting culinary spots.

Cambodia

Cambodian cuisine, a blend of fermented, smoky, sour and sweet, is distinct from Thai, but just as delectable and complex. Aside from the flavours and aromas in the market of one small Cambodian town near the Vietnamese border – neat bundles of mint, kaffir limes and cilantro stacked with artful precision – the place is home to merchant houses and old mansions, as well as flower gardens. The historic Elephant Bar in the Raffles Hotel Phnom Penh boasts the Femme Fatale as its signature cocktail, a blend of sweet and smoky topped with Champagne – a nod to the country’s French colonial history.

Femme Fatale, Elephant Bar in the Raffles Hotel Phnom Penh

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Natasha V

Serves 1

1/4 ounce crème de fraise

Dash of cognac

4.4 ounces champagne

Pour the crème de fraise and cognac into a 5-ounce cocktail glass. Finish with champagne. Garnish with a small orchid. Enjoy immediately.

Anguilla

An island off of an island off of an island is the perfect spot to blissfully slurp down a cup of rum punch – a drink that’s synonymous with the Caribbean. While Saint Martin, from where you catch the half-hour ferry to Anguilla, is still devastated following the Category 5 Hurricane Irma of late last year, on Anguilla many hotels, including the new Four Seasons and the rebuilt Frangipani Beach Resort, plus beloved restaurants such asTasty’s and da’Vida, have mostly recovered. About a month ago Mother Nature finally let the sea recede so that Sandy Island could get back to being the day-tripper destination it’s always been. The locals helped out by replanting a handful of palm trees that have already taken root (and by building a makeshift bar, which has also taken root). Sitting in the shade while sipping a potent mix of tropical juices and rum is the best possible way to slip into island time.

Rum Punch

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Natasha V

Serves 1

1 ounce orange juice

1 ounce pineapple juice

1 ounce guava juice

½ ounce lime juice

3 dashes of bitters

3 ounces amber rum

¼ ounce amaretto

Nutmeg

Orange wedge

Maraschino cherry

Add the first six ingredients to a martini shaker with ice and shake. Pour in a highball glass and add an amaretto floater. Dust with freshly grated nutmeg and garnish with an orange wedge and cherry if desired.

Provence, France

In Arles, France, you can scale the stairs to the top of the ancient Roman amphitheatre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and see all corners of the pastel-coloured city: whites, creams, pale greens and blues, all under terracotta roofs. If the scene feels familiar, it’s because you’ve likely seen it before, if only as a painting. This is where van Gogh’s works come to life. Many of the restaurants still look like Café Terrace at Night, an 1888 masterpiece of a place that could exist today. The sky is still midnight-blue, the stars still swirl above and the street lamps still cast amber shadows over the centuries-old apartments and bistro tables. The warm-weather refresher here is chilled pastis, an anise-flavoured aperitif that starts the afternoon out right. The classic way to drink it is by pouring about two ounces into a highball glass, topped with chilled mineral water. This recipe is a dash more fun.

Chilled pastis

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Natasha V

Serves 1

1 part pastis (such as Ricard)

Dash grenadine

5 parts cold water

Add pastis, grenadine and water to a highball glass. Fill with ice and stir.

Israel

The flavours of Israel are as far flung as the numerous cultures that have laid roots here. Global spices, dishes and techniques from Ethiopia to St. Petersburg, Warsaw to Vietnam, are represented. And then there are the cooking styles drawn from Jews, Christians, Arabs, Druze and Bedouins – each bearing their own set of traditions and tastes. It’s a country where just about every bite and sip is a revelation. This Tel Aviv cocktail includes a liqueur made from prickly pears, a cactus fruit also known as the sabra, which is the nickname for Israelis: Prickly on the outside and sweet on the inside. Meanwhile, the pisco points to the party vibe of this modern Mediterranean city.

The Sabra Cadabra, Imperial Craft Cocktail Bar in Tel Aviv

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Natasha V

Serves 1

1 small piece fresh pineapple

2 ounces pisco

1/2 ounce lemon juice

1 ounce prickly-pear syrup

2 dashes teapot bitters

Ice

Muddle a piece of fresh, juicy pineapple in a lowball glass. Add remaining ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into the lowball glass that has been coated with the muddled pineapple. Sip away.

Newfoundland

In Newfoundland and Labrador, hospitality is practically a contact sport, where dinners turn into kitchen parties full of song, fiddles and dishes that reflect the warmth of the locals. But always, at the heart of it, is cod. To evoke the feel of being on the Rock, you could serve up a meal inspired by Leo’s Restaurant & Take-Out in St. John’s, where chipped plates bear steaming heaps of golden, hand-cut fries bathed in smooth brown gravy, the fish (cod, of course) buried beneath – crisp, moist and flaky. But don’t forget to pair the dish with a sip of local Screech rum. It’s a key ingredient in this cocktail, which tames the famous rum and turns it into a floral refresher.

Newfoundland Flower

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Natasha V

Serves 1

2 ounces Screech rum

1 ounce St. Elder Natural Elderflower Liqueur

¾ ounce fresh lime juice

Ice

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

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