The island has two drinks of its own, and both are things you are offered at the end of a meal rather than ordered at a bar. Hierbas ibicencas is a herbal liqueur, and café caleta is a coffee that arrives on fire. Everything else people drink here, they drink everywhere in Spain.
Knowing which is which saves the standard visitor mistake, which is ordering hierbas as an aperitif and finding it much sweeter than expected. We have set out what each one is and the point in the evening it belongs to.
Hierbas ibicencas
An aniseed-based liqueur infused with herbs gathered on the island: thyme, rosemary, fennel, juniper, lemon verbena and others, with the bottle usually holding the sprigs. The name has protected status, so anything labelled hierbas ibicencas is made here.
It is drunk cold, often straight from the freezer, in a small glass after dinner. It is sweet and strongly aniseed, and it is not a cocktail ingredient however often it gets used as one now.
Most families have a preferred maker and some still make it at home. Sold in every supermarket on the island.
Café caleta
Coffee with brandy, cinnamon, lemon peel and sugar, warmed in a clay pot and set alight at the table before it is poured. It comes from Ibiza Town and it is the traditional end of a long lunch rather than something you drink in the morning.
It is served for a table rather than for one person, which tells you what it is for.
Frígola
A thyme liqueur, lighter and greener than hierbas and less sweet. It is the one to ask for if hierbas is too much, and it is more often drunk as a digestif in the north of the island.
What else gets drunk
Beer and wine, as everywhere in Spain. What surprises people is that Ibiza makes wine: there are a handful of small producers working on the island, and the local reds turn up on the better wine lists rather than in supermarkets.
In summer the drink of the afternoon is anything long and cold, and the standard order is a clara, beer with lemon soda, which is what you will see most locals drinking at three in the afternoon.
Quick answers
What is the traditional drink of Ibiza? Hierbas ibicencas, a herbal aniseed liqueur drunk cold after dinner.
What is café caleta? Coffee with brandy, cinnamon and lemon peel, flamed at the table and shared.
Is hierbas strong? Yes, and sweet. A small glass is the serving.
Does Ibiza make wine? Yes, on a small scale, and it appears on local wine lists.
What do locals drink in the afternoon? A clara, beer with lemon soda.
Can you buy hierbas to take home? Yes, in any supermarket on the island.
Where to try them
Almost any restaurant that is not aimed at visitors will produce hierbas at the end of a meal, often without being asked and often without charging for it. Café caleta is more of an Ibiza Town thing and the older restaurants in the port are where to find it made well.
For where to eat in the first place, there is our guide to restaurants on Ibiza.