Local Drinks

1. gira

   Kvass, a fermented rye-bread drink

   Usage

   A lightly fizzy drink fermented from dark bread, fruit, berries or caraway with yeast and sugar. It is a fermented drink: in Lithuania gira means anything made by kvass technology at up to 1.2% alcohol, which is above the 0.5% non-alcoholic threshold. Ask about the strength if you avoid alcohol. Usually ordered alongside kepta duona

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; accusative girą, genitive giros. Order it as Vieną girą, prašau

2. kisielius

   Starch-thickened fruit drink (kissel)

   Usage

   Berries or fruit boiled, strained, sweetened and thickened with starch — strawberry, currant, raspberry, cherry, rhubarb or cranberry. Thick versions are eaten with a spoon as a dessert rather than drunk, so it may not arrive as a glass

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; accusative kisielių, genitive kisieliaus

3. kompotas

   Compote, a cold fruit drink

   Usage

   Fresh, frozen or dried fruit and berries — strawberry, apricot, raisin, pear, plum, cherry, apple, rhubarb — simmered in sugar syrup with cloves, cinnamon or vanilla. Normally served cold, occasionally hot

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; accusative kompotą, genitive kompoto

4. pasukos

   Buttermilk

   Usage

   The milk left over from churning butter. Drunk on its own, and in Aukštaitija poured over boiled or mashed potatoes and into cold beetroot soup; in Žemaitija it went into sour soups. Today it is also an ingredient in cheese, ice cream and curd products

   Grammar Note

   A feminine plural-only noun; accusative pasukas, genitive pasukų

5. rūgpienis

   Thick soured milk

   Usage

   Milk cultured with lactic acid streptococci into a thick, milk-white or cream product. It is eaten more than drunk — with porridge, with boiled or fried potatoes, with bread and pastries — and is the base for varškė and cheese

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; accusative rūgpienį, genitive rūgpienio. From rūgti (to sour) + pienas (milk); ū is a long vowel distinct from u

6. arbata

   Tea

   Usage

   The menu heading. With lemon is su citrina, with honey su medumi. the Café & Drinks category already has the sentence Noriu arbatos su citrina (I want tea with lemon)

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; accusative arbatą, genitive arbatos. norėti takes the genitive (Noriu arbatos), a numeral the accusative (Vieną arbatą)

7. kava

   Coffee

   Usage

   The menu heading. With milk is su pienu. the Café & Drinks category already has Kavą su pienu, prašau (a coffee with milk, please), where it appears in the accusative kavą

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; accusative kavą, genitive kavos. The accusative ends in ą, a different letter from the a of kava

8. sultys

   Juice

   Usage

   The fruit goes in front in the genitive: obuolių sultys (apple), apelsinų sultys (orange), morkų sultys (carrot)

   Grammar Note

   A feminine plural-only noun; accusative sultis, genitive sulčių. "A glass of juice" is Vieną stiklinę sulčių, with the genitive

9. pienas

   Milk

   Usage

   "With milk" is su pienu, using the instrumental, and works directly when ordering coffee or tea

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; accusative pieną, genitive pieno, instrumental pienu

10. nealkoholinis alus

    Non-alcoholic beer

    Usage

    The option when you are not drinking. Non-alcoholic drinks in general are nealkoholiniai gėrimai; the Café & Drinks category already has Ar turite nealkoholinių gėrimų? (do you have non-alcoholic drinks?)

    Grammar Note

    A masculine noun phrase, accusative nealkoholinį alų, genitive nealkoholinio alaus — alus has an irregular stem in the genitive

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