Author Archives for Sal DeTraglia

Looking for DYC in a Spanish Bar


Based on a poorly-controlled, roundly unscientific study that I’ve conducted over the past six years, the most popular liquor here in Spain seems to be Dyc. Dyc is a Scotch-style whiskey—albeit one that’s a far cry from Glenlivet or The Macallan.
It is typically guzzled in disturbing quantities by twenty-something Spanish men. […]

Green with Envy.


Editor’s Note: Rosanne is experiencing some technical difficulties this week so Sal is stepping in to cover “Drinks Around the World“. Rosanne will return next week.
Here in Spain, Absinthe (aka, “Absenta”) is both legal and widely-available.
So to all you college-aged men reading this from the US, let me say just one thing: […]

Single-Malt Whisky, Unplugged.


[Editor’s note: “Whisky” refers to product from Scotland, while “whiskey” is the spelling used for Irish and American products.]
I knew I was in trouble when the bartender at the Edinburgh Sheraton asked me which brand of single-malt Scotch whisky I wanted.
“Uhhh…how about that famous one. You know. ‘Glen something-or-another.’”
He eyed me with one […]

The Breakfast of Campeones


Cocktail hour in Spain lasts for twenty-four.
I had heard this before moving here six years ago, but assumed that it was just a misguided stereotype — much like the one about Americans laying-out .44 Magnums as flatware when setting the dinner table.
Well…the only thing misguided was my skepticism. Spaniards, I quickly learned, DO drink […]

Sal DeTraglia - Bio


Sal DeTraglia is too small for football, too short for basketball and too hyperactive for baseball. He’s a lousy dancer and a worse singer.
So what’s a boy like this to do for fun? Cocktails!
Sal DeTraglia is also an American expat living, working, writing and drinking in Spain—a nation in which cocktail […]

Sal DeTraglia

Sal DeTraglia is too small for football, too short for basketball and too hyperactive for baseball. He’s a lousy dancer and a worse singer. So what’s a boy like this to do for fun? Cocktails! Sal DeTraglia is also an American expat living, working, writing and drinking in Spain—a nation in which cocktail hour lasts for twenty-four. He has a Marketing degree from Northern Illinois University, and M.B.A. and Law degrees from University of Illinois. His writings have appeared in legal and mainstream publications, including NewCity Chicago, The New Entertainer and Marbella Guide. He writes a regular column for the Expatica Spain website, which can be found at http://www.expatica.com/source/site_content_subchannel.asp?subchannel_id=184&name=Spain+Expat+Blog . He also writes a personal blog at http://saldetraglia.blogspot.com . His favorite cocktail is the Martini, but it must—and this next point is non-negotiable—be made *without* fruit, chocolate, coconut or colored liquids of any kind.