Last Updated: October 10, 2025
Costa Rica has its share of strange beverages, and we’ve tried a lot of them. There’s Agua de Tamarindo, a brown, sweet drink made from the tamarind fruit. If you go to a bar, you might be served Sangrita, a tomato-juice-based shot that tastes to us like a BBQ-sauce Bloody Mary. And for a hot day, there’s Resbaladera, a cold rice drink made with barley, milk, cinnamon, and clove.
But one we hadn’t tried yet, until now that is, was Vino de Coyol. We had seen the mysterious bottles sweating in the hot sun along the highways of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province, but never stopped. We wanted to learn more first. In this post, we’ll let you know how our tasting went.
Background
We started with a little Internet research, discovering that the milky looking beverage is mostly popular in the small Nicoya Peninsula town of Nambi between Santa Cruz and Nicoya.
It’s not actually a wine as it comes from the sap of the Coyol species of palm tree, and not grapes. When the Coyol palms are cut down, the sap ferments inside the trunk and is later extracted to create the drink.
Although the beverage is said to have a very low alcohol content, there are supposedly enzymes present that can have the same effects as alcohol. Even more intriguing was the claim that a couple of glasses can put you on the floor and give you a killer hangover. Better yet still was the mention that exposure to the sun the next day can replicate the intoxication, sort of a two-for-one deal.
Trying Vino de Coyol
One thing all these stories left out, however, was what the real effects of Vino de Coyol actually were. It seemed that nobody had tried it.
Being self-proclaimed wine connoisseurs, we decided to put down our glass of South American chardonnay and taste for ourselves.
We bought a one-liter vintage of Vino de Coyol from a roadside table just outside Santa Cruz for 2,000 colones (about $4). It was refrigerated and came in an old clear rum bottle with a corn cob cork.
When we got home, we kept it chilled until it was time to taste. The taste actually wasn’t too bad, reminding us of something between Smarties and those fizzy natural cold remedies Airborne and Emergen-C. Not great but tolerable.
It had a sweet taste and fairly smooth yet chalky body. The nose (smell), however, was terrible. Think vinegar and eggs.
Powering through a couple of glasses, we did feel some effects but were hardly on-the-floor drunk, maybe happily buzzed at best. The next day, we woke up hangover-free and ventured into the sun for a walk but either the myth of a repeat was false or the partially cloudy day prevented our second drunkenness.
Conclusion
Overall, we’re glad we tried Vino de Coyol. We love to try new things, especially something so culturally specific to a tiny region of Costa Rica. Maybe next time, we’ll get a different vintage and experience different effects. Until then, we’ll stick to the wine made from grapes. ¡Salud!
Looking for more articles like this one? Check out these posts:
Taste Testing the Beers of Costa Rica – Learn about the local beers like Imperial and Pilsen, plus some of the tasty microbrews that are now available in Costa Rica.
A Taste of Costa Rica: 7 Traditional Foods to Try – A visit to Costa Rica isn’t complete without some of these typical plates. Yum!
Caipirinha Recipe: Though not original to Costa Rica, caipirinhas are offered at bars and restaurants all around the country. Get a simple recipe with our post.
Mango Salsa Recipe: Grab a mango from a roadside vendor and make this delicious mango salsa to go alongside your vino de coyol.
Restaurant Guides & Food – Browse all our articles about food, beverages, and restaurants in Costa Rica.
Practical Travel – Get essential Costa Rica travel info on weather, packing, safety, drinking water, and lots more.
