Despite being a Muslim-majority country, Uzbekistan has a functioning secular alcohol market inherited from the Soviet era.
Availability: - Supermarkets, small shops, hotels, restaurants — all sell alcohol. - Some smaller neighbourhood shops don't stock it, but the shop next door will. - No dry days or evening closures. - Fully self-service.
Local products: - Uzbek vodka — Ferghana, Uzbekiston, Silver Wolf brands. ~$3–8 for a 0.5 L bottle. - Uzbek cognac — Samarkand and Tashkent produce recognisably French-style brandies. Cheap and decent quality. - Uzbek wine — the Samarkand and Ferghana regions grow European and native grape varieties. Bagizagan winery in Samarkand and Sirdaryo winery produce mid-priced reds and whites. Some sweet dessert wines still made in the Soviet tradition. - Beer — Sarbast is the main national brand. Also imported: Baltika (Russian), various German lagers.
Prices: - Local beer 500 ml: 15,000–25,000 UZS ($1.20–2). - Wine glass in mid-range restaurant: 40,000–80,000 UZS ($3–6). - Vodka shot in restaurant: 25,000–40,000 UZS. - Import beer: double local prices.
Social norms: - Drinking with meals is normal, especially at weddings, celebrations, and large family gatherings. - Toasts are given seriously — long formal speeches at weddings, brief blessings at dinners. - Refusing to drink at a formal toast is impolite — take a symbolic sip, or say you're taking antibiotics. - Public drunkenness is uncommon and viewed poorly. Loud drunk foreigners will be noticed. - Ramadan: many restaurants stop serving alcohol during Ramadan out of respect. Larger hotels and tourist restaurants continue.
Legal: - Drinking age: 21 (rarely checked for adults). - Drink driving strictly enforced. Zero tolerance. - No open-container law but drinking in public is looked down on.
Uzbekistan in photos
A short visual companion to this entry — photographs from our Uzbekistan travel archive.
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Migration registration: the 3-day rule
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