While you are in Liege, if you like to drink liquors, do not miss the local drink, the pekèt. It is a strong liquor, brandy-like. Its name means stinging in old Walloon.
It can be found in most local cafes in Liege, but especially at La Maison du Pekèt, in Rue de l'Epée, near Place Saint Léopold where you can choose between twenty-five sorts of pekèt. It can be dry, or fruit-flavoured (citron, blueberries, banana, peach, coconut, exotic, passoa, etc.). La Maison du Pekèt is a typical Mosan Art house in which you will experiment the true spirit of Liege. It is open everyday from 10am until the early hours of morning.
Also the pekèt is found in cafes in le Carré (Rue du Pot d'Or and nearby) or Place du Marché.
You can ask someone to give you a 'pekèt flambé' (fired up pekèt), and you will be given a glass with a drinking straw. The waiter will light the drink in front of you and you will have to drink it up with the straw at once before the fire goes extinct.
Also, the pekèt is very popular during local festivals in Liege (15 August in Outre-Meuse, or Walloon festivals throughout September). It is then found virtually on every drinking stand in the streets. It is a cheap and delicious drink (around 1,5 euros).
It can also be easily found during the festival of the Hillsides of the Citadel (see my journal "Around the Fortified Walls of Liege). It is a sure way to warm you up during the cold evening of October when all streets around Hors Château are illuminated with candles.
Sometimes, dry pekèt is used for cooking special meals (especially duck meat). You can buy 1-litre bottles of pekèt in most major supermarkets in and around Liege if you want to cook meals with it or drink it with friends back home.
Do not miss it when you are in Liege!