1.) The production of alcohol has been
traced back at least 12,000 years.
2.) Sherry was apparently the alcohol of choice for many world
travelers; both Magellan and Columbus had it on board during their
respective voyages. Magellan liked Sherry so much that he spent more
money stockpiling the alcoholic beverage than he spent on weapons.
3.) Frederick the Great, who was the king of Prussia, was so
enamored by alcohol that he tried to ban coffee in an attempt to get
everyone in Prussia to drink liquor instead.
4.) The Pilgrims made the decision to stop at Plymouth Rock because
they were running low on supplies, particularly alcohol.
5.) Winston Churchill’s mother was the inventor of the Manhattan
cocktail. It is made with whiskey and sweet vermouth.
6.) Until the mid-1600′s, wine makers in France used oil soaked rags
in lieu of corks.
7.) Vikings enjoyed alcohol, and they preferred to toast to their
victories by drinking it from the skulls of their defeated enemies.
8.) Many historians believe that the practice of farming was not
started as a means of food production, but in order to produce the
necessary ingredients to create alcoholic beverages.
9.) Hangover cures date back almost as far as alcohol itself.
Ancient Romans believed that eating a fried canary would take care
of their hangover symptoms, and the ancient Greeks were believers in
the power of cabbage. People today are still trying to find the
perfect cure for a hangover. In France they put salt into a strong
cup of coffee, and in Puerto Rico some drinkers lift their drinking
arm and rub half a lemon under it. (None have proven to be
effective).
10.) The term honeymoon traces its roots back to ancient Babylon. It
was a tradition for the soon to be father-in-law to supply his
daughter’s fiancé with a month’s supply of mead. This time period
was referred to as the honey month, and that phrase eventually
morphed into what we now call a honeymoon.