Alcoholic beverage

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A selection of various kinds of alcoholic beverages.
The interior of a liquor store in the United States. The global alcoholic beverages industry is expected to exceed $1 trillion in 2014.

An alcoholic beverage is a drink that typically contains 3% – 40% alcohol (ethanol). Alcoholic beverages are divided into three classes: beers, wines, and spirits (distilled beverages). They are legally consumed in most countries around the world. More than 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption.[1]

Alcoholic beverages have been produced and consumed by humans since the Neolithic Era, from hunter-gatherer peoples to nation-states.[2] There is evidence indicating the preparation of alcoholic drinks dating as far back as 8,000 BC.[3]

Alcohol in carbonated beverages is absorbed faster than alcohol in non-carbonated drinks.[4] Another study also confirmed this, conducted at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom gave subjects equal amounts of flat and sparkling Champagne which contained the same levels of alcohol. After 5 minutes following consumption, the group that had the sparkling wine had 54 milligrams of alcohol in their blood while the group that had the same sparkling wine, only flat, had 39 milligrams.[5]

The global alcoholic beverages industry is expected to exceed $1 trillion in 2014.[6]

Fermented beverages[edit]


Main article: Wine
See also: Wine and health
Fermentation with the stems, seeds, and skins of the grapes will increase the tannin content of the wine.


Beverages called "fruit wines" are made from fruits such as plums, cherries, or apples. The kind of fruit must be specified on the label.


Main article: Beer



Main article: Cider


Distilled beverages[edit]

Main article: Distilled beverage

A distilled beverage, spirit, or liquor is an alcoholic beverage produced by distilling (i.e., concentrating by distillation) ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables.[9] Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic beverages that have an alcohol content of at least 20% ABV are called spirits.[10] For the most common distilled beverages, such as whiskey and vodka, the alcohol content is around 40%. The term hard liquor is used in North America to distinguish distilled beverages from undistilled ones (implicitly weaker). Vodka, gin, baijiu, tequila, whiskey, brandy, and soju are examples of distilled beverages. Distilling concentrates the alcohol and eliminates some of the congeners. Freeze distillation concentrates ethanol along with methanol and fusel alcohols (fermentation by-products partially removed by distillation) in applejack. Paracelsus gave alcohol its modern name, which is derived from an Arabic word that means “finely divided” (a reference to distillation).


Apéritifs and digestifs[edit]

An apéritif is any alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite,[13] while a digestif is any alcoholic beverage served after a meal for the purpose of improving digestion.



Pure ethanol tastes bitter to humans, slightly fewer people also describe it as sweet.[14] However, ethanol (alcohol) is also a moderately good solvent for many fatty substances and essential oils. This attribute facilitates the use of flavoring and coloring compounds in alcoholic beverages as a taste mask, especially in distilled beverages. Flavors may be naturally present in the beverage’s raw material. Beer and wine may be flavored before fermentation. Spirits may be flavored before, during, or after distillation. Sometimes flavor is obtained by allowing the beverage to stand for months or years in oak barrels, usually American or French oak. A few brands of spirits have fruit or herbs inserted into the bottle at the time of bottling.





Rectified spirit[edit]



Alcohol concentration (ABV)[edit]

Typical ABV ranges[18]
Beers 3–15%
Wines 8–17%
Fortified wines 15–22%
Spirits 15–98%
Fruit juices < 0.1%
Cider, wine coolers 4–8%
Main article: Alcohol by volume




Serving measures[edit]

Shot sizes[edit]



Standard drinks[edit]






Food energy[edit]


However, aside from the direct effect of its caloric content, alcohol is known to potentiate the insulin response of the human body to glucose, which, in essence, "instructs" the body to convert consumed carbohydrates into fat and to suppress carbohydrate and fat oxidation.[23][24]


Main article: Alcohol laws



In some jurisdictions, alcoholic beverages are totally prohibited for reasons of religion (e.g., Islamic countries with sharia law) or for reasons of public health and morals (e.g., Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933). In jurisdictions which enforce sharia law, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is an illegal offense,[25] although such laws may exempt non-Muslims.[26]

Ethanol considered as a drug[edit]

Results of the ISCD 2010 study ranking the levels of damage caused by drugs, in the opinion of drug-harm experts.

Ethanol (commonly called alcohol) is a psychoactive drug[27][28] that is found in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol was one of the most commonly abused drugs in 1996 (Meropol, 1996)[29] and is often used for self-medication[30] and as recreational drug.[31]



See also[edit]

Beverage-related articles[edit]

Social and health[edit]


  3. ^ Gately, Iain (2008). Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol. New York, New York: Gotham Books. p. 2. ISBN 9781592403035.  Check date values in: |accessdate= (help);
  6. ^
  17. ^
  18. ^
  22. ^ "Composition of Foods Raw, Processed, Prepared USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 26 Documentation and User Guide". USDA. Aug 2013. p. 14. 
  23. ^ Robert Metz et al. (1969). "Potentiation of the Plasma Insulin Response to Glucose by Prior Administration of Alcohol". Diabetes. 
  24. ^ "Ethanol Causes Acute Inhibition of Carbohydrate, Fat, and Protein Oxidation and Insulin Resistance". J.Clin.Invest. 81 (4): 1137–45. 1988. doi:10.1172/JCI113428. PMC 329642. PMID 3280601. 
  27. ^ USA (2013-03-25). "Disparity between tonic and phasic ethanol-induced dopamine increases in the nucleus accumbens of rats". Retrieved 2013-09-17. 
  28. ^ Drugs and society - Page 189, Glen (Glen R.) Hanson, Peter J. Venturelli, Annette E. Fleckenstein - 2006
  29. ^
  30. ^ Crum, R. M.; La Flair, L; Storr, C. L.; Green, K. M.; Stuart, E. A.; Alvanzo, A. A.; Lazareck, S; Bolton, J. M.; Robinson, J; Sareen, J; Mojtabai, R (2013). "Reports of drinking to self-medicate anxiety symptoms: Longitudinal assessment for subgroups of individuals with alcohol dependence". Depression and Anxiety 30 (2): 174–83. doi:10.1002/da.22024. PMC 4154590. PMID 23280888.  edit
  31. ^

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