Alcoholic drink which contains a very high level of alcohol and "does not contain any added flavoring" is commonly called a neutral spirit. Generally, any distilled alcoholic beverage of 170 US proof or higher is considered to be a neutral spirit. Most yeasts cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is higher than about 18%, so that is the practical limit for the strength of fermented drinks such as wine, beer, and sake. However, some strains of yeast have been developed that can reproduce in solutions of up to 25% ABV. Shot sizes vary significantly from country to country. In the United
Barley water, then mixing the barley water with white wine and other ingredients, such as borage, lemon and sugar. In the 19th century, a different barley wine was made prepared from recipes of ancient Greek origin. Nonalcoholic drinks such as barley water and roasted barley tea have been made by boiling barley in water. In Italy, barley is also sometimes used as coffee substitute, "caffè d'orzo" (coffee of barley). This drink is obtained from ground, roasted barley and it is prepared as an espresso (it can be prepared using percolators, filter machines or cafetieres). It became widely used during the Fascist