History of alcoholic drinks but would compound the situation by creating additional problems wherever it was implemented. Alcoholic beverages played an important role in the Thirteen Colonies from their early days. For example, the "Mayflower" shipped more beer than water when it departed for the New World in 1620. While this may seem strange viewed from the modern context, note that drinking wine and beer at that time was safer than drinking water - which was usually taken from sources also used to dispose of sewage and garbage. Experience showed that it was safer to drink alcohol than the typically polluted water in Europe.
Korean alcoholic drinks A regional, slightly-creamier variant, originally from Gyeonggi-do, is called "dongdongju". Another variety, called "ihwaju" (hangul: ; hanja: ; "pear-blossom wine") is so named because it is brewed from rice with rice malt which ferments during the pear-blossom season. "Ihwaju" is often so thick that it is eaten with a spoon. A similar drink is known as "Gamju"; this name is also used for non-alcoholic sweet drinks, including "Sikhye" (). "Cheongju", or "yakju", is a refined rice wine made from steamed rice which has undergone several fermentation stages. Also known as "myeongyakju" or "beopju", it is distinguished from "takju" by its